Vision Recap Of Previous Articles of Interest

Besides the comments that we get, one of the best parts of putting together this blog is the wonderful group of guests who share their expertise and personal stories. I want to thank all of the eye care professionals and friends that have contributed to make this blog a success.

Here is a quick vision recap of some of the articles we had in the past that you may have missed.

Jullia A. Rosdahl, MD, PhD – Coffee and Glaucoma and Taking Control of Glaucoma

David Liao, MD, PhD – What Are A Macular Pucker and Macular Hole?

Kooshay Malek – Being A Blind Artist

Dan Roberts – 15 Things Doctors Might Like Us To Know

Jennifer Villeneuve – Living With KC Isn’t Easy

Daniel D. Esmaili, MD – Posterior Vitreous Detachment

Donna Cole – Living With Dry Age-Related Macular Degeneration

Pouya N. Dayani, MD – Diabetes And The Potential For Diabetic Retinopathy

Robin Heinz Bratslavsky – Adjustments Can Help With Depression

Judith Delgado – Drugs to Treat Dry AMD and Inflammation

Kate Streit – Hadley’s Online Education for the Blind and Visually Impaired

Catherine Warren, RN – Can Keratoconus Progression Be Predicted?

Richard H. Roe, MD, MHS – Uveitis Explained

Sumit (Sam) Garg, MD – Cataract Surgery and Keratoconus

Howard J. Kaplan, MD – Spotlight Text – A New Way to Read

Gerry Trickle – Imagination and KC

In addition to the topics above, here are few more articles that cover a variety of vision issues:

If you have any topics that you would like to read about, please let us know in the comments section below.

6/23/15

Susan DeRemer, CFRE
Vice President of Development
Discovery Eye Foundation

Coping With Retinitis Pigmentosa

Tribulations, Travels and Tennis Balls

Linda Becker stopped playing tennis at night because she couldn’t see the balls coming at her. “Coincidentally, I saw something about night blindness on TV, so I went to my optometrist,” Becker says. He confirmed she had night blindness and sent her for more testing. An ophthalmologist told her: “I’m sorry, but you have retinis pigmentosa, and you’ll be blind some day.”

“As a young mother, I couldn’t wrap my head around that,” Becker says. So she entered a decade of denial until she started to sideswipe other cars while driving. “I drove into my development one day, and there was a thump over the hood of my car. I thought, ‘Oh my god, what did I do? Did I kill somebody?’ I pulled over, and a police officer who happened to be driving behind me came over to my window. I was devastated. I said, ‘What have I done?’ He told me a jogger who wasn’t paying attention had tripped over the hood of my car. But I knew if I could have seen better, I would have stopped. That was the day I put my car keys down.”

Coping with Retinitis Pigmentosa

Encouraged by her kids to get a guide dog, Becker called Guide Dogs for the Blind (GDB). She learned she needed orientation and mobility (O&M) skills, including knowing how to walk with a white cane, before she could be considered for a dog.

“I called the Braille Institute, and it was daunting, to say the least: Thinking about walking with a white cane, having people know I’m blind and feeling disabled. Going through that whole transition — I didn’t want to even face it,” she recalls. “But I went, and I took classes, until I knew it was time for me to have a guide dog. I’ve always been a dog person, and I’d rather use my dog as a mobility tool than a cane. Plus, I wanted the companionship.”

She successfully completed the GDB requirement of walking one mile to and from her home with the cane. She then completed two weeks of on-site training at GDB’s campus in Oregon, where she was paired with Lyla, a yellow English Lab.

Becker started teaching classes at the Braille Institute and helping others navigate their vision-loss transition. She teaches a 14-week sensory-awareness class. “It helps develop and educate your other senses when you start losing your sight,” she says. “It humbles me. I have no sight now. My transition of going to the Braille Institute, learning to use a white cane, then learning to have a guide dog, taught me a whole lot about myself and feeling very independent. I was able to speak about guide dogs and speak about blindness — and be a teacher.”

