There are many myths that have advanced throughout the years as it relates to our eyes and their health. Advancements in science have helped us debunk some, but also better understand others. See if you recognize a few of these:

  • Carrots Give You Great Eyesight At Night – While it is true that carrots are loaded with beta carotene, which is a vital nutrient for your eye health, it will not help you see better at night.
  • Children That Squint Will Grow Out Of It – Unfortunately, we have been able to prove that it is not true and actually can be quite dangerous. Children that squint, if left untreated, can develop lazy eye.
  • You Don’t Need Regular Eye Exams – You should have an eye exam at least every other year. Doing so will help to determine glaucoma. It can also help detect age-related macular degeneration among many other issues.
  • Overusing Electronics Can Cause An Astigmatism – Not true. Astigmatism, which is the irregular shape of the eye cannot be caused by viewing electronic screens.

The main takeaway here is that having regular eye exams are critical to your eye health and following old wives tales could have potential serious impacts to your eye health. For more questions about old wives tales, contact our team. We’re here to help!

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A study, released in the August issue of Neurology, shows researchers in Seoul, Korea have possibly determined a correlation between the thinning of the retina and Parkinson’s disease. The study, which evaluated 50 people with the average age of 69 were able to determine that those with Parkinson’s had an average innermost retina thickness of 35 micrometers while those without had an average thickness of 37 micrometers.

The scan was completed with a high resolution scan that takes light waves of each layer of the retina. From there, they were able to measure the thickness of the retina layer. Larger studies are needed to confirm the finding, but the results are both interesting and promising.

Being able to a long-range test that can determine Parkinson’s would be amazing as it would allow for treatment to slow the progression. As always, your eye health is a critical indicator of your overall health. For more questions about your eyes, contact our team.

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Let’s face it…we’re exposed constantly to our electronic devices. Phones, tablets, PCs, and TVs have taken over our lives and it’s not necessarily a bad thing. With the switch to technology has come a lot of conveniences, but it has also brought about a concern in protecting our eye health.

With constant use of electronics, we are exposing our eyes to harmful blue light that can increase eye strain and dry eye, just to name a few. Often times, we get so wrapped up in browsing social media, shopping online or playing games that we forget we are staring at our screens for so long. So, how do you combat today’s digital environment?

  • Set aside a break time – every 20 to 30 minutes look away for 20-30 seconds. Look off at something far away and give your eyes a rest.
  • Wear glasses that block out blue light – we talked about what blue light can do, investing in a good pair of blue light blocking glasses can help your eyes.
  • Manage distance – How far are away from your face are your devices typically? The general preferred distance is 20-40 inches. A good rule of thumb is arms reach. For larger screens, move farther away.

As always, routine eye exams are critical for maintaining your eye health and allow us to track your digital eye strain. If you have questions about your mobile device usage, contact our team. We’re here to help!

Has your eyelid ever “ticked” or “twitched” and you wondered what the cause was? The technical name is “myokymia” and they are contractions of the eye. Generally they are found on the lower eye lid, but they can be found in the upper eyelid as well.

So what causes twitching eyes?

There are many factors, but stress, tiredness, eye strain, caffeine, alcohol, dry eyes, nutritional imbalances, allergies and more can all play a part in myokymia’s presence. To diagnose the cause it is important to pay attention to the levels present in any of these triggers.

There is no significant concern for twitching, but it could take time to resolve itself, especially if the trigger is difficult to locate. To learn more about causes, contact our team today.

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Maintaining the health of our eyes is important. Routine check ups are important for evaluating their health, but it’s importnat to make sure our diet is supporting our eye health by providing the vitamins and nutrients it needs. According to WebMD, there are several foods that are best for your eyes. Here are a few of the lesser known ones:

  •  Raw Red Peppers – Per calorie, they provide the best source of vitamin C. Vitamin C is good for the blood vessels in your eye. There’s even evidence to support Vitamin C reducing the risk of getting cataracts.
  • Sunflower Seeds & Nuts – An ounce of these seeds or almonds as has half the amount of vitamin E that the USDA recommends each day.
  • Sweet Potatoes – Part of the orange colored food group, these are packed full of beta carotene.
  • Squash – Full of lutein and zeaxanthin, these are great for you. Especially because your body cannot make these nutrients on their own.

There are more foods providing health benefits to your eyes, but as always we suggest that you consult your physician before making wholesale changes to your diet. If you have any questions about your eye health, contact our team!

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With Halloween just around the corner, we felt it was important to remind everyone that wearing colored contacts or costume contacts can be dangerous for your eyes. These contacts are not FDA approved and when worn can cause corneal abrasions, eye infections or even blindness in some cases. This risk to your eye health is too great for the minor reward of making your costume look more realistic.

The risk for injury or damage is more than sixteen times greater than those who wear medically prescribed contact lenses. So, this Halloween go out and have fun, but be safe, draw the line at costume contact lenses. Happy Halloween!

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When looking for the right pair of frames we know that many different factors go into your decision. Two the biggest factors are cost and style. We know that you want look great and not break the bank in the process.

The great news is that at Royal Oak Eye Care, we have options that fit every budget and look. We will work closely with you to give you the perfect fit of your new frames as well as the proper vision correction. Multifocals with no-line are one of our specialities, but we can give you the vision correction that is best for you!

For more questions on our frames, contact our team. We’re happy to help!

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Ocugen has submitted a new drug application to the FDA and the FDA has accepted it. The exciting news is that this is a new topical formula for the treatment of dry eye. The medical team at Ocugen is excited that their drug will reach the entire population battling the disease of dry eye as many treatments on the market fall short.

There are many different causes for dry eye and often many different treatments. For minor irritations like allergies, over-the-counter eye drops may work, but if you are dealing with persistent irritation, it may be time to see a professional. We can assess the cause of your dry eye and give you a treatment plan that will work for you.

To find out more, contact our team!

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Researchers in Los Angeles are saying that they have developed an eye that is as reliable for detecting Alzheimer’s as early as two decades before symptoms present.

The test was completed on 16 candidates, but the results matched the traditional brain test. The doctor were excited as this represents a huge breakthrough in testing due to the cost effectiveness and non-invasive test.

To read more on the study, click here.

We talk often of the importance of routine eye exams because of their ability to be a key indicator for your overall health. For more questions about diagnosing health issues with eye exams, contact our team.

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Many people may be familiar with the word “cataract” and may even know some details about them, but we want to take an opportunity to share what a cataract is and how it impacts people and what can be done to help treat.

Cataracts are when the natural lens in our eye becomes clouded and does not refract the light the way it should. So a person with cataracts vision becomes blurry, like looking through a dirty window. This can make it hard to see as well as sometimes creating double vision, being sensitive to light, and having trouble seeing at night.

People at risk for cataracts, other then those who are advanced in age, are those with family members with cataracts. Also, people with diabetes, eye injuries, or spent a lot of time in the sun with out proper eye protection are all at increased chance for contracting cataracts.

So to help treat cataracts, people can wear sunglasses that provide UV protection. They can also have annual eye exams if they are over 65 and for people under 65, they can have them every two years. If a person smokes, they should stop immediately. They should use brighter lights for reading and avoid driving at night if halos become problematic.

Surgery is the only way to treat cataracts if they are too severe. Lesser diagnosis may be treated with a change in vision correction until surgery is needed.

If you have questions about your cataracts, contact Royal Oak Eye Care and let our team help!

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image credit: National Eye Institute