For this reason thousands of people long into virtual classrooms each day and spend hours, otherwise, completing assignments on the computer.

All of this time spent at the keyboard and before the backlit screen could result in a condition known as Computer Vision Syndrome.

This vision-related condition is recognized by the American Optometric Association and can result in headaches, neck pain, dry eyes and serious eye strain that can get progressively worse with additional time on the computer.

However, there are a few things that online students can do to reduce the chances of suffering from this condition.

First and foremost, these individuals should seriously consider investing in an anti-glare screen protector. This will help with bright overhead lights or sunlight coming in nearby windows.

It is also a good idea to abide by the ’20-20-20′ rule. This means that every twenty minutes, a person should look up from the computer and study something at least twenty feet away for approximately twenty seconds.

The provides a source of relief for the eyes and can be enough to prevent Computer Vision Syndrome, which means one can enjoy success in the online classroom without eye troubles later.

For more information and tips, continue reading the full article.

Because so much of day-to-day conversation and interaction involves eye-to-eye contact, people are beginning to place a large amount of emphasis on the eyewear they use.

Choosing the right pair of corrective lenses can mean a big boost of confidence, because when you look good, you feel good.

Beyond choosing more unique frames or a different shape than they once did, people are beginning to treat glasses as genuine wardrobe accessories.

As manufacturers become more creative with the frame colors, styles, shapes, and sizes, the American public is frequently welcoming several pairs of glasses into their repertoire.

Not only does this provide backup if a favorite pair should break, but it also allows for outfit matching and statement making.

Just as a women might set aside jeans or slacks worn during the day to replace them with her little black dress before heading out in the evening, glasses, too, can dress up or dress down a look in a fabulous way.

For people who wear frames they consider to be boring or drab, a new pair can make a big difference in confidence levels and that can translate to better work performance and improved comfort in social settings.

Knowing this, the expense associated with new frames appears far more minimal.

To read more about finding confidence in corrective lenses, visit the full article.

A new study, which was recently published in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association, suggests that many or most Americas have little patience for the labels, which have been in use for ages now.

In the study, very few of the participants read every piece of the information panel, yet the same participants had reported that they often read them fully.

Could this behavior, of ignoring the information found there, be a result of the panels’ placements?

Researchers suggest that a centrally located nutrition label may encourage Americans to be more thoughtful about their food choices.

The more than two hundred participants were shown basic information about 64 food items in a simulated grocery shopping experiment. One third saw the nutrition label front and center, one third saw it to the left of the product’s image, and the final third saw it to the right.

A computerized eye-tracking device found that the average participant only scanned the first five rows of the panel.

However, those who saw the centered panel read at least one element of the table on more than sixty percent of the products that appeared. Those who saw it in the peripheral looked at label on approximately one third of the food items. Those who saw it in the center also spent thirty percent more time studying each panel.

This suggests that repositioning the labels could help members of this country make healthier choices in their day-to-day lives.

For more information, keep reading the full article.

There is a scary trend in the United States that has the optometric community very concerned. It has been found that approximately two thousand workers, in this country, suffer an eye injury on the job each day.

Though just five percent of those will be serious enough to cause missed days at work, that is still one hundred individuals removed from their responsibilities each day and more than six hundred of those will require hospital treatment.

The vast majority of these individuals are injured as a result of fine particles entering the eye. The dust, wood chips, cement, metal chips, and other such irritants can cause scratches or more serious problems.

In the worst case situations, blindness can result. The same is true when chemicals enter the eye.

Furthermore, for those who work in doctor’s offices, hospital settings, veterinarian clinics, or laboratories can be at increased risk of infectious disease spread after touching the eyes.

For these reasons, safety glasses are always highly recommended and should be required by employers to avoid injury to workers, lost work days, and potential workers compensation claims.

The eye protection should be provided by the employer and should fit the individual comfortably, allowing for undisturbed vision throughout the vision field.

For more information on work-related eye injuries, continue reading the full article.

