Practice your "inner bat" (18)

This is amazing, and its good to know that there is still hope should we ever lose our eyesight...
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-22805748

Use your 'inner bat' to navigate

Bats are known for using sound to navigate successfully, and new research suggests we could all use our 'inner bat' to get around.

BBC.CO.UK

If you want to get accurate, regularly updated, evidence-based information from the people who treat patients with eye problems on a daily basis, this is the blog to visit again and again. (16)

Here you will find ONLY evidence-based treatments for your eyes and vision so they last your lifetime; no hearsay, no myth, just PROVEN facts. (15)

This blog is written and maintained by the Eye Care and Vision department of The St. Albans Medical Centre, St. Albans, UK.


Its purpose is to introduce us to new customers and to point you in the direction of the best ways to care for your eyes and vision.


There's so much myth and hearsay on the internet, which just misleads and wastes people's time and money.


We post here only proven information, with references to the supporting evidence; if it's not proven fact, we don't put it in - so i) most of what we write here is short and clear and ii) you can rely on what you read here when choosing how to care for your eyes and vision.


Your vision is arguably your most important asset. Most people would prefer to lose anything rather than lose their eyesight. We are living longer, so it is important to do the things that we know prolong the life of our eyes and our vision - proven facts that you may not yet know.
This is the stuff we teach our patients every day - we want you to benefit too!


ENTER YOUR NAME AND EMAIL ADDRESS above for our regular FREE posts and emails, with all the authoritative supporting evidence, each time we present a reliable proven fact concerning how to care for your eyes and vision. Stay informed - you owe it to your eyes, to your yourself, and to your family.

What is this disease called AMD ? (12)

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) damages the central part of the retina, known as the macula. Here's a cross-section of the eye (the eye cut through from front to back):

Viewed through the front of the eye, the normal macula looks like this:

 The most common form of AMD is called "dry" AMD, It simply consists of tiny pale yellow spots in the macular area, and it looks like this:

The "dry" situation can persist, usually gradually worsening, over many many years; during this time the person may see normally or may notice a very gradual reduction in their central vision (the part needed for detailed activities such as reading, or recognising faces). But in a minority of cases it can quite suddenly convert to "wet" AMD, where blood vessels grow under the macular area, which looks like this:

 In this wet situation, the person usually notices sudden onset of distortion in their central vision, followed after some hours/days by complete loss of central vision - so suddenly they can't see to read or recognise faces. Because the wet form is heralded by distortion in the vision, people with dry AMD are often warned to come back to their eye doctor within 24 hours if they notice any  distorted vision, for example kinks in their view of door frames/window frames etc.

So the above illustrates that in both dry and wet forms of the disease, you lose your central vision, the bit you need for accurate detailed seeing; in the dry form it happens over many years, whereas in the wet form it happens over hours/days.

How to control your blepharitis (3)

In the previous posts (below) we've talked about Blepharitis being very common, indeed that most people have at least some blepharitis; and how, although it is initially relatively symptom-free, if untreated for years it can cause really serious eye disease and eventually loss of vision. We're all living much longer these days, so we need to think ahead and keep ourselves as healthy as possible so we don't spend our latter years with vision problems that could have been prevented by simple health care.

People who have a tendency to develop blepharitis will have that tendency for many years or all of their life. Cure is not possible, but complete control is absolutely possible and is important. 

Regular treatment is necessary - the inflammation tends to recur if you don't maintain this. 

Regular eyelid hygiene

This is a simple routine that consists of three parts - warmth, massage and cleaning.

1. Warmth

The purpose of warmth is to melt the oily secretions made by the eyelid's oil glands, to allow the oil to flow more freely and thereby unplug any glands blocked by that oil. Warmth applied to the eyelids for five to ten minutes is sufficient to do this.

The traditional method is to press on the eyelids gently with a flannel (facecloth) soaked in very warm water for 5-10 minutes. If the flannel cools, keep re-warming it in the warm water.

A popular alternative is to use a proprietary reusable heat pad which you place over your eyes for about five minutes. The heat pad can be more convenient than wet flannels, for example at work; they also retain their heat for longer so you can simply lie down and relax for five to ten minutes with the bag placed over your eyes. According to our patients, one of these pad types is particularly good - very convenient (you can use them wherever you are even if you don't have access to a microwave or electrical power) and the most hygienic available - click HERE to buy these quite cheaply through Amazon, or telephone (UK) 01727 812925 to buy them even more cheaply if you are local to, and can collect from, the St Albans Eye and Vision Clinic. Since these have been available, over the last few years, they have really improved the treatment results achieved by our patients.

2. Massage

Immediately after applying the warmth, massage very gently downwards on the upper eyelid, and upwards on the lower eyelid, to encourage the oily secretions toward the lid margins and out of the glands.

3. Clean

After warmth and massage, clean the eyelid margins to remove the oil and any scales or crusts. This can be done by either of the following ways, and different methods suit different people:

• Diluted baby shampoo (ten drops in a small cup of warm water) or sodium bicarbonate (a teaspoonful in a cup of warm water); use either of these on a cotton bud to clean off any crusts at the base of the eyelashes, followed by rinsing the eyelids in clean water. A flannel can be used instead of the cotton bud.
• Proprietary eyelid scrubs that you can buy; our patients have tried several of these, and one of the best can be purchased cheaply HERE. We'll keep searching for the lowest prices for these products, so you'll always get best value here.

If you've used a dry heat bag for the warmth stage, your eyelids won't have had the soaking effect of hot water, so you need to spend longer soaking crusts and scales and removing them from the lid margins, especially from between the eyelash bases. If you've used a moist heat bag, or hot wet flannels, then the crusts and scales should be already soft and ready to remove. The blepharitis is generated underneath these crust and scales, so whatever method you use, it's important to get all the crusts and scales off.

You should do the above routine - warmth, massage, clean - at least twice per day until symptoms settle. When the symptoms have eased, keep doing this routine at least three times per week to maintain control of your tendency to blepharitis. If you are prone to blepharitis it is best to think of this as part of your daily routine - just like brushing your teeth. Blepharitis tends to fluctuate and there will be times when it is a bit worse despite the treatment; overall, however, regular treatment will minimise symptoms and long-term complications.

Artificial tear drops

Blepharitis is often associated with dry eyes, so artificial tears/lubricants may help ease symptoms. Different preparations suit different people, so simply try one after the other until you find the one that suits you best.

Antibiotic and/or Steroid treatments

Antibiotic or steroid eye ointment or tablets are usually unnecessary, but may be prescribed for blepharitis unresponsive to the above treatment, or for cases where at the outset the examination suggests that bacteria are a large part of the cause.