Wellness

LED light bulbs are becoming very popular, but what is their effect on the eyes? Light Emitting Diode lighting uses up to 95% less energy than their incandescent counterparts. Before replacing your home or workplace’s indoor lights with LEDs, consider two downsides:

• LEDs do not give off near-infrared radiation, which is necessary for health
• They emit large amounts of blue light, which disrupts sleeping patterns and over time can contribute to eye disease.

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Eye health is important for quality of life. Regular exercise has many significant benefits, including supporting healthy vision. This is especially true for seniors, who are most at risk for eye disease. While you cannot control all risk factors, sedentary behavior is a risk factor you CAN control. Avoiding tobacco and eating a healthy diet are also under your control. Genetics have an influence: a much higher percentage of African Americans have vision loss from glaucoma; non-Hispanic Whites top the charts in Age-Related Macular Degeneration vision loss¹.

Exercise reduces oxidative stress, a significant factor in the development of eye
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Lifestyle can have a significant impact on the progression of glaucoma. Patients should follow their ophthalmologist’s advice. Also, research has shown that certain behavioral changes can help preserve vision. Natural Eye Care offers these tips.

Get Moving to Fight Glaucoma

If you are sedentary and have a glaucoma diagnosis, you can expect strong benefits from becoming active. A meta analysis¹ showed that exercise reduced intraocular pressure in patients. The effect was largest on those who were sedentary
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Macular edema is a swelling of the macula, the part of the eye responsible for central vision. When fluid builds up in the macula, it becomes swollen and thicker. This distorts vision. There are several causes, including diabetic retinopathy, post-eye surgery complications, macular degeneration, injury, systemic inflammatory diseases that can affect the eye, and/or vein blockages. If an eye disease causes damage to blood vessels in the retina, it can cause macular edema. Left untreated, this problem can cause serious vision loss and even blindness.

An eye doctor will direct your care should macular
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Acupuncture has been used for millennia to treat eye disease. Today, acupuncture can help preserve vision for those with a wide range of eye conditions including macular degeneration, glaucoma, eye floaters, dry eyes, cataracts and much more. Part of Traditional Chinese Medicine, acupuncture involves a practitioner inserting tiny needles into the skin. It is licensed and regulated by most states in the US. How does acupuncture work, and what are its effects on supporting eye conditions? What could you expect from acupuncture treatments? What can you do at home?

Natural Eye Care owners Michael Edson, L.Ac. and Marc Grossman, OD, L.Ac are both licensed acupuncturists specializing in the eye; Dr. Grossman is also a Doctor of Optometry. Here are the answers to these questions and more.
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The role of supplemental oxygen in diabetic macular edema was the subject of a pilot study in 2004. Diabetic macular edema or DME is a side-effect of diabetes.  DME occurs when  retinal blood vessels leak into the macula apparently trying to provide more oxygen to the retina.  This leakage causes swelling, which, in turn, causes part of central vision to become blurred.

Oxygen Therapy

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Middle-aged people and seniors are far more likely to develop Macular Degeneration, glaucoma, cataracts and diabetic retinopathy than those in their youth. It is true that some eye diseases strike the young. These tend to be genetically-based diseases, and they are rare. The incidence of eye diseases in the United States goes up dramatically with age:
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Retinal Vein Occlusion is the blockage of veins that drain blood from the retina in the eye. The eye circulatory system depends on releasing blood back to the heart after it has nourished the retina. When the vein is blocked, hemorrhaging occurs, damaging the retina. It is typically caused by atherosclerosis, a common condition especially in older people that damages the arteries. “Occlusion” means the blockage or closing of a blood vessel.

Symptoms and How Retinal Vein Occlusion Is Diagnosed

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Rod-Cone Dystrophy is a genetically-based deterioration of vision caused by damage to the photoreceptors in the eye. Rods and cones are the photoreceptor cells in the retina that give us daytime and night time vision. Genes that provide the blueprint for manufacturing proteins crucial to the eye’s rods and cones are damaged. Without enough of these proteins, vision deteriorates and blindness may result.

Much of the current research into rod-cone dystrophy is focused on genetic research. Scientists are busy identifying the faulty genes and how they function. Stem cells or other genetic therapy offers hope for a treatment and possibly cure in the future. In the meantime, nutritional and lifestyle choices may
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Yoga is generally considered a perfect exercise for overall health; however, head-down positions may be harmful to glaucoma patients. A small study at a yoga studio found that positions that put the head downward increased intraocular pressure. The positions studied were Adho Mukha Svanasana, Uttanasana, Halasana and Viparita Kirani.

Intraocular pressure is associated with glaucoma, a serious and degenerative eye disease.  During a standard eye exam, this pressure is often used as a screening.
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