In support of National Nutrition Month this March, we’d like to share the six essential nutrients for eye health and what you can add to your plate to get them.

1. Lutein
What is it? Lutein is a type carotenoid, a pigment in plants that gives mainly yellow and red color to leaves and the outer skin of fruits and vegetables. Since animals do not produce lutein, they must consume it through their diet.

Why do I need it? Lutein is an antioxidant that protects cells in our body. Increased levels of lutein have improved visual performance, reduced sensitivity to glaring light, and help filter harmful ultraviolet rays from sunlight.

Recommended amount: 6-10mg daily

Put It On Your Plate: Green leafy vegetables such as spinach, collards, or kale; also green peas, zucchini, brussel sprouts, orange pepper, corn, eggs, tangerine

2. Zeaxanthin
What is it? Like lutein, zeaxanthin is a common carotenoid which gives color to plants and is obtained through our foods.

Why do I need it? Zeaxanthin is an antioxidant which helps maintain cells and guards them from free radicals. Including this nutrient in your diet can help improve visual acuity and blocks harmful sunlight which reduces the risk of macular degeneration, one of the leading causes of blindness.

Recommended amount: 2mg daily

Put It On Your Plate: Green leafy vegetables such as spinach, collards, or kale; also green peas, zucchini, brussel sprouts, orange pepper, corn, eggs, tangerine

3. Vitamin C
What is it? Vitamin C is a powerful antioxidant most known for boosting the immune system. Humans are unable to produce Vitamin C on their own, so we add it to our diet from both plant and animal food sources.

Why do I need it? Vitamin C promotes eye health by maintaining connective tissue in the cornea and blood vessels around the retina. These are both important for reducing your risk of cataracts and macular degeneration.

Recommended amount: 90mg for men; 75mg for women daily

Put It On Your Plate: Orange juice, grapefruit, papaya, cantaloupe, sweet peppers (red and green), strawberries, broccoli

4. Vitamin E
What is it? The antioxidant, Vitamin E, refers to a group of 8 compounds as opposed to just one nutrient. Together these work to preserve our immune system, maintain healthy cell membranes, and assist other essential metabolic processes.

Why do I need it? For eye health, research associates Vitamin E with vision loss prevention due to cataracts and macular degeneration.

Recommended amount: 22.5 IUs daily

Put It On Your Plate: Almonds, hazelnuts, sunflower seeds, peanuts, salad and vegetable oils, fortified cereals, sweet potatoes, spinach, avocado

5. Zinc
What is it? Zinc is a mineral that aids the absorption and allocation of vitamins and helps antioxidants protect cells throughout the body from damaging free radicals.

Why do I need it? One of zinc’s main functions for vision health is delivering Vitamin A from the liver to the retina. Studies show this process lowers the chance of night blindness and macular degeneration.

Recommended amount: 11mg for men; 8mg for women

Put It On Your Plate: Red meat, poultry, oysters, fortified breakfast cereals, nuts, baked beans, milk, black-eyed peas, tofu, eggs

6. Omega-3 fatty acids
What is it? Omega-3 fatty acids are healthy fats found in seafood and vegetables that provide a wide range of crucial health benefits from cardiovascular to nervous system.

Why do I need it? When it comes to your vision, Omega-3 fatty acids allow our vision and neural connections to develop correctly. Not getting enough of these nutrients in your diet means you are at a higher risk for dry eye syndrome, diabetic retinopathy, and macular degeneration.

Recommended amount: 500mg daily

Put It On Your Plate: Salmon, tuna, sardines, halibut, shrimp, scallops, flax seeds, walnuts, soybeans, tofu

Learn more about nutrition for eye health

How are you getting your plate in shape this year?

For this reason, specialized padding and other protective gear has long been in use.

However, new research has shown that the commonly used football faceshields might not be as able to defend against injury as it promises.

Using an air cannon, researchers tested the masks by hurling baseballs at them.

The older versions (still in use by many facilities today) were quick to shatter under the high impact of the projectile, but newer polycarbonate faceshields held up well, even against the most trying tests.