She became an outreach ambassador for the Braille Institute, facilitating low-vision support groups throughout Orange County, Calif. She also went to work for GDB as an alumni-outreach representative, putting together workshops and helping people learn about the “guide-dog lifestyle.”

Now 66 years old, Becker finds the most enjoyment in traveling. “Being with a guide dog and in the blindness community took me places,” she says. “I was asked to be a keynote speaker here or an ambassador there. I’d never done that type of thing before, and I’d never traveled much. I just kept hopping on airplanes with my guide dog and going to hotels and trying to figure things out. I ask questions and collect tips, so I can share with others how easy it can be to travel with or without usable sight. It is really exciting, and I’m really driven to go different places.”

Since Lyla’s retirement, Becker travels regularly with her guide dog, Anchorage, a yellow lab. “He gives me courage,” she says. The pair is currently planning a trip to Australia and New Zealand. Becker is no longer daunted by learning new skills, exploring new places or even flying tennis balls — Anchorage is quite happy to deal with those when he is off-duty.

For more on traveling with guide dogs, including Becker’s adventures with Lyla and Anchorage, read “Traveling Tails”.

5/26/15

Lauren Hauptman
Lauren Hauptman INK

Living Well With Low Vision Online Courses

As of May 5th, 10 new audio lessons offering tips and techniques for living well with low vision are now available as part of the newly-launched Low Vision Focus @ Hadley (LVF). These low vision online courses offer practical knowledge to make life easier.

Low vision is defined by having significant difficulty seeing even after one’s vision is corrected with eyeglasses, contact lenses, surgery or medicine. Some typical symptoms of low vision include dimness, haziness, and having difficulty recognizing faces, reading labels and safely moving around. Low vision can make everyday tasks like reading the mail, shopping, cooking and paying the bills difficult. According to 2010 research by the National Eye Institute, the number of Americans with low vision will continue to grow dramatically, from 2.9 million in 2010, to 5 million in 2030, to 8.9 million in 2050, as our population ages. One out of every six older adults will experience age-related vision loss due to conditions such as macular degeneration, glaucoma or diabetes.

As the largest provider of distance education for people who are blind and visually impaired worldwide, The Hadley School for the Blind (www.hadley.edu) is building on its history and expertise with this new program. The LVF is designed to help those living with low vision maintain their independence by sharing practical ways to address daily living skills made difficult by vision loss. Most low vision assistance focuses on a device that is meant to correct the vision problem. The LVF, however, offers ways for older adults to educate themselves on their condition as well as learn adaptive techniques to continue the tasks of daily living. The LVF is unique in that it offers those living with low vision the opportunity to learn and take advantage of our resources from the comfort of their own homes, at a time that is convenient for them, with the benefit of one-on-one counseling and support, at no cost to them.

A newly-revised series of 10 audio lessons is the core component of the LVF. Each lesson is approximately 30 minutes long and is available on a CD that is mailed to the client. The CDs are free for the client to keep. When a new client comes to the LVF, he or she speaks with an intake coordinator to determine which lesson(s) best meet their needs based on their challenges with low vision. Clients will be limited in their requests to two lessons initially. Additional titles may be requested once the client has had the opportunity to listen to these initial lessons and determine future need. The audio lessons include:

Making the Kitchen User Friendly	Getting Around in the House
Basic Tactile Marking	Going Out with a Friend
Doing Simple Kitchen Tasks	Keeping Prescriptions in Order
Low Vision Cooking	Looking Your Best
Going Out for a Meal	Simple Home Modifications

While the LVF is geared primarily toward seniors, adult children of seniors living with low vision are encouraged to take advantage of the resources offered by the LVF to aid their parents in the adjustment process. Additionally, while many of the people who are living with low vision are seniors, the program is open to any individual who is experiencing sight loss. Clients and professionals also are encouraged to utilize the programming of the LVF in either the development of new low vision support groups in local communities or to sustain existing support group networks.

