FOCUS ARTICLES
October to December 2011
Color Vision Testing: Help Make Your Child's Future Bright
Is a visit to the optometrist on your list? A comprehensive eye examination for children is one of the most important "things to do" and yet that is often overlooked. Without an eye exam, many children may have vision problems that remain undiagnosed, and may even be misdiagnosed as a learning disorder. Color deficiency may be one of those vision problems.
Color blindness (or more accurately, color deficiency) is the inability to see certain colors in the usual way, such as blue and yellow or red and green. It is an inherited condition that affects males more frequently than females. An estimated 8 percent of males and less than 1 percent of females have color vision problems. Red-green color deficiency is the most common form of color deficiency. A simple color vision test is all it takes to help determine whether your child has normal color vision or not.
So does your child have difficulty telling if colors are blue and yellow, or red and green? Do you sometimes inform your child that the color you think they are seeing is wrong? If so, these are primary signs that your child may have color vision deficiency.
Why do you want to know if your child's color vision is normal?
Well this will be specifically helpful when choosing your child's career in the future. Some professions such as seaman, pilot, graphic designer, interior designer, medical technologist, teacher and nurse require normal color vision. By knowing as early as possible if your child has normal color vision or not, you are in a better position to guide your child in choosing their most appropriate career in the future. The last thing you would want to happen is your child finishing off his/her course, in say to become an airline pilot, only to find out during their final medical checkup prior to employment that they are not fit for the job.
Finally, although there is no cure for color blindness, your eye care practitioner or optometrist, will be able to advise you as to how to adapt to color vision deficiencies without too much trouble by adapting strategies that help one function better in a color-oriented world. For example, advising you to organize and label your clothing to avoid color clashes.
So ask for your children to undergo a color vision screening examination with us today and help MAKE their FUTURE BRIGHT!
Eye on Your Diet
Christmas is just around the corner once again and to most of us it means visiting friends and family. It also means eating more than we normally do. While it's generally not good for any of us to overindulge during this season, remember that your diet can also affect your eyes.
The following tips to help people enjoy a healthful holiday season:
- Follow a regular exercise routine to help regulate metabolism.
- Eat something at home before you go to the event or party. Grab a piece of fruit on the way out to the party to tide you over.
- Enjoy those special holiday foods in moderation. Pass on the everyday foods like crackers and dip. Instead, take small portions of special holiday items.
- At parties and other social events, gravitate toward the veggies and fresh fruits.
- Make water your beverage of choice. If you do choose to drink alcohol, be sure to have something to eat along with it.
Happy holidays!
Eye Watch: Diabetic Retinopathy
Diabetes occurs either because of lack of insulin or due to the presence of factors that oppose the action of insulin. The end result is an increase in blood glucose concentration. As a result, the blood vessels develop abnormally causing it to leak.
People with diabetes, thus pose a greater risk of developing the following eye complications:
- The risk of blindness is about 25 times greater in diabetics than in non-diabetics due to diabetic retinopathy that involves changes in the retina.
- Cataract – people with diabetes are more likely to develop cataract.
- Glaucoma – people who have diabetes also have the greater risk of getting glaucoma. Pressure builds up inside the eye.
Consequently people with diabetes must:
- Remember to monitor their blood glucose level regularly.
- Remain positive. Remember that you control your diabetes; it doesn't control you.
- Make sure to have their eyes thoroughly examined including undergoing glaucoma screening preferably once every 6 months.
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| Normal Eye | Eye with Diabetic Retinopathy |
Eye See! Eye Myths & Trivia
We have all been told by someone at some time, "You'll hurt your eyes if you do that!" But do you really know what is or is not good for your eyes? Test yourself with the following statements and see how much you know about your eyes:
Myth: "Wearing eyeglasses will cause you to become dependent on them."
Fact: Eyeglasses are used to correct blurry vision. Since clear vision with eyeglasses is preferable to uncorrected vision, you may find that you want to wear your eyeglasses more often. Although it may feel as if you are becoming dependent on your eyeglasses, you are actually just getting used to seeing clearly.
Myth: "Sitting too close to the TV is bad for the eyes."
Fact:Although parents have been saying this ever since TVs first found their way into our homes, there's no evidence that plunking down right in front of the TV set damages someone's eyes. Kids can actually focus up close without eyestrain better than adults, so they often develop the habit of sitting right in front of the television or holding reading material close to their eyes. However, sitting close to a TV may be a sign of nearsightedness.
Myth: "Wearing glasses too much will make the eyes "worse."
Fact: Refractive errors (nearsightedness, farsightedness, or astigmatism) changes as children get older. Many variables come into play, but most of this change is likely due to genetics and continues despite wearing glasses earlier or later or more or less. Wearing glasses does not make the eyes get worse.
Myth: "Computer use can damage the eyes."
Fact:Computer use won't harm the eyes. However, when using a computer for long periods of time, the eyes blink less than normal. This makes the eyes dry, which may lead to a feeling of eyestrain or fatigue. So encourage your kids to take frequent breaks from Internet surfing or video games.
