Make Vision a Health Priority

With today’s medical advances, more and more people are living longer and celebrating good health: They are eating healthy foods, they are staying active, they are controlling their blood pressure and cholesterol levels, and they are not smoking.

Woman getting an eye examPractice good eye health … Make vision a health priority by seeing your eye care professional

Feeling good and living life to its fullest also means taking good care of your eyes. Even if you enjoy relatively good vision now, visiting your eye care professional once a year is the best thing you can do to care for your eyes. Getting an eye exam is more important now than ever before, because as you get older, you are at higher risk of developing several age-related eye diseases and conditions, including—

  • Age-related macular degeneration
  • Cataract
  • Diabetic retinopathy
  • Glaucoma

In their early stages, these diseases often have no warning signs or symptoms. In fact, the only way to detect them before they become serious and cause vision loss is through a comprehensive dilated eye exam. Fortunately, if your eye care professional catches and treats these conditions early, he or she can protect your eyesight.

What is a dilated eye exam?

A comprehensive dilated eye exam is important to maintain and protect healthy vision. During this exam, drops are placed in the eyes to dilate or widen the pupils (the round opening in the center of the eye). The eye care professional uses a special magnifying lens to examine the retina (the light-sensitive tissue at the back of the eye) and optic nerve (the bundle of fibers that send signals from the retina to the brain) for signs of damage and other eye problems.

Take charge of your vision

In addition to seeing your eye care professional routinely, you can do the following things to protect your vision:

  • Stop smoking
  • Eat a diet rich in green leafy vegetables and fish
  • Exercise
  • Maintain normal blood pressure
  • Wear sunglasses and a brimmed hat anytime you are outside in bright sunshine
  • Wear safety eyewear when working around your house or playing sports

Information and resources

The National Eye Institute (NEI) is part of the National Institutes of Health and the federal government’s lead agency for vision research that leads to sight-saving treatments, and it plays a key role in reducing visual impairment and blindness. For more information, visit the NEI Website at www.nei.nih.gov

Keeping your eyes healthy will insure your most important sense – SIGHT!

Your eye examination includes: checking the front of the eyes making sure that the cornea is healthy without tear malfunction, the internal natural lens of the eye is clear without cloudiness or cataract, the optic nerve is not damaged due to glaucoma or other factors, and the central vision of the eye is not impaired from retinal changes or macular degeneration.

Simple Tips for Healthy Eyes

Your eyes are an important part of your health. There are many things you can do to keep them healthy and make sure you are seeing your best. Follow these simple steps for maintaining healthy eyes well into your golden years.

Have a comprehensive dilated eye exam. You might think your vision is fine or that your eyes are healthy, but visiting your eye care professional for a comprehensive dilated eye exam is the only way to really be sure. When it comes to common vision problems, some people don’t realize they could see better with glasses or contact lenses. In addition, many common eye diseases such as glaucoma, diabetic eye disease, and age-related macular degeneration often have no warning signs. A dilated eye exam is the only way to detect these diseases in their early stages.

During a comprehensive dilated eye exam, your eye care professional places drops in your eyes to dilate, or widen, the pupil to allow more light to enter the eye the same way an open door lets more light into a dark room. This dilation enables your eye care professional to get a good look at the back of the eyes and examine them for any signs of damage or disease. Your eye care professional is the only one who can determine if your eyes are healthy and if you are seeing your best.

Simple Tips for Healthy Eyes

Blurry vision is not the only reason to have an eye exam

Blurry vision is not the only reason to have an eye exam. Your child could have difficulty using both eyes together, a critical reading skill, and you might not know. Back to school means it’s time to get a comprehensive eye exam.  Also, much of a child’s learning is visual. How well can your child see? If you don’t know, it’s time for a comprehensive eye exam.

Our Eyes Are the Window to Our Health

The eyes are the only place in the body where we can actually see your blood vessels. For that reason, many health issues effecting other parts of the body can be observed in the eyes and sometimes before that disease is known to you. Medication side effects can affect your vision too.

Lumify

Lumify is an #eyedrop that helps with reducing redness and making the eyes ? appear whiter and brighter ✨ We carry them in our office so stop by and snag a bottle before it’s gone! #alamoanaeye

This is a photo of Lumify eyedrops in a coffee cup with winking eyes at the office of eye doctors Daniel Yamamoto & Tracie Inouchi
Lumify Eyedrops
View on Instagram http://bit.ly/2UGju1L

Golden State Warriors ? point guard, Stephen Curry ⛹?‍♂️, had a shooting slump recently and guessed what he changed to improve it?

CONTACTS! ? Seriously! Curry has a condition called #keratoconus in which the cornea, normally a circle, progressively thins and takes on a cone shape. When the cornea has a cone shape, it is unable distribute the light entering the eye equally and leads to blurred or distorted vision. Schedule an annual eye exam with our ? doctors and you too can become a shooting legend like Steph Curry (sorry, no guarantees ?)

View on Instagram http://bit.ly/2G9xWXl

Good Eye Health = Good Vision

Our eyes are the window to our healoth.  Good eye health = good vision.  Vision can change with age.  Regular comprehensive eye exams can protect your vision. Our eyes are the window to our health.  The goal as we “get on in years” is to be able to stay active and vibrant. Adopting a healthy lifestyle of eating properly, exercising and yearly health evaluations including yearly eye examination help with this goal.

Stop Smoking… The Great American Smokeout is November 15

Smoking damages nearly every organ in your body, including your eyes. We urges all our patients not to use tobacco or e-cigarettes, as smoking can cause harm to eye health.

Are Smoking and Vaping Harmful to YOur Eyes?Quitting smoking isn’t easy. It takes time. And a plan. You don’t have to stop smoking in one day. Start with day one. Let the Great American Smokeout event on November 15 be your day to start your journey toward a smoke-free life. You’ll be joining thousands of smokers across the country in taking an important step toward a healthier life and reducing your cancer risk. Plus, the American Cancer Society can help you access the resources and support you need to quit.

For more information download this fact sheet on Smoking, Vaping, and Your Eyes

November is Diabetes Awareness Month

November is diabetes awareness month

More than 30 million Americans have diabetes and another 84 million have prediabetes and are at risk for developing type 2 diabetes, according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). In addition, diabetes is the leading cause of new cases of blindness among adults. As prevalent as the condition is, 79 percent of Americans don’t know diabetic eye diseases have no visible symptoms and more than half do not know comprehensive eye examinations can detect diabetes, according to the most recent American Eye-Q® Survey conducted by the American Optometric Association (AOA).

During November’s Diabetes Awareness Month, the AOA, the leading authority in eye and vision healthcare, is committed to educating the public about the relationship between diabetes and eye health, as the annual Eye-Q survey shows that after learning about the topic many participants said they would be prompted to take steps to ensure their eye health. The AOA advocates for regular, dilated eye exams for those with diabetes, or at risk for diabetes, because the alternatives, like online vision apps, only check for refractive errors like nearsightedness, farsightedness or astigmatism and cannot detect diabetes.

Bad Habits of Contact Lens Wearers

Here is a great infographic from the American Optometric Association regarding the “Bad Habits of Contact Lens Wearers”

You know who you are…

  • Wash your hands before handling lenses.
  • Don’t sleep in lenses not intended for overnight wear.
  • Keep your case clean using fresh solution every time and replace it every three months.
  • Get an eye exam yearly.

Bad Habits of contact lens wearers infographic