TheEyesofTexasBlog

Snowblind!

drtorymoore — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 18:45:51 +0000

As it snows and blows outside, I often wonder how the early pioneers survived. They had to be so much tougher than most people living today. My father and my maternal grandmother still recall even up to the 1950′s, living in houses in Iowa where the snow blew in through the spaces in the walls. My dad explained that “if that’s all you know, you don’t realize how much more comfortable you could be with modern conveniences.” It’s true. You don’t know what you don’t know. So with my fancy, Oakley polarized sunwear that protects my eyes and makes me see better with the sun shining on the snow, I also wonder how did the pioneers in the 1800′s or even the Indians not go “snow blind” before sunglasses were made.

Snow blindness is when the ultra-violet (U-V) light from the sun reflects off the snow or ice and causes a phototoxic keratitis (a sunburn to the cornea). Photokeratitis can be from welding (flashburn) or suntanning with insufficient protection in front of the eyes. I have treated many a teen age snow skier that didn’t listen to advice and skied even for a brief amount of time without their sunglasses and ended up in severe pain. It makes the eyes feel like someone poured sand in your eyes! It hurts! The eyes will also be red, water and will be intensely light sensitive for 24-48hrs. More severe burns can actually damage the retina (back of the eye).

While welder’s have had home remedies for years, modern treatment consists of cold packs, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory eye drops, steroid eye drops, and even patching the eyes. If you end up with a photokeratitis and are in pain, see your eye doctor right away to minimize the damage and help relieve the pain.

Prevention is best and is as easy as using eyewear that blocks the U-V light. A polarized U-V blocking lens is best as it eliminates glare to see better and blocks the U-V radiation to protect the eyes. The Eskimos fashioned goggles out of bone or antler that had horizontal slits to block most of the U-V light. There are many stories of pioneers and settlers that were lost and died or just layed up for days due to snow blindness since they had no eye protection back then. I guess in a worst case scenario in today’s world, you could make your own Eskimo goggles with duct tape and make a slit over your regular glasses to see through! (kidding!)

So be prepared when the sun comes out and the snow is covering the ground. Have a good quality, polarized, U-V blocking sunglass lens to wear to protect the eyes from the agony of snowblindness.

Courtesy of Dumas Vision Source, PLLC and Dr Tory W. Moore, Optometric Glaucoma Specialist. Serving the Dumas, Texas, Moore County and upper Texas Panhandle area for 21 years. Call (806) 935-2020 for appointment or visit our optical gallery without an appointment. Connect on Twitter @eyedocdumas and like our Facebook business page: Dumas Vision Source You also can visit our website www.visionsource-dumas.com for more information. Tory Moore, OD – “A Hometown Eye Doctor You Know and Can Trust!”

“Your eyes will freeze like that!”

drtorymoore — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 23:11:26 +0000

“Don’t cross your eyes, they’ll freeze like that!”

Have you heard something like that before from a parent or grandparent? For the most part, it’s a fallacy, an old wive’s tale, or urban myth.

In some cases, crossing your eyes for short periods of time could actually strengthen the convergence muscles of the eyes and increase the muscle flexibility. There is no downside to kids doing that for short periods of time when making “funny faces.” If it were a habitual thing, perhaps it is a sign of an underlying eye problem and they are not doing it on purpose. If you see a frequent eye turn to doesn’t seem to be on purpose, definitely have your child’s eyes examined for any problems as soon as possible.

So if your kids are fooling around and making their eyes cross for a few seconds, don’t worry.

The phrase, “You’ll shoot your eye out!”, now there is truth to that one!

Courtesy of Dumas Vision Source, PLLC and Dr Tory W. Moore, Optometric Glaucoma Specialist. Serving the Dumas, Texas, Moore County and upper Texas Panhandle area for 21 years. Call (806) 935-2020 for appointment or visit our optical gallery without an appointment. Connect on Twitter @eyedocdumas 1111 and like our Facebook business page: Dumas Vision Source You also can visit our website www.visionsource-dumas.com for more information. Tory Moore, OD – “A Hometown Eye Doctor You Know and Can Trust!”

