“The world only exists in your eyes,” was a quote from F. Scott Fitzgerald. This statement is very relevant when we think of our senses such as sight and hearing and their impact on the aging process and dementia.

Numerous studies have demonstrated an association between sensory impairment and cognitive decline. There are a number of reasons that loss of sight and hearing could contribute to an increased risk of dementia. Many of these involve increased social isolation or decreased cognitive stimulation as a result of the sensory impairment.

As we ring in the New Year, many will pop open a bottle of bubbly in celebration. The popping of the cork comes with some risk. A champagne cork can fly at speeds of up to 60 mph. If this projectile cork hits an eye, it can cause a hyphema (bleeding within the eye), cataract and even glaucoma.

To safely pop a champagne, follow these 3 rules...

Chill the champagne

Champagne is filled with gas bubbles that expand when warm. Chill you bottle in the refrigerator or on ice prior to opening.

Summit Eye Center is proud to offer the first lens that can be customized after a person has cataract surgery, the Light Adjustable Lens from RxSight. This is the only available lens that allows optimization of a patient’s vision after healing from the surgery. This allows each patient to have customized vision based on his or her unique visual needs.

Herpes keratitis is a viral infection in the eye caused by the herpes simplex virus (HSV). There are two main types of the virus:

• Type I is the most common and primarily infects the face, involving one of the three branches of the trigeminal nerve. The result is the familiar “cold sore” or “fever blister.”
• Type II is the sexually transmitted form that infects the genitals

March Madness is upon us. Many will be spending a great deal of time over the next few weeks cheering on their favorite team or simply enjoying the nearly nonstop basketball action on TV.

It has long been a concern of people, especially our mothers, that watching too much TV was bad for our eyes. Studies have shown that watching TV causes no damage to our eyes. A person may experience some eye fatigue or eyestrain, but no physical damage to our eyes or eyesight.

Although New Year’s celebrations may not be as large as typical years, they still plan to be festive as everyone looks forward to moving on to 2021. New Year’s Eve and champagne go together like baseball and hotdogs. Hopefully, these tips ensure a safe celebration for all.

First a few facts about champagne corks. The average bottle of champagne holds 90 psi of pressure. That is about 3 times the average car tire. This pressure can shoot a cork at speeds up to 50 mph and for a distance of up to 40 feet.

As we get older, our risk of developing an age-related eye condition significantly increases. In fact at least 1 in 3 Americans over the age of 65 have some form of an eye condition. The five most common conditions are cataracts, diabetic retinopathy, dry eye, glaucoma and macular degeneration.

Over 34 million Americans have diabetes. About 1 in 5 of these individuals do not know they have diabetes. In addition there are nearly 90 million Americans with prediabetes.

Over time, diabetes damages the blood vessels in our body. This damage to our blood vessels is what leads to blindness, kidney problems and cardiovascular problems.

Headaches are something we all experience from time to time. Some headaches feel as though they are right behind our eyes.

If we have frequent headaches, especially those that seem to originate behind our eyes, we often wonder if our eyes are causing the pain and discomfort. The quick answer is...most likely no, our eyes are not responsible for the pain and discomfort we experience.

As we discussed in our previous post, Keratoconus is a corneal condition that results in a progressive thinning and bulging of the cornea. This results in irregular astigmatism, which produces blurry or distorted vision. It is typically diagnosed in childhood and progresses into adulthood.

How keratoconus has traditionally been treated?

Initially, glasses or soft, toric contact lenses may correct a person’s vision. As keratoconus progresses, increased distortion and irregular astigmatism is noted. When this occurs, glasses and soft contact lenses no longer adequately correct one’s vision.

Keratoconus (KC) is a condition that affects the cornea. The cornea is the clear, dome-shaped tissue that sits above the iris, the colored part of the eye, and the pupil. The cornea focuses light as it enters the eye and then travels through the pupil to be focused on the retina in the back of the eye.

With KC, there is a progressive thinning and bulging of the cornea, which results in irregular astigmatism. This irregularity in the curvature of the cornea causes blurry or distorted vision that can affect one’s ability to read or drive.

It used to be that foggy lenses were something we only experienced during the winter months. It was a common frustration for those wearing glasses coming indoors after being out in the cold. In the current COVID-19 pandemic and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommendation of wearing face masks to curb the spread of COVID-19, foggy glasses are more common than ever.

COVID-19 Update

Effective Monday, May 11, Summit Eye Center will return to normal business hours to attend to the medical and surgical eye care of our patients.

In addition to our normal disinfection and sterilization practices, several new protocols have been implemented:

The following tips are a great resource to help patients overcome treatment challenges that can come up from time to time.

1. Be honest and up front with your doctor about any problems you have with your medications

Missing a dose may seem like no big deal, but studies have shown that skipping doses can lead to vision loss over time. Ask your doctor what to do if you miss a dose. Should you take the drop when you remember? Should you wait to use the medication at its next scheduled time?

As we are all living through these unprecedented times of COVID-19, we are likely spending even more time using our eyes for a variety of near tasks. Many are working from home, our kids are continuing their education online and people are reading books that they had been putting off. We are also simply surfing the web and looking at social media on our phones more than ever. These increased near tasks make managing Computer Vision Syndrome all the more important.

Computer Vision Syndrome, also known as Digital Eye Strain, pertains to a group of vision-related symptoms that are associated with near tasks. These symptoms result from prolonged use of digital devices like computers, tablets and cellphones. Also, extended periods of reading, sewing and knitting, i.e., non-digital near tasks can lead to similar symptoms.

February is Macular Degeneration Awareness Month. So, this is a great time to answer three of the most common questions we hear from our patients regarding macular degeneration.

Glaucoma Awareness Month is drawing to a close. This blog will provide some information on what glaucoma is, how it is tested for, who is at increased risk and how it is treated.

ThermiEyes® is an innovative, non-surgical treatment that can improve your dry eye and reduce fine lines and wrinkles around your eyes. This quick and painless procedure uses radio frequency technology that has been around for years.

If there ever was a year to think about your vision and eye health, it would be this year...2020.

With the New Year, many of us take time to reflect on the previous year and then make resolutions to better ourselves in the upcoming year.

The end of the year is a time for reflection for many of us. We reflect individually, on our family lives and on our work lives.