In the future, Hadley will provide free, educational videos and webinars as part of the Low Vision Focus and the program will soon reference popular Hadley courses that may be of interest to individuals with low vision.

“We are so excited to offer the Low Vision Focus @ Hadley and enable this growing population to retain their independence and live with confidence,” says the dean of Educational Programs and Instruction and interim Director of the Low Vision Focus @ Hadley Doug Anzlovar.
For more information or to begin taking advantage of the LVF, please visit www.lowvisionfocus.org or call toll-free at 1-855-830-5355.

5/21/15

Kate Streit
Media and Marketing Specialist
The Hadley School for the Blind

Must Love Dogs

Traveling with Guide Dogs

Adam Lawrence was diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa (RP) when he was 17, but the disease did not have a profound effect on his life until his early 40s. “I sometimes had trouble with bright sunlight during the day, but I dealt with it by wearing dark sunglasses. Then one morning, I woke up, and it was like I was staring through a haze of pepper,” he says.

Lawrence gave up his job in the banking industry, as he could no longer see the contracts he needed to review. “I had to stop working and driving, and I had to figure out how to adapt,” he recalls. “I was great at organization, so my job became running the house, while my wife went to work. I got a scanner and a JAWS (Job Access With Speech) screen-reader for my computer, and I learned to read Braille.”

Lawrence is now legally blind, and his RP had another profound affect on his life about seven years ago, when he and his wife encountered Guide Dogs of America (GDA) at a fundraising event.

“I didn’t plan to get a guide dog, but they had a chocolate Lab puppy on the table” he says with a smile. “They put my hand on the puppy, and there was no turning back.”

Lawrence went through an interview and then an intensive 28-day on-site orientation program at GDA’s school in Sylmar, Calif. He was paired with a black and tan Labrador named Escort — also known as “the greatest dog in the world.”

With Escort, Lawrence feels a sureness and freedom he never experienced with other mobility tools. “When I walk with a cane, I don’t feel as confident, and I’m much slower. He gives me confidence, mobility and ability.”

Now in their sixth year as a team, Lawrence and Escort are virtually inseparable. They even shop together: “A person in the market takes our list, then Escort and I follow them around the store.”

They also travel extensively and have been everywhere from Mexico to New England to Colorado, where they went rock-climbing. “On the way down, Escort chose the more difficult path for himself, and left the easier path for me. He’s amazing,” Lawrence says.

Lawrence is quick to point out that “Escort is not a GPS. I have to plan and know where we are going. He’s there to keep me safe; he’s not there to figure out where to go — that’s my job.”

For more on traveling with guide dogs, including Lawrence’s adventures with Escort, read “Traveling Tails”, an article from our most recent e-newsletter.

5/19/15

Lauren Hauptman
Lauren Hauptman INK

Traveling With Low Or No Vision

What Good is Sitting Alone in Your Room?

Traveling with low or no vision

There is a whole world out there to discover — regardless of whether you can see it all with your eyes. No one will tell you traveling with low or no vision does not present challenges, but there are precious few that cannot be overcome with planning, creativity and patience.

A plethora of for-profit and nonprofit companies exist to help you navigate the complexities of traveling with a vision disability — from technology and websites, to travel agents and tour operators. And don’t overlook helpful — and free! — resources such as your friends and family, assistance pets and even complete strangers.

Travel Tools
Everyday tools become even more essential when you are traveling in unfamiliar surroundings. A mobility cane (consider a small travel version) will let you find your way more easily — and notify others of your vision issues. This is especially helpful for two reasons: Strangers are less likely to get in your way and more likely to help if you ask for it. In a recent DEF blog post (“Visual Aids and Techniques When Traveling”

Linda Becker, who has retinitis pigmentosa (RP) and travels primarily with her guide dog, is planning her next trip to Australia and New Zealand with Mind’s Eye Travel, a company that specializes in creating tours especially for people who are blind or visually impaired, as well as providing sighted guides. There are many such companies that will assist you with all facets of travel, from immigration documents to reservations to tour guides. Traveleyes offers discounts to sighted travelers in exchange for helping guide non-sighted travelers during group vacations around the world. DisabledTravelers.com is a good resource for companies that specialize in travel for people with accessibility issues. It includes reviews and recommendations on everything from airlines and cruises, to travel agents and hotels.

