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All Vision Alerts
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Eye on the Eyedrops
If you have glaucoma, you probably use eyedrops at least once a day to lower the pressure within your eye. Although using eyedrops may sound simple enough, in reality, it's not always easy to get them in your eye or to remember to take them. This guide offers tips on the best ways to get your eyedrops exactly where they're supposed to be. More...
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Do Antioxidants Prevent Cataracts and Age-Related Macular Degeneration?
It's not just what you take out of your diet that might help your eye health, it's also what you add. New research suggests that foods rich in the antioxidants lutein and zeaxanthin (pronounced loo-tein and zee-uhzan- thin), and vitamins E and C may lower your risk of developing cataracts. Lutein- and zeaxanthin- containing foods also appear to help protect against advanced age-related macular degeneration. Here’s what the research shows More...
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Practical Advice to Help You See Better When You Drive
Do you sometimes have trouble seeing clearly when you drive? The American Academy of Opthalmology recommends that everyone between ages 40 and 65 have an eye exam every two to four years. If you're over age 65, you should see your eye doctor every one to two years, particularly to check for conditions such as cataracts, glaucoma, and age-related macular degeneration. Between check ups, if your vision changes or you have trouble driving at night, let your eye doctor know right away. What else can you do? In this Health Alert, Johns Hopkins provides practical advice to help you see better when you drive … More...
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What Causes Dry Eye?
Do you have dry eye? Dry eye syndrome is a condition in which your eye produces too few tears or poor quality tears. Although it rarely causes blindness, it can affect the quality or sharpness of your vision. Left untreated, dry eye syndrome can make it difficult to read or drive, for instance, producing a significant adverse effect on your quality of life. What causes dry eye? Here’s an explanation, in brief. More...
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Protect Your Eyes With Omega-3s
s there anything you can do to protect your eyes against age-related macular degeneration? The importance of omega-3 fatty acids, found in fatty fish and other foods, in heart disease prevention is well documented. Now research suggests that eating oily fish can help slow or prevent age-related macular degeneration. Read what the experts have found. More...
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Should You Take Avandia for Diabetic Retinopathy?
If you have diabetic retinopathy, what can you do to slow its progression? Of course, tight blood glucose control lessens the risk that retinopathy will get worse. And treating other conditions, such as high blood pressure and abnormal cholesterol levels, may also slow progression. What about Avandia? A reader asks: I’ve heard that the diabetes medication Avandia can slow the progression of diabetic retinopathy. Should everyone with this condition be taking it? More...
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Advance in Glaucoma Diagnosis
An eye examination for glaucoma involves measuring IOP (intraocular pressure – the pressure exerted by the fluids inside the eyeball), viewing the optic nerve, and testing the visual fields. Now a new test may aid in the detection and treatment of glaucoma. More...
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Fight Cataracts With Antioxidants
ataracts can occur at any age, but they are most common later in life. In the United States, 75% of people over age 60 have some sign of cataracts. It is estimated that more than 20 million Americans over age 40 have had a cataract. That number is anticipated to reach about 30 million by the year 2020. Is there anything you can do to avoid cataracts? More...
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Cataract Basics
While there’s currently no effective drug therapy to prevent cataracts from forming, cigarette smoking, certain drugs, eye injuries, sunlight, diabetes, and even obesity can increase your risk. More...
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Living Better With Poor Vision
Taking a brisk walk is tough to do when you can’t see well. Still, some people with limited vision clip along quite well, and researchers at Johns Hopkins are trying to understand why some with poor vision fare better than others and which of their lessons can be passed along. More...
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How Floaters and Flashers May Signal a Detached Retina
From time to time nearly everyone experiences floaters -- small dots, lines, clouds, or 'cobwebs' across the visual field. This phenomenon is caused by shadows cast on the retina by microscopic structures within the vitreous humor (a thick, gel-like substance that fills the back of the eyeball behind the lens). In most cases, flashes and floaters are harmless, but they may they indicate that the retina (the innermost layer of the eye that consists of light-sensitive nerve tissue) is tearing or in danger of detaching from the underlying layers of the eyeball. Detached retina may be a medical emergency that can result in blindness. More...
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Steps to Help You Avoid Medication Mistakes
When you consider how many different medications many of us take every day, it's not surprising that mistakes happen. According to a report from the Institute of Medicine, some 1.5 million preventable adverse drug events occur in the United States every year. As dire as this sounds, there is much you can do to avoid medication errors. Here are some tips from Johns Hopkins. More...