Pumpkin pie, good for the eye!

drtorymoore — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 17:27:33 +0000

Feeling a little guilt for all the food on Thanksgiving you ate? Especially that piece or two of pumpkin pie? I know my pants are feeling it. But take heart, at least it’s good for your eyes! Well, at least the pumpkin part. Pumpkin is full of carotenoids, vitamins, minerals, and fiber. This “superfood” I dare say is better than the mythical carrot. So would acorn, butternut or other squash varieties. Carotenoids in your diet from whole foods help reduce the risk of macular degeneration and delays cataract onset. Of course, the whip cream, shortening, sugar and other ingredients may not be so great for your body. Probably better to prepare them without all the cholesterol and sugar.

So, off to the gym I go to work off that pumpkin pie. Hey, at least I can see the TV great while on the treadmill!

Courtesy of Dumas Vision Source, PLLC and Dr Tory W. Moore, Optometric Glaucoma Specialist. Serving the Dumas, Texas, Moore County and upper Texas Panhandle area for 21 years. Call (806) 935-2020 for appointment or visit our optical gallery without an appointment. Connect on Twitter @eyedocdumas112727 and like our Facebook business page: Dumas Vision Source You also can visit our website www.visionsource-dumas.com for more information. Tory Moore, OD – “A Hometown Eye Doctor You Know and Can Trust!”

Spa Treatment for the eyes

drtorymoore — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 17:48:57 +0000

Do some days your eyes just burn and feel sore from dryness? Take them to the spa! Or bring the spa to them with this eye treatment. Tranquileyes goggles are like a spa treatment for the eyes as they deliver moist heat to the eyelids and oil glands that nourish and coat the eye’s surface with moisture. Wear them to bed and they also keep the light out of the eyes for a more restful sleep as well. You simply heat the included gel pads and insert them into the goggle with a wet foam pad as well and they provide a “sauna-like” experience. They are available in our office and come in a variety of colors. You can learn even more about them at this link: Tranquileyes by Eyeeco

Courtesy of Dumas Vision Source, PLLC and Dr Tory W. Moore, Optometric Glaucoma Specialist. Serving the Dumas, Texas, Moore County and upper Texas Panhandle area for 21 years. Call (806) 935-2020 for appointment or visit our optical gallery without an appointment. Connect on Twitter @eyedocdumas1111 and like our Facebook business page: Dumas Vision Source You also can visit our website www.visionsource-dumas.com for more information. Tory Moore, OD – “A Hometown Eye Doctor You Know and Can Trust!”

Maybe It’s Not Your Contact Lens!

drtorymoore — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 17:38:05 +0000

At times contact lenses can be uncomfortable, especially in the climate of the Texas Panhandle. Low humidity, wind, and lots of allergens do not make for an environment conducive to all day, comfortable contact lens wear. A torn lens, a piece of lint or dust or lens coatings from using the same lens more than 1 month can definitely make a contact lens uncomfortable. A thicker lens, a larger diameter or the improper curvature of the lens that doesn’t match the eye curvature can make the contact lenses uncomfortable. Sometimes the contact lens is the problem.

However, more often than not, the source of discomfort is not the actual contact lens but your contact solution. Most people use Multi-Purpose Solutions (MPS) such as Optifree PureMoist, Complete, Renu, etc…to disinfect their lenses since it is easy to use. These MPS solutions all have preservatives (chemicals) that keep the solution from becoming contaminated. These chemicals, while effective at that, are soaked up into the contact lenses and will slowly diffuse into the tear layer of your eyes during the course of the day while wearing them. Often this results in from mild to severe irritation to the surface of the eye and inside of the eyelids in certain people. Irritation to the eye results in dryness, foreign object sensation, redness, burning, blurry vision and sometimes itching and mucous production. I have found MANY people use cheap, generic, store brands from the Bigmart stores to save money. While they say they are comparable in how they work, the chemicals may not be as gentle as the name brand solutions.

The only way to know is for your eye doctor to look at your eye to determine what the exact nature of the problem is. Switching to a preservative-free contact solution, such as Clearcare or Purilens, is sometimes all that is needed to make contact lenses more comfortable. The ideal scenario is to wear a daily disposable lens, such as Focus Dailies AquaComfort Plus, that involves using no contact lens solution at all. No chemicals in the eye, no more problem!

So before you decide to stop wearing your lenses or try to ride out the discomfort, check with your eye doctor first to see if using a daily disposable contact lens or a trial run of a preservative free disinfection system may be the answer.