Plan, Prep, Pack
Ask any experienced low-vision traveler, and they will tell you planning, planning and more planning is the key to successful travel. Not only will it make your trip go more smoothly, it will give you peace of mind, as well as the ability to relax and enjoy yourself. The fewer surprises, the more confident and comfortable you will feel. And if something does goes awry, it is easier “go with the flow,” because everything else has been planned.

Right at the top of the list with planning is, well, making a list. Prepare a list of all the items you will need, then double it. That means if you wear contact lenses, pack at least one extra pair, as well as cleaning solutions. Same goes for glasses and sunglasses. Make sure you have plenty of the medications and other supplies you use on a day-to-day basis. Most seasoned travelers suggest you have multiples of all these stashed in different bags: your carry-on, your suitcase and a handbag of some kind that never leaves your side. This way, if one bag gets lost, you still have another one or two. Sample sizes may become your best friend!

Carolyn Hammett, an accomplished photographer and world traveler who has keratoconus (KC), advises: “Be prepared; having backups makes you more comfortable. Be ready to change contact lenses in public restroom if you need to. Have one of everything you need, vision-wise, with you at all times.” To learn more about Hammett and see what she packs for a two-week trip, see “Through a Lens with One Eye Blind,” a story from our recent e-newsletter focused on travel experiences and tips.

“Leave extra time, notify airlines or others in advance that you may need assistance, and don’t be afraid to ask for help,” says Adam Lawrence, who also has RP and travels regularly with his guide dog. (Read more about traveling with guide dogs in “Traveling Tails”, from an article in our recent e-newsletter.

Speaking of help, don’t forget the helper sitting next to you right now, whether it’s a spouse, a friend or a guide dog. Traveling alone can be vexing for people with full vision, so it’s natural for those with low vision to feel even more anxiety.

Dame Judi Dench, who has age-related macular degeneration (AMD), recently told Radio Times she no longer travels alone. “I need someone to say, ‘Look out, there’s a step here!’ or else I fall all over the place like a mad, drunk lady,” she said.

“Don’t travel by yourself the first time — go with someone you trust, and let them know how much help you want,” Hammett says. “I’ve gotten to the point where I tell my husband, ‘Don’t tell me anything until I screw up.’”

With planning, preparation and practice, you may get to a point where you feel comfortable traveling alone. You will only know your limitations if you try to stretch them.

“Just try,” Hammett says. “Do it once to find out if you can.”

Additional Resources

Access-Able Travel Source’s “Travel Tips for People Who are Blind or Visually Impaired”

Society for Accessible Travel & Hospitality

Transportation Security Administration’s “Passengers Who Are Blind or Have Low Vision”

5/14/15

Lauren Hauptman
Lauren Hauptman INK

Eyeglasses Timeline

Eyeglasses are something we all take for granted, but they haven’t always existed. More than 700 year ago you had to learn to live with poor vision. Now more than 6 in 10 people in the US wear either glasses or contact lenses, with 60% of them being far-sighted. Here is an eyeglasses timeline to see how eyeglasses have evolved.

5/12/15

Susan DeRemer, CFRE
Vice President of Development
Discovery Eye Foundation

Itchy Eyes? It Must Be Allergy Season

Spring is in the air, which also means it’s the season for allergies (i.e. Itchy, watery, red and generally unhappy eyes). People with keratoconus need to be particularly careful around allergy season, because rubbing your eyes can exacerbate both your allergies and keratoconus. Among the general keratoconus population, we see a significant incidence of allergic eye disease, which causes itchy eyes. In addition to this, there is a high correlation of keratoconus patients who rub their eyes. If you are one of these, STOP. When you rub your itchy eyes, it damages the mast cells within the eye tissue, causing histamine to release from these cells. More histamine around your eyes will increase itching and your urge to rub, which in turn can cause keratoconus to get worse. So even if rubbing makes your itchy eyes feel good, stop: the potential long term damage outweighs the short-term relief.