Approximately ninety-eight percent of football programs around the country allow players to use the faceshields, but just eighteen percent of players make use of them.

This is due to the fact that most organizations do not require the protective shields.

Fewer than a quarter of them assign them to players with less than perfect vision.

For those who need the assisted vision correction, these shields are highly valuable, but after the findings of this study, researchers and experts are encouraging that programs across the country rethink their feelings about the shields.

Players fitted with the newer shields could enjoy improved vision and safety on the field.

With so many children facing troubles with amblyopia (lazy eye), there are concerns that those not receiving the assistance of vision correction could face permanent vision loss in the affect eye.

These shields could help kids avoid that fate.

For more information, keep reading the full article.

Bill Nye will help explain the confusion about concepts like those below.

Computers Are Bad for the Eyes
Using a computer is not going to harm your eyes, but it can cause blurred vision, eye fatigue and headaches if the eyes are not provided a break from time to time. It is recommended that people who work on a computer all day look away every twenty minutes to focus on something off in the distance. Just a twenty second look out the window can do the trick.

Eyes Get Worse When a Person Wears Glasses
Reduced visual clarity, especially in the close range, is not the fault of corrective lenses, but instead the calendar. Time is the factor that weakens eye sight. As we age, our vision naturally fades.

If you Sit Too Close to the TV, You’ll Hurt Your Eyes
You may get headaches if you make your eyes work hard to process the big screen when sitting so close, but it won’t actually harm the eyes.

There is No Need to Have Children’s Eyes Tested Unless They Have Problems
This is not true. Many children do not realize there is a problem because they have never known clear vision and even if this isn’t the case with your kids, eye exams can help find other potential problems early.

For more information on common myths, keep reading the full article.

The profits made during this event will help the Luxottica’s OneSight foundation.

This is actually a group of charities that operate as one to provide the necessary screenings and eyewear to people in need.

The concert will be held at the Hard Rock Café in New York City Time Square highlighting the headline performance to be given by the beautiful and talented Lisa Loeb.

The singer is so dedicated to eye health that she created her own line of eyewear, called Classique Eyewear in 2010 and admits that she is very excited to take part in the event.

In addition to New York citizens and those from afar, many of the attendees of the musical event will be the participants in the Vision Expo East, which is designed as a forum to discuss the hottest topics in the ophthalmologic field.

In addition to big names, like Loeb, there will be many performers who also hold roles within the eye care community, which certainly draws the interest of others who work in the field.

You can attend as well.

Tickets to the event cost seventy-five dollars and you will know that your money is going to a great cause.

For more information about the event, continue reading the full article.

One in three older Americans will be diagnosed with age-related macular degeneration, but age is not the only factor that can increase the risk that one has for suffering the same fate.

Put it Out, Leave it Out
Quitting tobacco products in your life is one of the very best things that you can do for your health and well being. It can also decrease your chances of being diagnosed with AMD because smoking can disrupt the oxygen levels reaching the retina.

Look to Your Past
Has a family member fought with AMD in the past? If so, then you are facing an increased risk of doing the same in the future.

What Box Do You Check
When asked if you are male or female on a doctor’s form, you are also answering a question about your likelihood to be diagnosed with macular degeneration. This is because females are more susceptible.

Where Did Your Family Originate?
Just as the question of sex can impact the determined risk level, so can questions about race. Caucasians are the most likely to suffer from AMD.

Rock the Shades
If you spend a lot of time in the sun without UV-blocking shades then your eyes are at an increased risk of this medical condition.

Eat Right and Stay Fit
A bad diet – one high in fat and low in antioxidants – is like saying that you are okay with an unhealthy tomorrow. AMD is one of the many conditions that becomes an increased concern when a person eats poorly. When bad eating habits lead to obesity, that risk increases even more.

Stay Cool, Calm, and Collected
High blood pressure means an increased pressure in the eye and constricted vessels as well. That means less oxygen to the eye and a likely diagnosis of AMD down the road.

For information on the remaining risk factors, continue reading the full article.