On Tuesday evening, January 14, the Navigating the Medical System Lecture Series, hosted by Congregation Etz Chaim, featured an informative lecture on eye health.
The Director and Founder of Navigating the Medical System, Dr. Mel Breite, greeted everyone for this virtual lecture.
Eileen Chang, ophthalmologist at the NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital Queens, shared that eye make-up can exacerbate dry eye. For dry eye, she recommended warm compresses twice a day and baby shampoo to clean eyelids and eye lashes, and also using Refresh tear supplement up to four times a day.
She said that fish oil supplements help increase healthy oils in the eyes. During the winter months, a humidifier helps, as well as taking breaks from screen use.
She cautioned to not use Visine, as it has a compound that constricts blood vessels and your eyes become redder from using it. If your eyes are still dry after using these natural things, then visit an ophthalmologist.
Next, she spoke about cataracts, a natural clouding of the lens in the eye, which is the leading cause of preventable blindness. To prevent cataracts, wear sunglasses and avoid smoking. Cataracts are rarely an emergency. It is a progressive gradual problem. Blurred vision is a symptom. A common early harbinger of cataracts is not being able to see at night because of the glare making it difficult to drive. It can present with double vision. They don’t cause pain or floaters.
Treatment for cataracts is only necessary if they impair vision. An acrylic implant is placed in the eye to replace the natural lens. Each patient has a unique prescription on his lens. This lens never needs to be replaced.
Wearing UV-treated sunglasses can slow their progression. Surgery is performed on one eye at a time. There is no hospital admission, and the surgery lasts from 10 to 30 minutes. Eye drops are prescribed for use for a few weeks after the surgery. Also, the patient is told not to lift anything heavy and to avoid bending down for two weeks after the surgery.
Next, she spoke about glaucoma, which causes progressive damage to the optic nerves. It is associated with high eye pressure and vision loss is irreversible. Early detection and treatment is vital to prevent vision loss. It affects 29% of the population. It can also be caused by a blunt trauma to the eye. Chronic use of steroid eyedrops can also cause it.
Treatment includes screening the following people:
- Over age 40
- Direct relatives with it
- Frequent use of steroid eyedrops
- Poorly controlled diabetes
- Blunt trauma to eye
- Chronic use of allergy medication
- Use of anti-depressants, sulfa
- Any measurement of high eye pressure
Diagnostic screening includes a test for pressure in the eye, looking at corneal thickness, and monitoring the optic nerve with a scan. Also, it includes testing for the field of peripheral vision.
Glaucoma treatment is aimed at lowering pressure in the eye. Eye drops are administered. In the office, a laser can be used or there is an injection with medicine or surgery.
Treating it does not improve vision. The goal is to prevent vision loss or blindness.
Following this, she spoke about age-related macular degeneration, which is the leading cause of vision loss in Americans over age 50. There are two types, dry and wet. One in ten has dry eye, and one in one in 100 has the wet eye type. The way to check is if you see straight lines as wavy. The Amsler grid is used to test for this. Treatment for the dry eye type includes no smoking and AREDS 2 vitamins. The wet eye type requires injections to reduce abnormal blood vessels and bleeding. These are given every one to three months for several years.
Floaters are a common complaint and are usually benign.
She said that if you see flashes of light or an increase of floaters, or you notice vision loss, then see an ophthalmologist.
As always, the community thanks Dr. Breite, Congregation Etz Chaim, and NewYork-Presbyterian for these informative lectures.
By Susie Garber
