Probably the best known for eye health, beta carotene is what makes an orange orange. It doesn’t just provide the color, though. As a powerful antioxidant and precursor to Vitamin A, beta carotene promotes good eye health by protecting the cells of the eyes from free radical damage caused by pollution and sun exposure. Beta carotene can also delay cognitive aging and protect skin from sun damage.

Vitamin A, commonly referred to as retinal, retinol, and retonoic acid, is important for both normal and night vision. Other antioxidant benefits include neutralizing the damaging free radicals in the body and supporting your immune system.

Vitamin C is essential to eye health, as it nourishes the eyes and protects them from oxidative stress. Vitamin C can help prevent eye diseases such as cataracts, glaucoma, and macular degeneration. This antioxidant also protects against cardiovascular disease, boosts the immune system, and helps rebuild collagen in the skin.

Omega-3 fatty acids, such as you’d find in salmon and other fatty fish, can help relieve dry eyes, in addition to helping protect your peepers against retinal degeneration. And it doesn’t hurt that omega-3 is also good for helping keep your cholesterol in check.

Now that you know why orange-colored foods are such a great choice for maintaining healthy eyes, how would you like some great-tasting, eye-healthy recipes? We’ve got ’em for you at Emory Healthcare’s Recipes for Wellness. Taste test the amazing butternut squash lasagna recipe, yummy glazed carrots, or our delicious roasted acorn squash with chile-lime vinaigrette.

Related Resources:

• Think in Color for a Nutritious Diet
• Emory Eye Center

To help get you up to speed on LASIK surgery, the changes that have been made in the laser vision correction world, and what you can expect if you do choose LASIK, board-certified Emory Vision LASIK surgeon, Dr. Randleman, is hosting a 1 hour free web chat on Wednesday, October 12, 2011.

If you have questions such as…

• Is LASIK surgery safe?
• Is LASIK right for everyone? Is it right for me?
• How long does LASIK surgery take?
• What happens during the LASIK procedure?
• Is LASIK painful?

…whether or not you prove to be an ideal candidate for LASIK, you are an ideal candidate for Dr. Randleman’s chat. All that’s required to participate is that you fill out our form so we can send you a link to enter the chat. You can ask as many or as few questions as you’d like during the chat, and in fact, if you’d rather just observe and read on as Dr. Randleman fields questions on LASIK, you’re more than welcome to.

We hope to see you for Dr. Randleman’s LASIK online chat on Wednesday, October 12. If you can’t make it but want more information on LASIK, you can either check out our LASIK resources online, or you can call the Emory Vision offices at 404-778-2733.

In fact, according to Susan Primo, O.D., M.P.H., of the Emory Eye Center, 3-D technology can actually help detect underlying visual problems in both children and adults that might otherwise go undiagnosed. This is because people who have visual problems may experience significant discomfort while watching a 3-D movie.

3-D films work by altering our binocular vision, or how both our eyes work together to see. If your eyes are irritated or tired after a 3-D movie, this is most likely a reaction to adjusting the way you see, much as you would with a new pair of glasses or contact lenses. Tired or irritated eyes usually are not an indication of a real problem.

However, factors that create poor binocular vision, such as a lazy eye, can be aggravated by 3-D. If watching a 3-D movie makes you dizzy or nauseated or gives you a headache, you should probably have your vision checked. Vision problems caused by weak eye muscles or poor eye coordination often can be corrected or improved with vision therapy.

If your child complains of serious discomfort when watching 3-D movies, go ahead and make an appointment with an eye care provider. Children, in particular, don’t always know when their vision isn’t what it should be, and the same problems that make 3-D viewing challenging can also cause your child to have difficulty in school or at sports. It’s good to catch the problem early, as younger eye muscles are easier to train through therapy.

Do 3-D movies bother your eyes? Do you think you may have an underlying visual problem? We’d like to hear about your experience. Please take a moment to give us feedback in the comments section below.

At the Emory Optical Center, we’ll make sure you look great and see well. Our eyewear experts have extensive experience crafting custom lenses that address a variety of visual challenges, from simple near and far sightedness to presbyopia to advanced macular degeneration. In fact, ophthalmologists from all over the Atlanta area send patients to us, knowing their prescriptions will be done right.

If you wear progressive lenses, you’re probably aware that multifocal lenses have come a long way over the past decade. Long gone are the lines in the lens that identified bifocal wearers in the past. New progressive lenses feature a seamless design and can address multiple vision impairments.

One of most exciting technological advancements in lenses is the freeform manufacturing process, which uses precision software to cut multiple curves on both the front and the back of a lens according to the patient’s unique prescription. This results in a highly effective lens that dramatically increases the wearer’s peripheral field of view. The free-form process is different from the traditional lens process, in which the prescription is cut into one side of semi-finished lens blanks.

Who might benefit from a free-form lens? A good example is a patient with macular degeneration who needs a high-power, versatile progressive lens. In this case, we can create a mixed front-side, back-side bifocal that gives an extremely high power for intermediate vision as well as an extremely high bifocal for reading.

At the Emory Optical Center, we offer four tiers of progressive lenses, from a basic design to the latest free-form technology. Whether you see an Emory ophthalmologist or bring your prescription in from elsewhere, we’ll put you in the lens that best suits your visual needs and price point.

Have you recently purchased glasses, or are you about to? We’d like to hear about your experience. Please take a moment to give us feedback in the comments section below.

About Brad Baird:
Brad Baird is the administrative consultant within Ophthalmology. Brad and the rest of the talented Optical Center team have been helping patients get the perfect fit for a combined total of more than 125 years.

When you’ve been in the business for a long time, as we have, you can look at a face and know what will work. Some very basic guidelines are…

• Round faces shouldn’t wear round glasses
• A pear-shaped face is going to need a little accent on the top of the frames
• A narrow face is more suited for round glasses (think John Lennon)

That said, fitting a frame to a face is not an exact science. There are other nuances, including subtle feature differences and coloring. And while the frame is key, lens shape can make a difference, too. If you’d like to hide a less-than-perfect feature like under-eye hollows or uneven eyebrows, different lens shapes can help mask those.

When we first sit down with you at the Emory Optical Center, we’ll ask what type of frame you have in mind. What we’ve found is that people often want a look they’ve seen on a celebrity, and often, that isn’t going to work for them. I’ll show you how the style you’re thinking of looks on you—you may be one of those people who look great in anything. But I’ll also be honest in pointing out any downsides, and, if you’re open to suggestions, we’ll find something that truly complements your facial structure.

If you’re not sure what type of glasses you want and you’re open to trying something new, we can really have some fun. A good optician can help you think outside the box when picking your frames. We’ll help you take a risk and try on glasses that are a bright color, maybe a little funky, or simply unique.

Sometimes chain optical stores recommend their customers buy the most expensive frames and lenses. At the Emory Optical Center, our goal is to make you look good and feel good (and see well, of course). If your glasses aren’t the right fit or shape, they are useless to you. We’ll work together to find the perfect fit.

Come see us at one of our two Emory Optical Center locations, at The Emory Clinic, Building B, 1365B Clifton Road, N.E., or on the 9th floor of the Medical Office Towers, 550 Peachtree Street.

Had a great experience or tips that you’d like to share about finding the perfect frames? Please take a moment to give us feedback in the comments section below. You’ll make our day.

About Brad Baird:

Brad Baird is the administrative consultant within Ophthalmology. Brad and the rest of the talented Optical Center team have been helping patients get the perfect fit for a combined total of more than 125 years.

Emory Optical Center Locations:

The Emory Clinic, Building B
1st floor, 1365B Clifton Road, NE Atlanta, Georgia 30322
Optical Center: 404-778-4226
Hours: 8:00 AM – 5:30 PM
Appointments for Eye Exams:
404-778-2020; 404-778-5000 (after office hours)

Medical Office Tower, Emory University Hospital Midtown
(formerly Crawford Long Hospital)
9th floor, 550 Peachtree Street, NE
Optical Center: 404-686-8714
Hours: 9 AM - 5 PM
Appointments for Eye Exams:
404-778-2020; 404-778-5000 (after office hours)

Many times, patients come to us for their first exam in their early 40s, when they start experiencing presbyopia, or the inability to focus close up (i.e., when reading). However, even if you’re not experiencing any noticeable change in your vision, periodic comprehensive eye exams are important, because they allow for the early detection of eye diseases and other eye problems—some of which have no obvious symptoms. Earlier detection allows for earlier treatment and a better visual outcome for most.