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Coping With Dry Eye
If you're one of the approximately five million Americans who suffers with dry eye syndrome, you know if can affect everything you do – even driving. Now a report in the American Journal of Ophthalmology takes a closer look at this troublesome, but often overlooked condition. More...
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Are You an Eyedrop Dropout?
On your daily list of things to do, seeing your eye doctor and taking your glaucoma medicine might not be a high priority, especially if you're not experiencing any symptoms. According to several recent studies, many people who have just learned they have glaucoma or who are suspected of having it fail to keep up with recommended guidelines for follow-up appointments and treatment. More...
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The Causes of Double Vision and What You Can Do About It
Double vision, or diplopia, is not the same as blurry vision. People who have double vision see two distinct clear images of a single object, rather than one blurred image. Seeing double can interfere with even the simplest of activities and make complicated tasks impossible. In this Health Alert, Johns Hopkins Professor Susan B. Bressler, M.D. discusses the causes and treatment options of double vision. More...
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Cataract Surgery and Macular Degeneration
Cataract surgery is the most commonly performed surgical procedure in the United States. More than 1.5 million cataract operations are performed each year. In this Health Alert Johns Hopkins answers the question: Will cataract surgery worsen my age-related macular degeneration?
A cataract is an opacification (cloudiness) of the eye's normally clear crystalline lens. Derived from the Latin word meaning waterfall, the term 'cataract' arose from the ancient misconception that evil liquids flowing into the eye were… More...
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7 Tips To Help You Cope With Vision Loss
Dealing with vision loss is challenging. For people with glaucoma, macular degeneration, or another vision problem, low-vision aids can help optimize remaining vision and improve the ability to perform daily activities.
Some examples of low-vision aids are telescopes, closed-circuit televisions (a small television camera is mounted on a movable tray; documents or other objects are moved under the camera and viewed on a small monitor), magnifying glasses, clocks and phones with large numbers, and large-print… More...
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How Do You Know When It's Time For Cataract Surgery?
Cataracts form painlessly. The most common cataract symptom is cloudy or blurry vision. Everything becomes dimmer, as if seen through glasses that need cleaning. Surgery is the only way to cure cataracts, but surgery is not always necessary. Some people can improve their vision with lifestyle changes. In this Health Alert, Johns Hopkins answers the question, 'How can you tell it's time to undergo cataract surgery?' … More...
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Need Reading Glasses? Perhaps You Should You Try Multifocal Contact Lenses.
If you've reached your mid-40s or beyond, you're likely to experience difficulty focusing on tasks at a close distance such as reading fine print. More likely than not, you need 'reading' glasses. The problem is particularly exasperating if you already use glasses or contact lenses to correct your distance vision. If you don't want to wear bifocal spectacles or reading glasses on top of your contact lenses or to have separate prescriptions for distance and… More...
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Low Vision Patient Resources
Do you have trouble reading the newspaper even with your glasses on? Do you often bump into things? Do you have trouble moving about at night? When you pay with cash, is it hard to read the denomination on the bill? If you answered 'yes' to any of these questions, you may have low vision. Here's advice you can use. … More...
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LASIK Surgery Safe and Effective, Even at Middle Age and Beyond
Considering LASIK eye surgery? The good news is that middle-aged patients in their 60s respond well to this popular vision correction surgery. Here's what the experts report.
Laser eye surgery is not just for the young. It can also help people in their 40s, 50s, and 60s who have presbyopia (an inability to focus on near objects), according to a recent study reported in the journal Ophthalmology (Volume 114, page 1303 ). … More...
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Soothing Dry Eye
Blink! Feel better? Every time you blink, you refresh the layer of tears that covers and protects your eyes from irritants and infection. If your body fails to produce enough tears or produces less-than-perfect tears, your eyes can burn and feel itchy, gritty, or irritated -- like you have an eyelash or dust in your eye. This condition is called dry eye and affects millions of Americans. … More...
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Treating Women With Glaucoma
Are you receiving optimal treatment for your glaucoma or other eye condition? A study in Ophthalmology shows that often women and younger people are less likely to get glaucoma treatment than men.
Most forms of glaucoma are chronic conditions that cannot be cured. Open-angle glaucoma can often be treated safely and effectively with medication or surgery, but lifelong use of medication is almost always necessary. Decisions on when to start treatment are based on the amount… More...