Whether your eyes are watery, itchy, or red around this time, you’ll find the best relief beyond your neighborhood drug store’s allergy aisle. While there are over-the-counter medications that help allergies, they may not be the best option for you. Oral medications for allergies tend to dry out the body in general (which is why they make a runny nose stop running), which includes the eyes. When it comes to eye drop options for allergy relief, the results are often unpredictable and short-lived.

Some surprisingly simple changes to your home can help. Keeping the windows and doors closed to keep the allergens out is helpful. Take your shoes off before coming into the house, consider taking a shower before bedtime, or frequently wash your pillowcases, which may remove enough of the allergen to improve your symptoms. If you have a pet that goes outside, consider bathing them twice a week to remove allergens they track in. For direct, immediate relief, place a cold wash cloth on the surface of your eyes to calm the symptoms.

The next step to relief includes personalized recommendations from your eye care provider (ECP). A common medication your ECP may prescribe is an antihistamine-mast cell stabilizer, such as Pataday or Lastacaft. These combination drugs use an antihistamine for immediate comfort and a mast cell stabilizer to carry out the benefits long term. Often these medications are so effective that they may be the only ones you need. When your allergies are severe and this combination drug is not enough, your ECP may add a topical steroid ointment to complete your treatment.

Be extremely diligent in rubbing and rinsing your lenses with fresh solution prior to storing them overnight. This will help to remove the allergens that have accumulated on them during the day.

Even if your annual eye exam doesn’t happen around allergy season, remember to visit your eye care provider if you have allergy symptoms. It may require a combination of prescription medications and environmental changes tailored to your specific symptoms to prepare your eyes now and for allergy seasons to come.

5/7/15

David L. Kading OD, FAAO
Specialty Eyecare Group
Offices in Kirkland, WA and Seatte, WA

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Charissa Young
Optometric Extern
Eye Care Group of Southern Oregon, PC

May Is Healthy Vision Month

It’s Healthy Vision Month! Make Your Vision Last a Lifetime.

When it comes to our health, we often visit our doctor or nurse regularly to make sure our bodies are healthy. But what about our eyes? They’re not always top of mind, but they’re just as important.

During Healthy Vision Month, held each May, the National Eye Institute (NEI) reminds you to make your eye health a priority and encourages you to take important steps to protect your sight.

Get a dilated eye exam. Getting a dilated eye exam is the only way to detect eye diseases early, because with many, there are no warning signs. Talk to your eye care professional about how often you should have one. If you want to see what your eye care professional sees during a dilated eye exam, check out NEI’s new eye exam animation!

Live a healthy lifestyle. Eating healthy foods, maintaining a healthy weight, managing chronic conditions, and not smoking can lower your risk of eye disease.

Know your family history. Talk to your family members about their eye health history. It’s important to know if anyone has been diagnosed with an eye disease, since many are hereditary. This will help to determine if you are at higher risk for developing an eye disease yourself.

Use protective eyewear. Protect your eyes when doing chores around the house, playing sports, or on the job to prevent eye injuries from happening. This includes wearing safety glasses, goggles, safety shields, and eye guards that are made of polycarbonate.

Wear sunglasses. When purchasing sunglasses, look for ones that block out 99 to 100% of both UVA and UVB radiation, so you can keep your eyes healthy. Prolonged exposure to sunlight can increase your risk for getting an eye disease. A wide-brimmed hat offers great protection, too!

These steps can help you keep your eyes healthy and prevent vision loss and blindness from eye disease.