At the Emory Eye Center, our comprehensive eye exam includes screening for signs of eye and medical problems such as:

• Glaucoma – Glaucoma is an eye disease typically caused by an increase in pressure in the eye that can’t be felt. Over time, if not treated, glaucoma damages the optic nerve and can lead to blindness. In general, there are no early warning signs, and early detection is the key to preserving vision. Often, the patients we diagnose with glaucoma haven’t had an eye exam in 5 to 10 years.
• Cataracts - A cataract is a change in the lens inside the eye as a result of aging. Over time, this leads to hazy vision. Cataracts can be treated with surgery.
• Macular degeneration - Macular degeneration affects your central vision and can occur as a result of aging. Depending on the type of macular degeneration, you may experience drastic changes within a year’s time. A comprehensive annual exam can help us detect the early signs of macular degeneration and treat it, if necessary.
• Hypertension - Hypertension, or high blood pressure, is a systemic issue that can affect the eye in a number of ways. We can detect signs of hypertension in the back of the eye during a comprehensive eye exam.
• Diabetes - Diabetes is another systemic issue that can affect the eyes and lead to blindness. People with diabetes need to have an annual eye exam to check for diabetic retinopathy, or damage to the eye’s retina, which may be symptomless until the damage is severe. An eye exam also can help detect the early signs of diabetes, allowing earlier preventive treatment.

An annual eye exam provides a baseline against which to measure future vision changes and the progression of eye disease or other medical problems. One hour once a year can make a significant difference in your vision, your health, and your quality of life.

When’s the last time you had a comprehensive eye exam? Please take a moment to give us feedback in the comments section below. If you’re interested in making your eye exam appointment with Emory, visit our Eye Center Patient Services page.

About Ann Van Wie, OD

Ann Van Wie, OD, is a member of the American Optometric Association and the Georgia Optometric Association. Dr. Van Wie started practicing at Emory in 2000 and is an instructor of ophthalmology.

The American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) has designated April 2011 as Sports Eye Safety Month to help increase public awareness of wearing protective eyewear when participating in team sports. Protecting your eyes from injury will go a long way toward maintaining healthy vision throughout your life.

According to the AAO:

• An estimated 40,000 sports eye injuries occur every year. The majority of victims are children, many of whom suffer permanent visual impairment.
• Baseball and basketball account for the largest number of injuries among young athletes.
• Little League pitchers can achieve pitching speeds up to 70 mph. That’s fast enough to seriously damage an eye.
• In basketball, serious eye injuries caused by flying fingers and elbows can be prevented by wearing appropriate protective eyewear.
• Many other popular sports, such as tennis, soccer, football, golf, water sports, and hockey, put unprotected players at risk for serious eye injury.

Many children’s sports leagues, schools, and teams don’t require children to wear eye protection during games. If you’re a parent, be sure to set a good example by wearing eye protection whenever you play a sport, and make sure your kids wear their eye protection when they play.

Studies have shown that more than 90% of eye injuries can be prevented, simply by wearing the right protective eyewear. Specific eyewear is available for just about any activity—the experts at the Emory Eye Center can recommend the appropriate eyewear for your sport and make sure you have the right fit. If you’ve suffered an eye injury, be sure to have an ophthalmologist examine the eye as soon as possible, even if the injury seems minor.

Have you experienced an eye injury while playing a sport, or have you prevented a serious injury by wearing the appropriate eye protection? We’d like to hear about your experience. Please take a moment to give us feedback in the comments section below.

Emory’s LASIK surgeons review every patient on an individual, case-by-case basis, but there are some basic considerations to think about regarding your age and its role in LASIK surgery:

Children 18 and younger

The FDA has approved LASIK surgery for people over the age of 18. Young eyes don’t fully develop and are constantly adjusting and changing shape. Our surgeons, therefore, advise patients who are 18 and under to wait until their eyes have fully matured before considering LASIK surgery.

