Pop quiz time: What’s one of the most important things you need to do as a parent before the new school year rolls around? The answer: Schedule back to school eye exams for your whole family!

Back to School Eye Exams are a Must

There’s little question about it: Back to school eye exams are a critical component to your child’s health and quality of life. Why? Because your child’s vision will affect virtually every aspect of academics, athletics, and extracurricular activities.

Interestingly, many common eye problems first develop in young, school-aged children. If left undiagnosed and untreated, these visual problems can disrupt your child’s ability to pay attention in class. Unfortunately, in some cases, children with visual problems end up being misdiagnosed with ADD/ADHD or another type of learning disorder. Hence, it is essential to make sure that your child’s eyesight is in top condition. This ensures that all of their unique needs are met, and that they are able to participate to the best of their ability in school.

So, what kind of eye problems will an eye care provider look for in your child?

— Myopia, or nearsightedness: This makes it difficult to see things …

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is one of the world’s leading causes of central vision loss in industrial nations, causing significant visual morbidity. Non-exudative AMD accounts for approximately 90% of all reported cases.

There is a growing body of evidence suggesting that there may be early indicators preceding the development of AMD. Over 30 years ago, while investigating reticular degeneration of the pigment epithelium (RDPE), Lewis et al, discovered a correlation between the characteristics of macular degenerative changes and RDPE. One of their recommendations supported the value of observing the peripheral retina, when assessing patients with macular degenerative abnormalities¹.

Understanding the relevance of peripheral retinal abnormalities, to disease progression relating to AMD and other retinal conditions, continues to evidence the value of ultra-widefield (UWF^™) imaging in this process. In the 12-year follow-up of subjects from the Reykjavik Eye Study, Lengyel et al² evaluated subjects using optomap^® color and autofluorescence (AF) imaging.

The peripheral retina was phenotyped using categories defined in the International Classification of AMD which was developed to characterize the macula. The population sample was 576 subjects. Of the eyes examined, 81.1% had AMD-like changes in the macula. From this sample, 13.6% of subjects were noted to have …

Building upon two previous studies regarding the use of optomap images for studying diabetic retinopathy (DR) where optomap was found to be equivalent to Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study (ETDRS)¹, and where there was the presence of predominantly peripheral lesions, they were associated with an almost 5-fold risk in the progression of DR over 4 years², a recent study from the American Academy of Ophthalmology concludes that there is a good to excellent agreement between ultra-widefield (UWF™) images and ETDRS standard photos in determining H/Ma (hemorrhage/microaneurysm) severity, with excellent correlation of H/Ma counts within ETDRS photo fields. Utilizing the full capability of UWF peripheral fields however, produced identification of 49.8% more H/Ma suggesting a more severe H/Ma in 12.7% of eyes.

Retinal hemorrhage and/or H/Ma are critical clinical signs of early DR; similarly, the presence and severity of H/Ma are considered reliable markers for the level and risk of progression in DR. Ma (microaneurysm) counts and level also may indicate critical progression of proliferative DR and macular edema.

The objective of the study was to evaluate detection of H/Ma and/or hemorrhage comparing the two aforementioned modalities. When first evaluating a similar retinal scope of the two modalities, both UWF …

Diabetic retinopathy is one of the leading causes of vision loss and blindness around the globe, and affects approximately one-third of people with diabetes. Because the number of people with diabetes is expected to rise to more than 438 million worldwide by 2030, it can be assumed that the prevalence of diabetic retinopathy can be expected to rise, as well.

For individuals with diabetes, certain risk factors can be reduced by focusing on key elements such as education, early detection, and early treatment.

What Is Diabetic Retinopathy?

Diabetes impairs the body’s ability to control blood sugar. Because sugar can promote inflammation, a person with diabetes may experience inflammatory damage to various tissues within their body, including the retina, which is located on the inside back of your eye. High blood sugar causes damage to the blood vessels in the retina, where the small blood vessels that supply blood to their retinal tissue become leaky and irritated. Over time, this can lead to complete vision loss if not treated properly.

Why Is Early Diagnosis of Diabetic Retinopathy So Important?

The critical challenge with diabetic retinopathy is that retinal damage often begins long before symptoms ever develop. As such, …

It’s summertime – which means spending a lot more time outdoors. But while most of us will remember to wear sunscreen to protect our skin, it may be a little harder to remember that your eyes need protection, too.

Ultraviolet (UV) rays are invisible beams of light emitted by the sun. North of the equator, they’re strongest during the late spring and early summer. These rays can cause inflammation, tissue damage, and cellular injury when they comes in contact with the delicate structures within your eyes.

In fact, excessive sun exposure and UV-related damage can lead to a variety of eye disease, such as:

Photokeratitis, which is essentially an eye sunburn Inflammation of the cornea – appearing within a few hours of exposure Can be very painful, but damage isn’t usually long-term Pterygium, or “surfer’s eye” Growth of the conjunctiva on the surface of the eye May extend over the center of the cornea and reduce vision Can be removed with surgery Cataracts Leading cause of blindness in the world Enhanced by exposure to UV rays Cancer of the eye Scientific evidence suggests links between different forms of ocular cancer and life-long sun exposure

For the health of your eyes and the integrity …

If you live in a state where fireworks are legal, then it may be tempting to use some for your next backyard barbecue or upcoming July 4^th celebrations. However, unless you are a professional, fireworks should be considered dangerous and best left to said professionals.