To learn more about Healthy Vision Month and find additional eye health information, visit www.nei.nih.gov/hvm.

5/5/15

National Eye Institute
National Institute of Health

How to Help a Blind or Visually Impaired Person with Mobility

You as a Guide
As the spouse, partner or friend of a person that has low or no vision, it is hard to know when to step and help. You don’t want to offend them by jumping in and making them feel incapable, nor do you want to stand by and have them stumble along, possibly hurting themselves.

Here are few pointers to help a blind or visually impaired person with mobility so you can be supportive and considerate.

First and most importantly, never assume the person wants or needs your help. Always ask first and never force the person to accept your help.
If your offer of help is accepted, ask if the person would like you on their right or left, then the tap them with your appropriate elbow so the person needing help can grasp slightly above the elbow.
Relax and walk at a comfortable, consistent pace, about a half step ahead.
When navigating obstacles, guiding signals, along with verbal cues, are helpful. Examples:
Curb – brief pause and state “we are approaching a curb and it is slanted upwards.”
Narrow door or passage – you enter first moving your guiding arm behind the small of your back and let them know you are moving through a doorway or narrow space and which direction the door opens so they can move to the appropriate side.
Stairs – stop at the edge of the first step and let the other person know if the steps are up or down, where the railing is (make sure it is on the side of their free hand), and if there is anything special about the steps (they are uneven, very steep, have an overly wide tread, etc.). If there are just a few steps let them know, “you will take 4 steps down.” The will follow one step behind you, with one hand on the handrail and the other holding your arm. Pause after completing the stairs.
Escalators and revolving doors – Use similar guiding cues as you do for the stairs. Let them know when to step onto the escalator and when to get ready to get off. If the person you are guiding is uncomfortable with escalators or revolving doors, use the elevator and regular doors which all buildings are required to have.
Chair – when approaching a chair, place the hand of the person being guided on the back or side of the chair, letting them know which direction the chair is facing.
Never leave a person who is blind or visually impaired in “free space.” Make sure they are in contact with a wall, railing or some other stable object until you return.

If They Use a Guide Dog
Guide dogs are invaluable to people that are blind or partially sighted. They allow their owners a sense of independence. But how should you respond to a guide dog who is working?

Never distract the dog from its duty, so don’t pet the dog without asking.
Before asking a questions of a person handling a dog, allow them to complete the task at hand.
Remain calm when you approach, never teasing or speaking to the dog.
Do not offer the dog food or other treats. They are fed on a schedule and follow a specific diet to keep them healthy. Deviations from their routine can disrupt their regular and ad relieving schedules, seriously inconveniencing their handlers.
Do not offer toys to a guide dog. Though they are treated as pets when they are not in their harnesses, they are only allowed specific toys. In their harness they don’t play with toys.
Do not call out to the guide dog or obstruct its path, as it can break the dog’s concentration which could prove to be dangerous to its handler.
In some cases the person with low or no vision may prefer to take your arm above the elbow and allow their dog to heel instead of lead. Follow the same instructions as in the first part of this blog. When approaching stairs, ask how the person how they wish to proceed, as they will be holding your arm with one hand and the guide dog with the other, making it impossible to grasp a handrail.

Giving Directions To Someone Who is Blind or Visually Impaired
If a person is on their own with a guide dog or white cane, giving complete accurate directions is necessary. While you may be used to pointing or saying “it is over there,” or “go around the next corner,” if you can’t see you have no idea where “there” is or the “next corner.”

Always refer to a specific direction from the perspective of the person you are advising. Your right is their left.
Indicate the approximate distance in addition to the direction.
Give the approximate number of streets to cross to reach the destination. Even if you are off a block or two, it gives the person an idea of when to stop and ask for further instructions if needed.
If possible, provide information about landmarks on the way. Remember that sounds, scents and ground textures can be landmarks. You can hear an escalator, smell the scent of fresh brewed coffee and feel the difference between grass and a sidewalk.