Courtesy of Dumas Vision Source, PLLC and Dr Tory W. Moore, Optometric Glaucoma Specialist. Serving the Dumas, Texas, Moore County and upper Texas Panhandle area for 21 years. Call (806) 935-2020 for appointment or visit our optical gallery without an appointment. Connect on Twitter @eyedocdumas112727 and like our Facebook business page: Dumas Vision Source You also can visit our website www.visionsource-dumas.com for more information. Tory Moore, OD – “A Hometown Eye Doctor You Know and Can Trust!”

My Arms Are Getting Shorter!

drtorymoore — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 18:26:14 +0000

That dreaded word – bifocals! Seems like the worst news that I can tell somebody. That you need help to focus your eyes up close now. I guess it’s one of the first signs of our mortality and we are not getting any younger. Men seem to deny it longer since they must think it’s a sign of weakness. Women seem to be affected more emotionally, maybe because they think it is a sign they are officially old. Either way, it seems to be a defining moment in people’s lives. I know for me, it stinks!

Presbyopia is the official diagnosis for when you can’t focus for near tasks any longer. The process of loosing our focusing ability over the years starts at about 6 years old and then hits the wall anywhere from 40 to 45 generally. No one escapes it, not even eye doctors.

The crystalline lens in the eye for the most part is made up of protein, much like an egg yolk. Over the course of time, the proteins harden and the lens looses it’s flexibility that allows it to change focus from far to near. I like to compare the eye at that point to binoculars that you can see far away like the moon but the focusing knob is rusted up and you can’t get it to focus on the back fence. It won’t change focus or at least very easily. So guys, take heart, it’s not a “muscle thing.”

At this time, there are not any vitamins or exercises to help with this natural hardening of the lens. You might delay it a few months or a year with good nutrition, staying hydrated and wearing ultra-violet light protection. Wearing or not glasses will not keep it from happening. There is word on the street of the possibility of an eyedrop in the future that would help keep the lens proteins from changing. That would still take many years to be commercially available if it did work.

For now, we can help by using either spectacle lenses or contact lenses. For eyeglasses, there are the old-fashioned lined bifocal that your grandpa probably used to wear. They work but you see a line in your vision and the image seems to jump as your line of sight crosses over the line. The best option are “no-line” bifocals or the more technically correct term, “Progressive addition lenses,” which are multifocal lenses without any lines. The newest progressive lenses are high-definition, digitally designed and diamond cut to the most optically pure lens ever. One brand I highly recommend are the Hoya Free Form lenses, which I feel are the most advanced lenses on the market.

Contact lenses come in multifocals now such as the Air Optix Multifocal and work better than ever but…the vision is often not as sharp as glasses. If you are a good candidate, the success rate is around 50%. If you have a significant amount of astigmatism, there are a few lenses that can work for that to.

Either way, correcting presbyopia is a compromise. There is just not anyway to design an optical device that replicates the way the eye used to work. We just compensate in the best manner possible. At least now we have high-tech devices that work fairly well. Many hundred years ago we just had to hire a young apprentice that could do the small, intricate work for us!

So when those arms get too short and the near print is too blurry, don’t worry. It’s not old age or a sign of weakness, it’s just aging. And we can help!

Home Eye Safety – Fall

drtorymoore — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 23:13:29 +0000

Fall brings cooler weather, fireplaces needing firewood and yard work before the cold winter hits. Anytime you work with power tools such as chainsaws, trimmers, mowers in the yard you should wear protective eyewear. Every year, I see people with sawdust or other foreign material in the eye because they didn’t put on any safety glasses or goggles, even for simple, quick, little tasks. Yes, they can be awkward or just a pain to wear. However, it is alot less painful than a foreign object that can cause a corneal abrasion or lead to infection and scarred vision for life. Modern safety glasses like Wiley X are very comfortable, with some even having a foam side piece to keep out wind and dust. There are all kinds of prescription safety eyewear available and many cost less than regular eyewear. Make sure you keep them clean and scratch free. Scratches are annoying and can tempt you to take them off. It also makes them more likely to break if there were an impact.

Good protective eyewear should be made of polycarbonate or Trivex lens material meeting the ANSI standard for safety eyewear. A great site about safety eyewear is here: http://www.allaboutvision.com/safety/safety-glasses.htm

It takes one second, one little touch on the grinder, one little strike of the hammer, one little rock chip off the weed eater to blind an eye. Don’t take any chances. Wear those safety glasses!