According to data from the Consumer Product Safety Commission, approximately 8,000 firework-related injuries were treated in US hospitals in the 2015 alone. Of those, approximately 16% of the injuries involved the eye or eyes. Injuries included burns, corneal abrasions, foreign object impalement, and irritation from smoke, ashes, and other chemicals. Sadly, these injuries are largely preventable if follow our tips on improving fireworks eye safety.

Never allow your children, yourself, or anyone in your family to play with fireworks.Please, for the safety of you and everyone around you, leave these to the pyrotechnic professionals. Remember, fireworks are not  Always supervise your children around sparklers.That same research from the Consumer Product Safety Commission in 2015 revealed that over 2,700 injuries occurred due to sparklers and bottle rockets. To ensure you and your children’s safety, only hold one lit sparkler at the time, and be sure to keep it at an arm’s distance away from the face. Avoid …

Only two short years ago, the Ebola outbreak occurred in West Africa. Today, survivors are presenting with symptoms of post-Ebola Syndrome (PES) which include joint and muscle pain, and psychiatric, neurological, and eye problems¹. Researchers from the University of Liverpool’s Institute of Translational Medicine have recently conducted a study of these survivors to determine what effects Ebola had on the retina.

The ocular research team was led by Paul Steptoe, MD and the research group compared the eye exams of 82 survivors who had previously reported ocular symptoms and a control group of 105 unaffected individuals. The Daytona from Optos was used to conduct the non-mydriatic ultra-widefield retinal imaging portion of the study. The results of this research which has been published in the Emerging Infectious Diseases Journal, shows that approximately 15% of Ebola survivors examined do have a retinal scar which appears specific to the disease². According to researchers this is a reasonable conclusion based on the fact that the control group did not present with similar lesions and only demonstrated the common retinal issues that are present in a population prior to Ebola exposure.

Key Facts and Findings:

82 Ebola virus survivors (161 eyes, 2 missing retinal …

This June is Cataract Awareness Month, and the American Academy of Ophthalmology along with several other eye and vision care organizations want to stress the importance of early screening, early detection, and appropriate treatment of cataracts in order to preserve eyesight for anyone dealing with this condition.

What is a Cataract? Causes, Symptoms, Diagnosis, & Treatment

More than 24 million Americans aged 40 or older are currently living with cataracts. Cataracts are actually the number-one cause of vision loss and blindness worldwide. But for something so commonplace, very few people know how they can reduce their risk of developing cataracts.

The human eye is made up of many different parts, one of the parts in the front of the eye is the eye lens. The eye lens is a clear structure found directly behind the pupil; it helps refocus light entering the eye. A cataract causes a person’s lens to become cloudy and opaque, typically due to changes in the lens’ protein structure. This effectively disrupts the way light normally enters the eye, which will affect your vision.

Why does this happen? According to the American Academy of Ophthalmology, there are a few known causes and risk factors, including:

Family …

This May is Healthy Vision Month. Of course, protecting your vision and eye health is important no matter what time of year, but by designating this month to eye health awareness, the National Eye Institute hopes to help Americans of all ages, lifestyles, and backgrounds take control of their health by making the necessary choices to ensure their vision and eyes are in top condition.

5 Things You Can Do to Help Protect Your Eye Health

Prevention of vision loss, blindness, and other symptoms of eye disease starts with you. Here are five simple things you can do that can drastically reduce your risk of complications from eye disease:

Commit to living a healthy lifestyle. What’s good for your body is good for your eyes. So, eat a balanced diet full of essential nutrients, minerals, and vitamins. Drink plenty of water to keep your body and your cells hydrated. Exercise regularly and maintain an ideal weight. If you have underlying health conditions, do what you can to manage these well. Always wear appropriate protective eyewear. Whether at work, in the lab, on the sports field, on the slopes, or doing any other task that poses a potential risk to your eye health, be sure that …

Prevent Blindness has designated April as Women’s Eye Health and Safety Month. The entire month is dedicated to women’s eye health in recognition of the ~3 million American women who suffer from vision impairment or blindness.

Many women neglect their own health needs, focusing instead on the health and wellness of their loved ones. This leaves many women vulnerable to undetected health issues, and as with other health conditions, the earlier an eye problem is detected, the better the chances are for treatment and recovery.

Regular and prophylactic health care is important for earlier detection of all health issues. Because the retina is the only place in the body where vasculature can be seen, non-invasively and because optomap captures 200 degrees of the retina in a single image, more ocular and non-ocular disease can often be detected, earlier. Therefore, we recommend to all eyecare professionals, that their female patients, especially those over age 40, include optomap as part of their comprehensive eye exam.

The following patient story illustrates how powerful optomap images are for patient education and care:

Lynette, 42 years old, came in for a routine eye exam. Her eye doctor, Dr. Anthony Clark, OD, from North Carolina’s …