Lehigh Valley Center For Sight

As America’s population ages overall, the number of people with eye conditions and disease will increase. Currently the number of us dealing with vision problems is already staggering. If you’re coping with vision problems, you’re not alone. According to the American Academy of Ophthalmology , Nearly 1.3 million Americans forty and older are legally blind. About 8% of men and 0.5% of women with Northern European ancestry have the most common form of color blindness. The incidence is lower in almost all other populations. Cataracts impact more than 24.4 million Americans age forty and older, almost twice the number of people living in Pennsylvania. About half of all Americans will have cataracts by the time they reach 75. Glaucoma affects more than 2.7 million Americans age forty and older. Each year about 2.4 million eye injuries happen in the US. Use of protective eyewear can prevent 90% of eye injuries. More than a third of all such injuries happen to those 18 to 45 ...

High blood pressure effects eyesight in several ways, it is important to understand how this happens. High blood pressure puts an extra load on the heart and arteries, causing them to work overtime. As the heart pumps harder to push the blood through the arteries, it creates great pressure on the walls of the blood vessels, capillaries, and veins. Constant pressure damages The Retina , causing a condition known as Hypertensive Retinopathy . Among the symptoms are failing eyesight and Blurred Vision caused by swelling of the optic nerve. The problem can also cause spots on the Retina and bleeding in the back of the eye. High blood pressure is known to trigger various other health conditions including Loss of Vision . When high blood pressure effects eyesight it can cause a lot of serious problems. The retina is damaged due to the pressure of the blood leading to swelling of the optic nerve and narrowing of blood vessels. A large percentage of Americans have high blood pressure,...

We’ve discussed the recommendations for screen time and how the harmful blue light gets to our retinas. Now, we can talk about what we can do as parents to reduce the effects of blue light and exposure to our highly sensitive eye structures. If you’re not a parent of a child or teen, the simplest solution is to reduce screen time. As stated before, this is easier said than done. For our teen population, their entire social network is connected via their digital devices. The only reduction I’ve seen successfully carried out is a usage-stop-time. For instance, a “turn-in-time” for phones and tablets at least one hour prior to intended bedtimes. A negative blue-light side effect is the disruption of circadian rhythms, which means that it disturbs our sleep patterns. Teens are already known to have odd sleep patterns, but throw in an internal clock disturbance from excessive blue light exposure and they’re destined for daytime fatigue. If they wear prescription glasses, always be certa...

There are few alive today who have never heard of Helen Keller , who combated not only blindness but also inability to hear. She wasn't born with either of these afflictions; she was as healthy as any other child until she reached 19 months of age. It was then that doctors diagnosed her with what they referred to as congestion of the brain, which some theorize might have been the scarlet fever. Since she was so young when all this happened, she never got the chance to learn how to speak, and so she spent most of her young life unable to communicate properly. This left her unable to fully grasp her surroundings, and she had trouble interacting with others. People with disabilities are often wrongly seen as helpless and weak. Many people think that, since they can't do one or two things that most others can, they must be unable to fend for themselves and live normal lives. “A blind person can't possibly learn to enjoy their life the way everyone else does, can they? Afte...

The first thoughts for most when vitamin C comes up in conversation are oranges and colds, but there are more benefits vitamin C offers for children’s eye health.  What is it? Vitamin C, (ascorbic acid), is an antioxidant found in fruits and vegetables. This powerful micronutrient is used for skin care, reducing cholesterol levels, and yes, strengthening the immune system. But what good does it do kids’ eyes? When taken with other nutrients, vitamin C can help protect kids’ vision from long-term age-related eye health issues.  Many orange-colored fruits  and vegetables are a good source of vitamin C (especially sweet potatoes), which helps the body form and maintain connective eye tissue, but most kids in the U.S. follow a Western diet. This means they’re not getting enough fruits and vegetables containing vitamin C to help protect their vision as they grow. Regardless of age, almost all cells of the body depend on vitamin C, the eye especially. There are concentrations of this vita...

Without healthy retinas you won’t be able to see well. The retina is in the rear of the eye. It has millions of light-sensitive cells (called rods and cones) which, along with other nerve cells, receive and organize visual information. This information is sent to the brain via the optic nerve, and if all goes well, you can see.   There are several diseases and conditions that can impact the retina. Depending on which one you’re dealing with, treatment goals may be to stop or slow the progress of the disease, preserve your current vision, improve or restore your vision. Left untreated some of these diseases can result in severe vision loss or blindness. Risk factors include aging, being diabetic, suffering eye trauma, and a family history of retinal diseases. Some of the symptoms can include, Floaters (visual effects that appear as floating specks, strings or cobwebs), Vision that’s blurred or distorted, Problems with peripheral vision, and, Vision loss. You should set ...

Low vision is the term used to describe significant visual impairment that can’t be corrected fully with glasses, contact lenses, medication or eye surgery.  Low vision causes a person to be unable to accomplish some daily tasks due to sight impairments. Low vision occurs when an individual struggles with any of the following common activities: Reading Everyday tasks like personal grooming Viewing photos Recognizing faces Millions of Americans experience a normal loss of vision as they get older and the number of individuals who develop vision problems due to health conditions is projected to continue to rise. There are many things that can cause low vision, including: A few simple approaches can be: Getting an eye exam Update your reading glasses Use bright light for reading If these do not work for you, ask your eye care professional for help or ask for a referral to a low vision specialist. Low Vision Technology   Individuals with eye disease related to...