Glasses for Color-blindness

Red-green color blindness is common, especially in males. A company called O2Amp developed glasses that improve the ability to see blood, and the amount of oxygen in blood, through the skin, which improves the perception of health and emotion. An accidental "side effect" of this technology was improved ability of people who have red-green color deficiency to differentiate those colors. There are 3 versions of the glasses, one of them, called Oxy-Iso, is especially helpful for color blindness. They are certainly not a cure but they do work and reviews are positive. They are available online for about $300.

Ilya Rozenbaum, MD

 Can you get brain fog from not wearing your glasses? A study of elderly Chinese suggests that not seeing clearly can lead to lower cognitive function levels.

Eye Myths and Facts.

Myth: Don't sit too close to the TV
Fact:  There is no scientific evidence that sitting close to the TV is harmful to the eye
 
Myth: Reading in dim light damages your eyes
Fact:  Reading in dim light may tire and strain your eyes but it will not harm your eyes.  However it is recommended to use good lighting when reading or performing up close tasks.
 
Myth:  You don't need an eye exam if you can see fine and don't wear glasses.
Fact:  Eye disease can happen at anytime and can be asymptomatic.  It is important to get your eyes examined yearly.
 
Myth:  You can wear your eyes out
Fact:  Your eyes will never wear out

Jennine Lutz, OD

•    Reading in dim light is harmful to your eyes.
•    It is not harmful to watch a welder or look at the sun if you squint, or look through narrowed eyelids.
•    Using a computer, or video display terminal (VDT), is harmful to the eyes.
•    If you use your eyes too much, you wear them out.
•    Wearing poorly-fit glasses damages your eyes.
•    Wearing poorly-fit contacts does not harm your eyes.
•    You do not need to have your eyes checked until you are in your 40’s or 50’s.
•    Safety goggles are more trouble than they’re worth.
•    It’s okay to swim while wearing soft contact lenses.
•    Children outgrow crossed eyes.
•    A cataract must be ripe before it can be removed.
•    Cataracts can be removed with lasers.
•    Eyes can be transplanted.
•    All eye care providers are the same.
 

For years, parents of children with amblyopia (sometimes referred to as lazy eye) have had to deal with the daily fight to force their child to wear an eye patch or use drops that blur their vision. Most children are miserable with both of these options. Parents often ask if there is a better way to strengthen a weak eye. Researchers in Hong Kong just may have found an answer to that question. Dennis Lam, MD and his colleagues discovered that the visual acuity of amblyopic children age 7 to 12 treated with five weekly sessions of acupuncture improved more significantly than those who wore an eye patch for two hours each day. The study duration was 25 weeks and during that time both groups had to wear optical correction and were asked to perform an hour of near-vision tasks each day. By the 25th week, amblyopia had resolved in 42% of acupuncture patients but only 30% of patching patients. While further study is needed to confirm these results, some parents who struggle to get their child to wear a patch daily may have another option to effectively treat ambylopia.
 
Jennifer Viscusi, OD