Girls Self-esteem Improves with Contact Lenses

Findings from a three-year study conclude that overall self-esteem is improved in young girls when they wear contact lenses rather than eyeglasses.
The study was conducted at five clinical centers in the U.S. between September 2003 and October 2007. A total of 484 nearsighted children between the ages of eight and 11 – 59 percent female and 41 percent male – were assigned randomly to either wear glasses or contact lenses for the duration of the study.
The study uniquely combined optometry with psychology to demonstrate the benefits of contact lenses beyond their ability to improve vision.
“Girls are particularly vulnerable to social and psychological distress during the transitional years of early and middle adolescence and this data suggests that for girls, in particular, a switch from glasses to contact lenses may result in an improvement in self perception,” said Mitchell J. Prinstein, Ph.D., Professor and Director of Clinical Psychology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a co-author of the Adolescent and Child Health Initiative to Encourage Vision Empowerment (ACHIEVE) Study. “This study demonstrates than an intervention as simple as switching youths’ glasses to contact lenses can help boost girls’ sense of self-worth and self-efficacy during this stage of their development,” Dr. Prinstein said.
Because researchers expected that a unique vulnerability might be present among the female participants, the results were examined based on gender.
“Contact lenses significantly improve how children feel about their physical appearance, acceptance among friends, and ability to play sports. Contact lenses even make children more confident about their academic performance if they initially dislike wearing glasses,” said Jeffrey J. Walline, O.D., Ph.D., and leader of the ACHIEVE study.
Parents and eye care practitioners should be aware of all of the benefits of contact lenses when determining what is the most suitable means of vision correction for their young patients.

Determining if your contact lens is inside out

This short instructional video demonstrates the difference between a contact lens that is inside out versus right side up. Check it out!

Can Video Games Improve Vision?

A research study performed by a team from the University of Rochester has found that playing action video games can improve aspects of vision in adults.
Contrast sensitivity, which is often impacted by ageing and by conditions such as lazy eye, can be improved by playing action video games, the study found. Improvements to contrast sensitivity generally require changing eye optics through surgery or with the use of prescription eyeglasses or contact lenses.
The research compared “expert” video game players who played games involving shooting at virtual targets with players who played non-action video games. Those who played the action games had better contrast sensitivity, according to the research.
The visual improvements that were noticed in the study’s participants were sustained over the course of months and years, seemingly refuting the long-held belief that time spent in front of a television or computer screen is harmful for one’s vision.
Dr. Daphne Bavelier, who was the lead researcher on the study, said that she believes several facets of video games contributed to the results. While playing action-filled video games, players are required to be constantly ready to react to unpredictable events and players must respond instantly to visual information. Dr. Bavelier is hopeful that further research could lead to new, more efficient ways of treating lazy eye. By using video games, both eyes can be encouraged to work together to restore the vision that is lacking in people who have lazy eye.

Protect Your Children's Eyes!

A recent survey of 2,000 adults found that 82 percent of parents ensure that their children wear sunscreen to protect their skin from the sun and its damaging UV rays, but only 32 percent make them wear sunglasses to protect their eyes.
Children have larger pupils than adults and tend to spend more time outdoors; as a result, they can be exposed to as much as three times as much ultraviolet radiation.
Outdoor activity and sunshine are beneficial to children, but it is important to be well informed about the risks to ensure the health and safety of the child.

Buying the Best Sunglasses

• Be sure that any glasses you purchase have a UV-protection sticker, and it is best if they also have the American Optometric Association's Seal of Acceptance. These stickers indicate that the glasses block 99 to 100 percent of harmful UV radiation.
• Buy real sunglasses to provide real protection. Toy sunglasses aren't effective enough.
• Sunglasses should block 75 to 90 percent of light. Lenses should be dark enough that you cannot see your child's eyes through the lens.
• Gray-colored lenses are best as they absorb all colors evenly and allow the wearer to continue to see in natural color.
• The glasses should be large enough or have a wrap-around style that helps to block rays that might enter the eye from the side.

Contact Lens Care

Check this out:
Instructional video from the FDA on how to properly care for your contact lenses.

The Costs of the Aging Eye

Visual disorders that affect Americans older than 40 cost the United States economy an estimated $35.4 billion a year, according to a report in the Archives of Ophthalmology journal. The breakdown of those costs indicates an estimated $16.2 billion in direct medical costs; $11.1 billion in other direct costs; and $8 billion in productivity losses.
One of the most cost-effective ways of dealing with eye disorders is to get proper treatment and to have regular eye exams to catch problems before they become serious or untreatable.
Entrepreneur.com claims that every seven seconds a baby boomer turns 50 years old, making people over 50 a segment of the population that is expected to grow by 25 percent over the next 10 years.
Presbyopia is an age-related vision change that causes an individual, generally older than 40 years, to lose the ability to see objects at a close distance. Common symptoms of presbyopia include holding a book or newspaper at arms length in order to read it properly and feeling eyestrain or headaches when doing close work such as sewing.
Presbyopia can easily be controlled with corrective lenses, either eyeglasses or contact lenses, or through corrective surgery. Presbyopia is caused by a change in the ability of the lens of the eye to change its shape and focus on objects that are nearby.
Contact lenses are an excellent option for people with presbyopia. Multifocal contact lenses are prescribed commonly. Multifocal lenses have a range of powers in each lens.
Multifocal lenses work differently depending on their design. With alternating vision lenses, the eye alternates between powers as gaze shifts direction. With simultaneous vision lenses, the eye looks through both distance and near powers simultaneously.
If you are experiencing difficulty focusing or having any other vision issues, please contact your eye care practitioner and schedule an exam. Contact Lens King is both aware of and prepared for the increase in cases of presbyopia. It has a vast stock of numerous types of multifocal contact lenses in all standard parameters. To order lenses and receive free shipping, or to learn more about presbyopia or other eye problems, visit Contact Lens King today.

