Lehigh Valley Center For Sight

We all know how important it is to eat right, exercise regularly and get enough sleep. But, it’s also important to see your doctor for an annual checkup. Routine medical visits can help doctors diagnose and treat serious medical conditions. Some serious medical conditions can lead to vision loss, and if they’re detected early enough, your doctor can help manage or treat the condition. Below you’ll find the most common health conditions that can lead to vision loss and risk factors to watch for. Diabetic Retinopathy According to the American Diabetes Association , living with diabetes can put you at risk for developing diabetic retinopathy. This occurs when blood vessels in the retina become swollen or leak when blood sugar levels are too high. In severe cases, new blood vessels can form and create scar tissue which blocks vision. Monitoring your blood sugar and blood pressure levels can help prevent retinopathy. Cataracts If your vision is blurry, you could be suffering from catar...

The other day I just could not work on the computer. My eyes were hurting and I simply could not focus on anything. I had this problem for the last few weeks but just ignored it thinking I was working too hard, but today it was just unbearable. My eyes were red, they were painful and I had blurry vision. The doctor took one look and said I had dry eyes and I needed treatment ASAP. I panicked but then he said that there was no cause of panic and that proper treatment would help me get rid of the problem. So I asked what are dry eyes? It's a condition where the eye is not able to produce enough tears or the tears produced evaporate quickly and cannot lubricate the eyes. For clear vision, the front surface of the eye needs to remain healthy and tears help maintain them. Dry eye is a common problem in adults which can become chronic if not attended to. Symptoms of dry eyes: Symptoms include An itchy or scratchy feeling similar to when something is in your eye There is a bu...

As winter shifts to spring, and flowers, grasses and trees begin to bloom, spring can take a toll on your eyes if you suffer from seasonal allergies. The spring season has a marked increase in pollen and allergens in the air, resulting in symptoms for allergy sufferers. What are allergies? According to the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America , an allergy occurs when the body’s immune system sees a substance as harmful and overreacts to it. The substances that cause allergic reactions are called allergens. When someone has allergies, their immune system responds, resulting in an allergic reaction. What can you do when you are suffering from eye allergies? By making some minor changes to your environment and activities, you can significantly reduce the amount of allergens you come in contact with, and lessen the symptoms you’re experiencing. Stay Inside. Keep your windows in your home and car closed. This will help to keep your surroundings clean during high pollen seasons. You...

It’s no secret, your body goes through some major changes during pregnancy. A lesser known fact is some expecting women experience vision changes pre-and post-partum. How come my vision changed after I had a baby? Approximately 20 percent of women experience this, according to Arian Fartash, OD. “The reason is because a lot of hormone changes go on when you’re pregnant.” Hormones play a significant role in fluid retention so when estrogen levels are elevated, women tend to retain more water than usual. Just as many women will experience swollen feet, your eyes can swell too which could cause vision changes. The fluid retention can change the shape of the cornea which changes the way light passes through the eye, distorting one’s vision. “It starts at the beginning of pregnancy, when your hormones are going all over the place,” said Dr. Fartash. Your vision may return to normal once the hormones level out, but you could also experience the change permanently. Dr. Fartash explains...

Most adults can remember a time from their childhoods where they observed another child wearing a pirate-like eye patch – and not at Halloween. In fact, maybe they were the child wearing the eye patch. Whether the child was the observer or the wearer, the chances are that the eye patch was worn to treat what is colloquially called “lazy eye,” a condition known to medical specialists as amblyopia where one eye is weaker than the other. Amblyopia occurs in about 3 percent of children and has traditionally been treated by “patching,” or covering the stronger eye with a patch in order to encourage the weaker eye to work harder and thus to gain greater eye-brain connection. Though patching is an effective treatment, compliance can be a major issue. And even if children are perfectly compliant, in the process of treating a visual problem, patching may bring with it emotional and social problems; namely,  through self-consciousness a child may feel or bullying the child may receive for we...

Dr. Christopher Brittain, Genentech medical director, discusses his company’s port delivery system, a tiny capsule implanted into the eye, for delivery of Lucentis® over a period of a few months. The device is currently in a Phase 2 clinical trial. The image below shows the port implanted into an eye. https://www.lvcenter4sight.com/arvo-2018-port-delivery-system-designed-to-reduce-burden-of-lucentis-injections-for-wet-amd/

Moms are often the chief medical officers of their households and the first line of defense when it comes to their family’s health. They are on call 24 hours, through every stage of life, and most of it goes unacknowledged because they make it look so easy. To mothers of all kinds, thank you for doing the hardest job in the world. Thank you for working tirelessly to care for others day after day, for never giving up on those who look up to you, and for understanding the powerful connection a mother figure can have in a person’s life. Happy Mother’s Day from all of us at Lehigh Valley Center For Sight. https://www.lvcenter4sight.com/mothers-day-we-see-you-mom/