School kids eyes and vision

drtorymoore — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 18:36:36 +0000

It happened again today. So many times I have seen elementary school age children that are struggling in school, perhaps labeled dyslexic or ADHD, and the only problem is they are far-sighted (hyperopic) and need glasses to help focus. Sometimes they have been checked by the school nurse and passed the screenings they perform or some even have been seen by a “quickie” eye doctor at a Bigmart store and the parents have been told the child doesn’t need glasses.

Many far-sighted people can see at far and near distances clearly but they have to work harder to do it. That’s why they may read 20/20 on the eye chart and not appear to need glasses at first glance. The child can make vision clear for awhile until the eye muscles fatigue and then the letters on the page blur or move around. It’s hard to concentrate when your vision is in and out of focus. Many kids avoid near work because it’s uncomfortable to continue doing this and usually they are the ones that end up talking and getting in trouble with the teacher for not paying attention to their work.

It should be assumed, until proven otherwise by a reputable eye doctor, that a child with a learning disability or doing poorly in school has a vision problem. Your eye doctor should be able to say with 100% confidence through specific tests, that the child is absolutely not farsighted when they don’t appear to need glasses. Only then should the child be considered for a visual perception problem or dyslexia diagnosis.

Please, please, parents….if your child is struggling in school with their grades, especially if they have headaches later in the day after using their eyes, have them examined by a reputable eye doctor that can ensure you that your child is not far-sighted (or have other hidden vision disorders for that matter.)

Courtesy of Dumas Vision Source, PLLC and Dr Tory W. Moore, Optometric Glaucoma Specialist. Serving the Dumas, Texas, Moore County and upper Texas Panhandle area for 21 years. Call (806) 935-2020 for appointment or visit our optical gallery without an appointment. Connect on Twitter @eyedocdumas27 and like our Facebook business page: Dumas Vision Source You also can visit our website www.visionsource-dumas.com for more information. Tory Moore, OD – “A Hometown Eye Doctor You Know and Can Trust!”

Wow! lenses

drtorymoore — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 13:34:06 +0000

For the first time, optical lenses can be worn with absolutely no distortion. In the past, lenses either had to be held in place in frames by tightening the frame around it or by drilling holes and placing screws through them. This always causes some kind of stress and visual distortions in the lenses not observable to the naked eye. As a result, the patient doesn’t obtain the sharpest, clearest, most comfortable vision possible.

With the latest technology, high definition lenses can be produced with a frame that only attaches at a special tab on the side of the lens. It’s as close to floating lenses in front of your eyes with no frame as possible.

You have to come see them at our office! You will say Wow! when you look through these.

Here is a You Tube link about them: http://youtu.be/tNDxl4dTcgo

Allergy eyes in the Texas Panhandle

drtorymoore — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 20:52:24 +0000

During harvest time, there are usually plenty of dry, dusty conditions in the Texas Panhandle. With the combines going and the wind picking up the dust and pollen, we see an increase in the amount of swollen, itchy, red eyes. Many people have allergies to corn, milo or cotton pollen that get stirred up in the wind. Fall brings cedar tree and other evergreen pollen as well. Here is an example of cedar pollen on YouTube: http://youtu.be/PvaRPYwgKdU

Since it’s almost impossible to avoid the airborne antigens that cause allergy eye symptoms around here, it’s best to “head them off at the pass.”

Wearing sunglasses can help some to block some of the dust and particles, not all.

Cold, unpreserved artificial tears that have been in the refrigerator can rinse or dilute the antigens and give some relief if used a couple of times a day. So can a wet, chilled washcloth if you put it in the freezer for 2-3 minutes without freezing it. However, if severe enough, an anti-histamine eye drop (sort of like a liquid Claritan or Benadryl) is needed to block the allergic response. There are several very effective, prescription anti-histamine drops available from your eye doctor. DO NOT use any “red eye reliever” drops like Visine, Murine, Cleareyes, etc… These will cause your eyes to stay red and irritated if you use them too much. It’s the same as using nasal decongestants spray that you can also get addicted to.

For severe allergy eye symptoms, mild anti-inflammatory steroid eye drops are helpful to reduce the inflammation and severity of symptoms. These are also available by prescription.

Major medical insurance will typically cover office visits for allergy eye symptoms.

Your eyes are too important to allow them to suffer from allergy symptoms. Let us help your eyes feel better.