Lehigh Valley Center For Sight

It’s said that the “eyes are the windows to the soul.”  If that is true, looking into the eyes of a child, it’s easy to see the beauty and innocence that all of us wish could be more a part of the world they will live in. I’ve also heard that there is a wonder found in those eyes – a curiosity that opens the child’s brain and heart to all of life’s joys and potentials. The thought that those eyes could be threatened through accident or disease is a painful reality that all of us at Discovery are working to prevent through all of our cutting-edge research with your on-going support. All too often I have been present in an ophthalmologist’s office when a caring doctor is forced to tell a family that there is a major problem with their baby’s vision.  Diseases of the retina such as glaucoma, or retinitis pigmentosa, are joined by diseases of the cornea like keratoconus.  It’s even worse when a family has to hear the diagnosis is retinoblastoma – or a cancer of the eye.  In these pers...

Having a Vision Problem isn't the end of the world, but it could potentially signal something much more serious going on behind the scenes. This article talks about common Eyesight Problems that affect people of different ages, but if you have experienced a sudden change in vision, such as sudden onset blurriness, Double Vision , or flashes of blindness, Protects Your Eyesight by contacting your eye doctor immediately. People often experience disturbances or problems with their vision, and the reality is that there are a number of conditions and Eyesight Disorders that can cause these symptoms to appear, and not all of them are even directly related to the eyes. More than half of the people in the world with a vision problem have one of the following: Nearsighted Vision – Officially known as Myopia , nearsightedness is a vision problem that occurs when a person is able to see objects up close but can't focus on them when they are far away. This is common in children,...

When you think of cancer, most of us do not think about the eye or vision. Though rare, cancer can start inside or outside of the eye. If cancer starts inside the eyeball it’s called intraocular and if it starts outside the eye (eyelid or in the eye socket) then it’s called extraocular tumor. It can occur in both children and adults. Most major eye centers have specialists who are trained in the diagnosis and treatment of eye cancers. Here are a few types of cancer in eye: Eye Cancer in Children: The most common cancer seen in the eye of children is retinoblastoma . This occurs in children at very early age so these are the youngest cancer patients. This cancer starts inside the eye and affects the retinal cells. This is a cancer that presents very quietly, the child has no pain, no complaints and plays happily without any problem until one day parents notice that the pupil of the eye has some abnormal ‘White Glow’ (leukocoria) rather than the usual ‘red-eye’ reflection seen in a pho...

Cataracts can not only be prevented, but can even be reversed through nutrition, supplementation and lifestyle changes. Read what folks who’ve tried these methods say about products that help cataracts  and learn about products to support lens health . Cataracts – once considered an inevitability for the elderly and sometimes not-so-elderly, redeemable only by surgery. There’s been quite a bit of interesting new research in the last several years pointing to the alternatives and effects of different modes of living that have an impact. 1. 2008 – An observational 10-year study of more than 35,000 middle-aged U.S. women observed the women’s use of dietary supplements and occurrence of cataracts – further verifying that lutein, zeaxanthin and vitamin E were significantly helpful. 2. 2006 – Two studies show significant reductions in cataracts for those in the highest percentage of vitamin C & bioflavonoids intake. 3. 2007 – Dietary linolenic acid (think flaxseed oil, fish oil) int...

People with vision loss due to retinal disease may be able to use a bionic  system to improve sight in the near future. Pixium Vision is running a feasibility study on is PRIMA System, and they got better-than-expected results. The study is on patients with dry Age-Related Macular Degeneration. Currently, medical science cannot restore vision in those with retinal dystrophies. The PRIMA System may lead to vision restoration for patients with Macular Degeneration, Retinitis Pigmentosa and other retinal diseases. The PRIMA system has two main components: special glasses with a pocket computer, and a tiny microchip implanted in the back of the eye. The eye surgeon inserts the implant behind the retina. This surgery is minimally invasive, and so far, none of the patients have had adverse side-effects. The chip is the size of a speck of dust: only 2 mm x 2 mm x 30 microns in size. The chip is photovoltaic, so it is powered by light itself. It contains 378 electrodes. In the past, implants...

Three time-tested supplements stand out as champions for eye and brain health: garlic, ginseng, and ginkgo. Research on these supplements backs up why they have been used for thousands of years. Garlic plays an important role in all three major traditional medicines–Traditional European Herbal Medicine, Ayurveda, and Traditional Chinese Medicine. Ginseng and ginkgo are crucial herbs in Traditional Chinese Medicine. Do these supplements work? Are they beneficial for aging brains and eyes? What does the research show? Brain and eye health are closely connected. The optic nerve of the eye is actually neural tissue. Heart and cardiovascular health are also closely tied to the brain and eyes. Oxidative stress can damage all three systems. What role could garlic, ginseng, and ginkgo play in counteracting diseases such as dementia, cataracts, macular degeneration, and glaucoma? Diabetic Retinopathy & Diabetic Cataracts Diabetic retinopathy is common in diabetes, often resulting in ret...

Macular degeneration is an age-related condition that can impact the center of your visual field. It’s a condition that can last for years with little impact, but as you age the changes can reach the point where seeing clearly becomes impossible. The macula is the most sensitive part of the retina in the back of the eye. It consists of millions of light-sensing cells creating sharp, central vision. The retina converts light into electrical signals which are sent to the brain through the optic nerve. The brain translates these signals to images. If the macular is damaged, the center of your visual field appears blurry, distorted or dark. Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a leading cause of vision loss for those fifty and older. It damages to the macula and for some it worsens very slowly and vision loss takes a long time. For others the progression is much faster, leading to vision loss. A blurry area near the center of vision is often the first visual symptom of AMD. The a...