Eat Well for Better Vision

New research indicates that certain nutrients may be crucial in lowering the risk for developing macular degeneration, which is the leading cause of blindness in Americans older than 55.
Although the risk of eye problems increases as one ages, studies suggest that eating the right foods may lower the risk.
In a study that examined data from 4,000 participants, it was found that those who ate foods rich in vitamins C, E, omega-3 fatty acids, and the antioxidants lutein and zeaxanthin had lower risks.
Results from other studies published in the journal Archives of Ophthalmology found that omega-3 fatty acids can protect against macular degeneration; those who ate one serving of fish a week had a 31% lower risk; two servings of nuts reduced risk by 35%. Risks were lowered by 52% for those who included the highest amounts of olive oil into their diets.

Healthy Habits:

• Eat leafy greens such as kale, spinach, turnip greens and collard greens. These foods are filled with lutein and zeaxanthin, antioxidants shown to help protect against macular degeneration.

• Eat omega-3s! Foods that contain omega-3 fatty acids are known to be healthy for the heart, brain and for vision. Anchovies, mackeral and wild-caught Alaska salmon are rich in omega-3s. If you can't bring yourself to eat fish, a fish-oil or omega-3 supplement will help.

• Studies have found that exercise is good for the eyes. Researchers noted that men who ran more than 2 1/2 miles every day reduced their risk for age-related macular degeneration by up to 54%.

Check out article here.

Protecting Your Eyes From Ultraviolet Radiation

Ultraviolet rays are invisible light rays from the sun that carry more energy than visible light. This invisible radiation is also produced from tungsten lamps, welding arcs, and certain fluorescent lights. Ultraviolet radiation (UVR) can damage a person’s eyes and skin.
Sunlight and UVR can reach the eye by direct viewing, scattering from the sky, or reflection from objects such as the ground. Direct sunlight is not a major ocular health concern because not many people stare directly into the sun. The eyebrow also helps shade the eye when a person is facing the sun. Reflected light is more crucial to eye health. Fresh snow reflects as much as 85 percent of UV rays. Other reflective surfaces such as sand and water can be dangerous; the reflected rays can reach the eye even when a hat is worn.
UV radiation is divided into three categories: UVA, UVB, or UVC. UVC rays are almost entirely absorbed by the Earth’s atmosphere. The cornea and the lens of the eye absorb UVB rays. These rays do not penetrate the retina in the back of the eye, but can alter the eye’s lens and cause cataracts if the eye is not adequately protected. UVA radiation has lower amounts of energy than UVB rays, but is capable of penetrating deeper into the eye and damaging the retina, which can lead to macular degeneration and blindness.
According to the World Health Organization, 80 percent of UVR exposure occurs by the time a person reaches 18. Children have larger pupils and tend to spend more time outdoors than adults, which can lead to as much as three times more UVR exposure annually.
According to research conducted at the University of New South Wales, ocular changes can begin in children as young as 9, and 80 percent of Australian children had signs of eye damage by the time they reached age 15. One Australian school district mandated sunglass use in elementary-aged students. However, 65 percent of elementary schools in the United States prohibit sunglasses.
The UV Index, developed by the National Weather Service, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Centers for Disease Control, estimates the amount of UVR that will reach the Earth in a certain location. High-risk periods are between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. and at noon UVR can be 10 times higher than three hours earlier or later.
The Earth’s ozone acts as a shield against UVR, which can cause sunburn, skin cancer, keratitis and cataracts. Over the next 10 to 20 years, scientists predict the ozone may be depleted by as much as 20 percent. Holes in the ozone layer have already been located at both poles. Research conducted at the University of Houston College of Optometry has found radiation levels are unhealthy 90 percent of the time during the summer in the southern United States.
Effects of UVR
The effects of UV exposure on eye health are cumulative and symptoms can be delayed for years, and in some cases decades, making it more difficult to promote the need for protection.
In addition to the increased risk of cataracts and macular degeneration, overexposure to UV rays can also lead to pterygium, an abnormal growth on the conjunctiva that can eventually spread onto the cornea and require surgery. Pterygium is the most prevalent UV-related disease of the conjunctiva. Researchers estimate that pterygium affects more than 10 percent of the population in the southern United States and around 20 percent of central Mexico’s population. Skin cancer around the eye and photokeratitis, a painful sunburn of the cornea, can also result from overexposure to harmful UV rays.
Protecting the eyes
One of the most critical components of protection is education. In a 2005 Brand Health Monitor Report, eight out of 10 eye care patients said they wanted to know more about the impact of UV radiation.
All lenses can be manufactured with UV protection, including prescription eyeglasses, safety and sport goggles, and contact lenses.
The optimal protection against UVR is the combination of sunglasses, a wide-brimmed hat and, for those who use vision correction, UV-blocking contact lenses. The average contact lens blocks 10 percent of UVA rays and 30 percent of UVB rays. Lenses which meet the standards of the American National Standards Institute block 99.8 percent of UVB rays and 70 percent of UVA.Discuss the risks associated with UVR with your eye care practitioner and find out if UV blocking contact lenses are appropriate for you. It is important to remember that ultraviolet radiation can damage the eyes. Children’s eyes are especially susceptible, so be sure to adequately protect them.