Glaucoma Awareness Month
Glaucoma is a progressive eye disease that often has no symptoms until it’s too late! This type of eye disease damages the optic nerve which is what connects your eye to the brain. If not caught early, complete vision loss could occur. Therefore, It is very important the disease is caught early to slow the progression of vision loss as there is no cure. This means seeing your eye doctor regularly for comprehensive eye exams!
There are several factors that can be at play, as there isn’t any single or
definite cause for Glaucoma, but the most common cause of the nerve damage is
due to high interocular pressure (IOP). This is often the first step in
managing this disease—keeping the IOP down, often with medication in the form
of an eyedrop.
There are several risk factors aside from high IOP, which include:
*family history
*being over 40
*African, Asian, Latin American ancestry
*diabetes and high blood pressure
*certain medications, especially steroids
*eye injury or retinal detachment
If you haven’t had an eye exam before or if it’s been several years–especially if you have any or multiple known risk factors–schedule an eye appointment with us soon!
Atascadero 805-466-3777
San Luis Obispo 805-543-1447
Links for more info/source here:
https://www.allaboutvision.com/…/january-glaucoma…/
https://www.allaboutvision.com/conditions/glaucoma/
January 17 – Popeye The Sailor Man Day –Eat Your Spinach!
It’s Popeye The Sailor Man Day! Be like Popeye and eat your spinach!
Spinach is nutrient-rich vegetable that’s a great source of beta-carotene, vitamin C, lutein, & zeaxanthin–all of which are great for eye health!
Beta-carotene in combination with vitamin C & E and zinc may reduce
progression of eye disease like macular degeneration, while lutein and
zeaxanthin combined may prevent both cataracts and eye disease like macular
degeneration.
Macular degeneration is an eye disease that causes central vision loss as the central part of your retina (back part of the eye with photoreceptors that sense light and transmit signals to your brain that create an image) is the area affected. There is no cure, but treatments can delay the progression. Prevention is the best way to reduce the risk of developing the disease. In addition to exercise & maintaining good blood pressure/cholesterol levels, eating a balanced, healthy diet full of the nutrients mentioned above is the best ways to do so!
For more information on nutrients for eye health:
https://www.allaboutvision.com/nutr…/nutrition_summary.htm
For more information on macular degeneration: