Your Custom Text Here
Jackie Low is a final year student completing her optometry externship at the University of Auckland.
Claire and Sally will be supervising Jackie and reviewing her findings. We invite you to make an appointment with Jackie.
Please allow an hour and note the examination fee will be reduced to $75. We are delighted to be able to mentor and support final year students here at McDonald Adams Optometrists.
In recent times there has been a lot of information about the potentially harmful effect of blue light on eyes. Here’s something from the other end of the spectrum - red light which could prove helpful. A study has found that staring at a deep red light for three minutes a day improved declining eyesight. This may lead to home-based eye therapies.
At around age 40 years the retinal cells in the eye begin to age as the cell’s mitochondria start to decline. These mitochondria have high energy demands, and there are a lot of them in the eye’s photoreceptor cells in the retina. This means the retina ages faster than other organs as the photoreceptors lack the energy to perform their normal role.
“Mitochondria have specific light absorbance characteristics influencing their performance: longer wavelengths, red light, spanning 650 – 1000nm are absorbed and improve mitochondrial performance to increase energy production,” said Professor Glen Jeffery, University College of London Institute of Ophthalmology.
The retina’s photoreceptor population is formed of cones and rods. Cones mediate colour vision and rods give peripheral vision and adapt vision in low/dim light.
In this study candidates were first tested for rod and cone sensitivity. They had a small LED torch to take home, and look into its 670nm light beam for three minutes a day for two weeks, before being re-tested.
Colour contrast sensitivity improved by up to 20% in some people. Improvements for some were more significant in the blue part of the colour spectrum which is more vulnerable in ageing. Rod sensitivity also significantly improved in this group, though less than contrast.
Hopefully this might translate into a home therapy - watch this space.
The COVID-19 Level 4 Alert has us all in lockdown. This has forced children to "shelter in their homes". And what do most children do when at home? They play video games, and look at digital screens for hours and hours. Lack of outdoor time and extensive near work are both serious risk factors for increasing myopia (shortsightedness) in children. We now know that myopia increases the risk of permanent sight-threatening disease later in life.
Will we see a large increase in children developing short-sightedness in the next year? Will myopic children find that their prescription increases in strength at a faster rate in the coming year due to the COVID-19 lifestyle restrictions. It is very possible.
So what can a parent do to lessen these serious challenges posed by the lockdown?
1. Help your child go outdoors for 1 hour every day, take a walk to the park
2. Invent interesting outdoor activities and participate with your children, see the links below for ideas.
3. Get them to read or work on their devices outdoors. High light levels are thought to be a key protective factor of outdoor time in regards to myopia. Even under shade, umbrella, or with a hat and sunglasses, the light levels typically reaching a child’s eye will exceed that of indoors. If they can’t get outdoors for this, then locate near natural lighting, for example, by a large window
4. Check they take a 10-minute break for every 30 minutes of screen time.
5 Be a model for your children by having healthy screen habits yourself.
Supporting Kids During the COVID-19 Pandemic | Child Mind Institute
250+ Creative Ways to Keep Your Family Sane During the COVID-19 Crisis
Good luck and stay safe (and sane). Our practice is closed at the moment. If you are concerned about your child’s eyesight or want to learn more about how we can limit myopia progression as they get older, feel free to get in touch with us via phone or email.
Health advice about the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) that causes the respiratory disease, COVID-19, is changing rapidly as scientists learn more. We have been overwhelmed by advice on how to keep safe, including the need of eye protection.
The virus was found in the tear and conjunctival secretions of one patient with COVID-19 pneumonia and conjunctivitis. So the conclusion i SARS-CoV-2 can cause conjunctivitis, although cases are very rare.
It is timely to run through some reminders for all our contact lens wearers. If you are ill with cold/flu/COVID-19, don’t wear your contacts until at least 24 hours after symptoms resolve. It is well established that ‘strep throat’ (and colonisation of contacts by other bacteria as well as Streptococcus) is associated with increased risk of contact lens associated inflammation. As well as the risk or microbes getting onto your contact lenses, your dampened immune response while fighting an infection, increases risk of inflammation.
If you are well you can keep wearing your contacts, remembering to practice basic hygiene. This involves washing hands with soap and running water before you touch your contact lens or your eye. If soap and water are not available, the next best alternative is to use a 60% alcohol hand sanitiser. In both cases, use the WHO method covering all hand surfaces and lasting 20-30 seconds is essential.
You should pay extra attention to the tips of your fingers and thumbs which touch the lenses.
It is important to know SARS-CoV-2 is a virus enveloped in fat. This means that soap will repel the virus and break down the coating. Alcohol 60% is also effective against coronavirus after 30 second exposure. Remember the vital step, after washing, to rinse the virus off with running water and dry with a clean paper towel. The Center for Disease Control, in the US, has a video which highlights scenarios when it is difficult to follow prescribed hand hygiene.
A recent survey of over 950 daily disposable wearers in the US, found 44% did not wash hands before lens insertion. Not only is this COVID-19 situation a good opportunity to revisit hand hygiene, let’s take this opportunity to remind everyone on other aspects of healthy contact lens wear:
One time only wear of daily disposables
Disinfect re-usable contact lenses after each wear (following manufacturers’ guidelines)
Maintain contact lens case hygiene and timely disposal
Avoid overnight wear unless prescribed.
As part of World Glaucoma Week 2020 you and your family are welcome to watch the live streaming of the Glaucoma Australia Patient Symposium on Friday.
Glaucoma Australia is hosting this event in conjunction with Flinders University Centre for Ophthalmology, Eye and Vision Research.
Date: Friday 13 March 2020
Time: 11.00am - 12.30 pm ACDT (11.30am AEDT) (13.30 NZDT)
Bookmark the url for your preferred channel and set a diary reminder:
YouTube: https://youtu.be/QOjWB-8-zBA
Glaucoma and Genetics
Glaucoma specialist Professor Jamie Craig will talk about the latest research into glaucoma and genetics.
Collaborative Care Discussion Panel
You will hear from health professionals in the fields of ophthalmology, optometry, pharmacy and orthoptics discussing the benefits of collaborative care for people with glaucoma as well the patients perspective.
We are often asked for lenses which will help with driving vision - now we have an answer.
Driving is one of the most important activities in our daily lives according to data collected by Hoya. It is also very demanding on our visual system. Our eyes are processing huge amounts of visual data and shifting viewing focus quickly and often. Then add weather conditions, rain and sunlight. Driving in low light or at night is also challenging for many people. It is easy to be distracted by bright lights and glare. The increased luminance of modern LED and Xenon headlights is especially dazzling. Depth perception, the ability to distinguish colour and peripheral vision are all decreased. The blue light emitted by on-board equipment adds more challenge. It is estimated 90% of a driver’s reaction time depends on vision, so how can we improve this?
EnRoute lenses have a glare filter, as well as contrast-enhancing technology. This minimises stress on the visual system for a more relaxed driving experience. Some of the noticeable improvements are:
Significantly reduced reflections and uncomfortable glare from oncoming traffic
Improved contrast and brightness perception in low-light conditions, fog and rain
Clear, unimpaired vision in the far distance, the dashboard, and mirrors
These lenses are perfect for everyday, or can be a dedicated driving lens. The lenses are available in single vision prescription, and also in progressives. Ask us how these lenses could help you.