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Diabetes and Cataract Surgery
For people with diabetes, cataract surgery poses serious risks, as a recent British study explains.
Surgery for cataracts involves removing all or part of the lens and replacing it with an intraocular lens implant (IOL). Cataract removal is the most frequently performed surgery in people over age 65 and is considered by many doctors to be the most effective surgical procedure in all of medicine. If the eye is normal except for the cataract, surgery will… More...
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Reeling in Fatty Fish for the Eyes
The importance of omega-3 fatty acids, found in fatty fish and other foods, in heart disease prevention is well documented. Now new research suggests that eating oily fish can help slow or prevent age-related macular degeneration. Read what the experts have found.
The causes of both non-neovascular (also known as nonexudative, atrophic, or dry) and neovascular (also called exudative or wet) age-related macular degeneration are unknown, although there are known risk factors for both forms of… More...
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How Common Diseases Affect The Eyes
The eye is a made up of numerous parts that work together to make vision possible. Here is a brief introduction to the anatomy of the eye and an explanation of four common eye diseases that afflict many of us.
How does the eye work? When you look at something, you are able to see it because the surface of the object reflects light rays. These rays pass sequentially through the cornea, the pupil, and the… More...
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Experimental Treatments for Age-Related Macular Degeneration
Scientists look to human stem cells to enable the retina to repair itself.
Several new treatments that may help prevent vision loss in people with age-related macular degeneration are under investigation. Besides continuing development of treatments to prevent new blood vessel growth as well as leakage from blood vessels in the eye, researchers are also studying drugs known as angiostatic corticosteroids (such as anecortave acetate, tramcinolone, and flucinolone), sometimes in conjunction with other treatments such… More...
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Cornea Thickness and Glaucoma
Are you at risk for glaucoma? Hopkins specialists explain this common eye condition and report research that links cornea thickness with severity of the glaucoma.
Glaucoma occurs when the clear liquid in the front of the eye, called the aqueous humor, places enough pressure on the optic nerve to damage it. Often this damage is caused by elevated pressure within the eye, but in some cases normal pressure damages the nerve. … More...
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Silencing Genes To Halt Age-Related Macular Degeneration
Can interfering with RNA shut down the macular degeneration process?
Imagine that age-related macular degeneration had an off switch. In fact, researchers may have found one for the most severe stage of age-related macular degeneration, by shutting down the genes that control vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). This molecule plays an important role in the abnormality known as wet (neovascular) age-related macular degeneration, in which new blood vessels grow under the retina. … More...
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Is Poor Eyesight Slowing You Down?
Johns Hopkins researchers find that some people with poor vision can compensate for their poor eyesight by creating a mental map of their environment.
Taking a brisk walk is tough to do when you can’t see well. Still, some people with limited vision clip along quite well, and researchers at Johns Hopkins are trying to understand why some with poor vision fare better than others and which of their lessons can be passed along. … More...
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Preventing Corneal Abrasions
Fortunately, most abrasions -- painful as they may be -- leave vision intact. But it’s important to seek medical attention as soon as an abrasion occurs.
Although no one knows just how many corneal abrasions occur, abrasions are among the most common of eye injuries. You may not know exactly how an abrasion happened. But you will feel it. Human beings are equipped to react quickly when the eye is threatened. The epithelium, the outermost of… More...
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Statins and Cataract Risk
Can certain medications reduce cataract risk? The answer is “yes,” according to researchers at the University of Wisconsin. Cataracts form painlessly. The most common symptom of a cataract is cloudy or blurry vision. Everything becomes dimmer, as if seen through glasses that need cleaning. Most often, both eyes are affected with cataracts, though vision is usually worse in one eye than in the other. More...
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Research on Age-Related Macular Degeneration
Diets High in Simple Carbs May Boost Risk of Age-Related Macular Degeneration
Passing on the fries may do more than manage your waistline: Such restraint may also protect your eyes. In a study at Tufts University reported in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (Volume 83, page 880), researchers examined the eyes of 526 women between ages 53 and 73. They also examined 10 years’ worth of data about the women's diets, collected as part of… More...
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Food for the Eyes
Johns Hopkins doctors discuss the role that nutrients, such as lutein, beta carotene, zinc, and omega-3 fatty acids play in slowing the progression of age-related macular degeneration.