Middle-aged adults

LASIK is a safe and effective way to treat nearsightedness, farsightedness and astigmatism at any adult age. As we get older, however, new vision problems can develop. The most common age-related vision problem – presbyopia – occurs when the eye becomes less flexible and makes it difficult to change focus between near and far objects. This is why most of us will need reading glasses at some point.

If you’re middle-aged, you may want to consider LASIK surgery with blended vision (where we treat one eye for distance viewing and the other for close up vision). See what blended vision surgery looks like live!

Seniors

LASIK surgery may not the best option for older patients who suffer from age-related conditions such as cataracts. Cataracts occur when the natural lens in the eye becomes cloudy, resulting in blurred vision. It is one of the leading causes of vision loss among older people. Our surgeons at Emory Vision are board-certified ophthalmologists who are also experts at performing cataract surgery – where the eye’s natural lens is replaced by an artificial lens. If you have cataracts, I encourage you to contact the Emory Eye Center at 404 778-2020 to schedule an appointment.

Still have questions about the right age for LASIK? I’m happy to try to guide you in the right direction!

Cataracts are usually a very gradual process of normal aging . Your risk for developing a cataract increases as you get older – with the highest likelihood of occurrence after the age of 60. They commonly affect both eyes, but it is not uncommon for a cataract in one eye to advance more rapidly.

If you’ve been told that you need cataract surgery, rest assured that the Emory Eye Center is committed to getting you back to good eye health quickly. Cataract surgery at Emory is done on an outpatient basis, meaning you’ll go home that day. The actual surgery takes only about 10 minutes. You can expect warmth and compassion from our incredible staff of experts before and after your surgery. Everyone from the ophthalmic techs, who do calculations, to the physicians’ assistants, who explain the procedure, discuss any medical issues, and answer questions, to all the OR nurses, including pre-op nurses, surgical assistants, and the recovery room nurses, are very knowledgeable, have many years of experience, and are very skilled at what they do.

And finally, know that your eyes are in good hands. Our eye surgeons are some of the best in the country. We have the technical expertise to perform cataract surgery on eyes that have additional complicating factors that can make surgery more challenging, such as iritis, glaucoma, and previous LASIK/PRK. Because we have the knowledge, the experience, and the most up-to-date equipment, we see many of the most challenging cases in the community.

Are you planning to have cataract surgery, or have you already had it? We welcome your questions and feedback in the comments section below.

Maria Aaron, MD, specializes in cataract surgery, eye trauma, and laser surgery and is board certified in ophthalmology. Dr. Aaron started practicing at Emory in 1999 and is associate professor of ophthalmology.

There are two basic types of IOLs: the monofocal lens and the multifocal lens. Monofocal lenses may provide spectacle-free vision at a single focal length, either distance, intermediate, or near, while multifocal lenses have multiple focal lengths and therefore may enable you to see near and distance without the dependence on spectacles. Patients with a significant degree of astigmatism may benefit from toric lenses, which are monofocal IOLs that help correct astigmatism.

Before you have eye surgery, your surgeon will take measurements to help determine the best lens for you. IOL insertion usually takes less than 30 minutes and can be performed while you are under local anesthesia. Recovery time generally takes two to three weeks.

If you’re having cataract surgery, you should remember that the goal of cataract surgery is not to get rid of glasses—it’s to get rid of the cataract. However, for the right patient, it can be an opportunity to reduce dependency on glasses.

The Emory Eye Center is one of the top 15 NIH-funded eye research institutions in the U.S. and is consistently ranked by U.S. News & World Report. Our researchers are continually pioneering new developments in vision care. Schedule an appointment with the Emory Eye Center, and we’ll help you see your world in a whole new light.

Do you have IOLs? Would you like to share your experience with people who are considering getting them? We welcome your questions and feedback in the comments section below.

Maria Aaron, MD, specializes in cataract surgery, eye trauma, and laser surgery and is board certified in ophthalmology. Dr. Aaron started practicing at Emory in 1999 and is associate professor of ophthalmology.