4/16/15

Susan DeRemer, CFRE
Vice President of Development
Discovery Eye Foundation

6 Ways Women Can Stop Vision Loss

Women account for 53% of the world’s population. However, 2/3 of the blind and visually impaired people in the world are women. While 80% of these women are in developing countries, women in developed countries like the US are still more likely to face vision loss than men.

Why are women more prone to eye disease than men?

Women are the caregivers in families, taking care of the health of family members over themselves. In addition, with many having jobs outside the home, they don’t feel they have the time to go to the doctor until something major happens, especially related to vision.

Women live longer than men are at greater risk for age-related eye diseases such as age-related macular degeneration (AMD), diabetic retinopathy, glaucoma and cataracts.

Women are more likely to develop several autoimmune diseases that can affect their eyes including, multiple sclerosis, lupus, rheumatoid arthritis and Sj?gren’s syndrome.

75% of new breast cancer diagnosed each year is estrogen-sensitive. A common part of estrogen-sensitive breast cancer treatment includes the prescription of tamoxifen. More studies are being done, but cataracts due to tamoxifen have been identified in about 10% of the patients taking the drug.

What can women do to lessen their chances for eye disease?

Know your family history as genetics play and important role in your eye health, so know what eye diseases run in your family. Let your eye doctor know so he can look for early warning signs that can help prevent of lessen the conditions in you.

Get routine comprehensive, dilated eye exams starting at the age of 40, to create a baseline for your doctor to work from. After that you can go every 2-4 years until the age of 60. At 60+ have a compressive, dilated exam every two years if you are symptom-free and low risk.

Eat healthy and exercise. It is important to maintain a healthy weight to reduce the risk of some eye diseases. Eating fresh fruits and vegetables is also important as they can contain carotenoids an some antioxidants that appear to help with vision retention. It should also be noted that in many studies, supplements did not show the same beneficial effects as whole foods.

Stop smoking! You not only increase your risk for cancer and heart disease, but smoking is the only thing besides advancing age that has been proven to be directly related to AMD.

Avoid ultraviolet light by wearing sunglasses (with wide-brimmed hats) and indoor glasses with UV protection. While everyone knows the sun is a source of UV light, so are electronic screens such as your TV, computer, tablet or smartphone. Prescription glasses and readers can have a clear UV coating put on them that will not distort your color vision. If you don’t need vision correction, there is eyewear with no correction that is coated to protect your eyes to avoid dry eye and retinal damage.

Use cosmetics and contacts safely. Always wash your hands first. Throw away old makeup and lens solutions. Do not share cosmetics or apply while driving. Make sure to clean your lenses thoroughly before putting them in your eyes.

Because women are relied upon to take care of the family, vision loss that can impact that responsibility can be devastating to the entire family. And later in life, when they may have outlived a spouse, the isolation and depression can destroy their quality of life as they try to cope on their own.

Reach out to women you know and remind them to take an active part in their own healthcare. Especially with regards to their vision, when women are at a higher risk of vision loss than men.

4/7/15

Susan DeRemer, CFRE
Vice President of Development
Discovery Eye Foundation

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Lifestyle

Coping With Retinitis Pigmentosa

Tribulations, Travels and Tennis Balls

Coping with Retinitis Pigmentosa

Must Love Dogs

Traveling with Guide Dogs

Eyeglasses Timeline

Itchy Eyes? It Must Be Allergy Season

May Is Healthy Vision Month

It’s Healthy Vision Month! Make Your Vision Last a Lifetime.

How to Help a Blind or Visually Impaired Person with Mobility

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Tribulations, Travels and Tennis Balls

Coping with Retinitis Pigmentosa

Traveling with Guide Dogs

What Good is Sitting Alone in Your Room?

It’s Healthy Vision Month! Make Your Vision Last a Lifetime.

Why are women more prone to eye disease than men?

What can women do to lessen their chances for eye disease?

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$100,000
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