That tempting grilled fish and spinach salad may come with a side of eye protection. Last year, the National Eye Institute (NEI) began to enroll 4,000 people with varying levels of age-related macular degeneration in a five-year study that will test whether two nutrients in green leafy vegetables and… More...
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Dry Eye Research Update
Autologous serum eye drops – promising therapy for dry eye
Autologous serum eye drops, which are derived from a person’s own blood, are gaining ground as a potential treatment for severe dry eye disease that doesn’t respond to conventional treatment. Japanese researchers divided a group of 20 people with severe dry eye disease into two subsets. One group of dry eye patients used only preservative-free artificial tears and the second group of dry eye patients… More...
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Remedies for Red Eye
Do your eyes turn red and itchy every spring and summer? It could be allergic conjunctivitis – a treatable, but uncomfortable allergy condition.
Allergic conjunctivitis is a common cause of red, itchy eyes. Although allergies are best known for causing nasal symptoms, they also can be irritating to the eyes. In allergic conjunctivitis, the affected part of the eye is the conjunctiva, the thin, elastic tissue that covers the white of the eye and lines the… More...
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Primer on Cataracts
While there’s currently no effective drug therapy to prevent cataracts from forming, cigarette smoking, certain drugs, eye injuries, sunlight, diabetes, and even obesity can increase your risk.
If you’re in your forties or fifties, you probably know someone who has cataracts. That’s because while cataracts can occur at any age (in fact, babies can be born with them), they are most common later in life. About 50% of people age 65 -74 and 70% of… More...
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Macular Degeneration Drug Update
Dr. Susan Bressler talks about two new medications for age-related macular degeneration – Avastin and Lucentis.
Q. I’ve heard that new medications to treat wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD) are available. Are these new medications better than current treatments?
A. Two new medications—Avastin (bevacizumab) and Lucentis (ranibizumab) -- are now in use to treat macular degeneration. These new macular degeneration treatments are exciting because they offer the opportunity to slow vision loss and may restore vision,… More...
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Herbs and Your Eyes
Are you taking herbs or nutritional supplements for your eye health? If so, it’s important to be aware of the potential for side effects. Late last year, a study that included case reports submitted to the National Registry of Drug-Induced Ocular Side Effects highlighted several adverse ocular effects linked to the use of certain herbs and nutritional supplements. … More...
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Seeing Double? See a Doctor
Johns Hopkins Professor Susan B. Bressler, M.D. discusses the causes and treatment options of double vision.
Double vision, or diplopia, is not the same as blurry vision. People who have double vision see two distinct clear images of a single object, rather than one blurred image. Seeing double can interfere with even the simplest of activities and make complicated tasks impossible. There are many reasons you might have double vision and treatments are readily available once… More...
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Diagnosing Cataract Disease
Is your vision blurry, especially at night or in very bright light? It could be an early symptom of cataracts.
A cataract is a clouding of the lens of the eye that interferes with clear vision. Unlike a healthy, transparent lens, which focuses light rays precisely onto the retina, a lens clouded by a cataract loses its ability to focus light rays. The light that reaches the retina is scattered and diffuse, causing blurry vision. The… More...
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Coping With Prescription Drug Costs
If you’re feeling pinched by the high cost of your prescription medications, this advice can help.
Despite consumer complaints and government hearings, skyrocketing prescription drug prices show no sign of slowing down. According to an AARP policy report released last spring, the rate of general inflation was 2.3% during the 12-month period of September 2003 to September 2004. But during that same year, drug companies’ prices for the 197 brand-name prescription drugs most commonly used… More...
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Could Medication Be Causing Your Vision Problems?
Many popular drugs can cause side effects, such as blurred vision, light sensitivity, or excessive tearing. Here are six common culprits.
Vision problems can be an unwanted side effect of many different medications. Most of these drugs will cause only temporary visual disturbances -- such as blurred or double vision, dry eyes, excessive tearing, puffy eyelids, sensitivity to light, seeing a yellow or blue tinge, or a change in eye color -- that disappear with time… More...
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Catching Diabetic Retinopathy in Time
Because significant retinopathy may be present at the time of diagnosis in people with type 2 diabetes, an eye examination by an ophthalmologist is advised at that time and annually thereafter.
Researchers estimate that more than 40% of middle-aged and older Americans with diabetes have the potentially vision-threatening eye complication retinopathy—damage to small blood vessels in the eye due to high blood glucose levels. More...
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