Dr. Henry Klassen, jCyte co-founder and investigator at UC Irvine, provides an update in the video below on the clinical trials for an RP therapy derived from stem cells.   https://www.lvcenter4sight.com/arvo-2018-dr-henry-klassen-provides-update-on-jcyte-stem-cell-trials/

After presenting a poster on a new mutation in the RP gene KIF3B at the ARVO meeting in Honolulu, FFB-funded geneticist Dr. Stephen Daiger discusses the progress that’s been made in genetic testing for people with inherited retinal conditions.   https://www.lvcenter4sight.com/arvo-2018-dr-stephen-daiger-reports-on-the-state-of-genetic-testing-for-inherited-retinal-diseases/

When you think of the life span of a pair of glasses, there are likely two scenarios that pop into mind. Perhaps your prescription changed or maybe they broke. But say you’re amazing at caring for your glasses and your doctor says you don’t have changes to your vision that require you to get a new prescription, there is still an important aspect of your glasses you should keep up to date—your lenses. Do lens coatings or additions break down over time? “Coatings, just like anything else in the world has wear and tear, and they’re not going to last forever,” said VSP network doctor Nichole Moos, OD. Wait, what’s a coating and why do I need it? Coatings and additions, also known as lens enhancements , are an optional feature for your prescription lenses that are designed to improve your overall experience with your glasses. Not only do they help with glare and providing comfortable vision, they can protect your lenses from visible scratches that reduce your ability to see. They can a...

What You Should Know Before Heading To The Salon. Eyelash extensions are individual lashes, made of a synthetic fiber such as nylon, which a professional aesthetician glues one by one to each of your top lashes. Using long, pointed tweezers, the tech brushes a single synthetic lash in a dab of adhesive. With another pair of tweezers, she separates the natural lashes to isolate just one. Then the synthetic lash is placed on the natural lash, holding it for a few seconds while the glue bonds. The tech repeats the process, one lash at a time, attaching 40 to 100 lashes per eye. The tech will use several lengths of lashes, attaching the longest artificial lashes to your longest natural lashes. The expected outcome is a dramatic, lush look, so some consumers are surprised when faced with side effects they hadn’t bargained for. Recently, the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) has warned of these dangers associated with eyelash extensions: Irritation and redness. Inflammation and s...

FFB’s own Dr. Steve Rose, chief scientific officer, reviews our commitment to funding and exploring CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing for inherited retinal disease in the video below. FFB currently funds CRISPR/Cas9 projects at four institutions: Johns Hopkins University (retinitis pigmentosa caused by the P23H mutation in RHO) Columbia University (RP caused by the D190N mutation in RHO) Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary (RP caused by a mutation in RP1) UCLA (Usher syndrome 1B caused by a mutation in MYO7A) Want to learn more about the benefits of CRISPR/Cas9? Check out: A Cut-and-Paste Approach to Fixing Retinal-Disease Genes   https://www.lvcenter4sight.com/arvo-2018-dr-steve-rose-reports-on-crispr-cas9-for-inherited-retinal-diseases/

Glaucoma is often called the "sneak thief of vision", as it can go unnoticed until it’s too late. It is a leading cause of blindness in people over the age of 60. Glaucoma causes damage to the optic nerve and the condition deteriorates over time. It is caused by fluid buildup in the frontal part of the eye. And the increased fluid in turn increases the pressure in the eye, thereby damaging the optic nerve. The damage can lead to permanent blindness within a few years. Types of Glaucoma: Primary Open Angle Glaucoma: Also called wide angled glaucoma, it is the most common type of Glaucoma. The eye does not drain fluid like it should in this case. As a result of this, pressure in the eye builds up and starts to damage the optic nerve. This type of Glaucoma is painless and doesn’t affect your vision if treated early. Regular eye exams are recommended over the age of 60 to detect the early onset of glaucoma. Angle Closure Glaucoma or Closed Angle Glaucoma : This type of glau...

Audio version: Several research studies have suggested that the Mediterranean diet (MeDi) – which is rich in fruits, vegetables, legumes, cereals, and fish – may be good for your health, including lowering your risk of an early visit from the grim reaper. Known as the EYE-RISK CONSORTIUM , a large international research collaboration found that the MeDi reduced the risk of advanced age-related macular degeneration (AMD) by 39 percent. The researcher’s findings were highlighted in a poster on May 1 at the annual meeting of the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) in Honolulu. AMD is the leading cause of blindness in people over 55 years of age. The condition affects an estimated 150 million people globally. The researchers analyzed food-frequency questionnaires from nearly 5,000 people, who were participants in two previous investigations – the Rotterdam Study , which evaluated disease risk in the elderly, and the ALIENOR Study , which assessed the associatio...