A new study is looking into the idea that some UVB light could be good for the fight against myopia in children and adults. In essence, being outdoors more could help combat nearsightedness.

The study is new and more research is needed, but it appears that it will be interesting to track the progress of this study.

You can read more about the study here: Increased UVB exposure associated with reduced risk of nearsightedness, particularly in teens, young

For more questions about myopia, don’t hesitate to contact the Royal Oak Eye Care team.

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August is “Children’s Eye Health & Safety Awareness” month and we thought it might be good, before we go back to school, to promote the foods that are beneficial to your child’s eye health.

Here are five foods to include in your child’s diet:

  • Berries – Blueberries, blackberries, and strawberries are packed with Vitamin C and that is great for eye health.
  • Nuts and seeds – Healthy snack options should include nuts and seeds. Especially ones rich in omega-3 fatty acids like raw almonds, English walnuts, flax seed and sunflower seeds.
  • Eggs – lutein, B 12, and Vitamin D are all found in eggs. Some brands have more than other, but it’s all good for your eyes.
  • Dark green vegetables – Kale, the superfood, and spinach and broccoli are all stuffed with lutein and zeaxanthin, which help your eyes.
  • Citrus fruit – Great snacks options for children and they’re full of Vitamin C.

As always, you should consult your child’s primary care physician before wholesale changing their diet. Moderation is key with everything and mixing in these foods will help make sure your children’s eyes get the nutrients they need.

For more questions about your child’s eye health, contact Marion’s eye doctor, Royal Oak Eye Care. We’re here to help!

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The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health reports that every day about 2,000 U.S. workers sustain job-related eye injuries that require medical treatment. We at Royal Oak Eye Care want to make sure we educate the Marion community about the importance of wearing protective eye equipment at work.

These injuries happen because of two major reasons:

  1. They weren’t wearing any eye protection.
  2. They were wearing the wrong eye protection for the job.

If you work around projectiles, chemicals, radiation, or bloodborne pathogens, you need to make sure you are wearing the proper eye protection. You also need to make sure you know the eye safety dangers at your job, while eliminating hazards before starting work.

If you have questions about the proper protection for your eyes, contact the Royal Oak Eye Care team, we’re happy to help you stay safer.

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We find many Marion residents that like to stretch the limits when it comes to wearing their contact lenses. We often counsel them that contact lens hygiene is critical and so is making sure you’re not overwearing them.

Contact lens overwear syndrome comes from over-extending their contact lens wearing time or by wearing their lenses while they sleep. If you’re one of the many who do this, you need to make sure your lenses are approved for sleeping and that your hygiene is consistent. You should always look to control the time your have your contact lenses in as it is important for your eyes to have rest from them.

If you have questions about contact lens overwear syndrome, contact Marion’s eye doctor, Royal Oak Eye Care. We’re here to help!

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We all go swimming in pools and most of us think nothing of it. We know that chlorine is present and it really becomes more of an irritant to our skin afterwards than anything else. But we wanted to take the opportunity to let you know that chlorine can impact your eyes and it may not be in a way you think.

Chlorine is used in swimming pools as a great way to control bacteria and to prevent pathogens and disease from spreading. However, when your eyes are submerged in a chlorinated pool, the film of tear across your eyes to protect it is washed away. This means that your eyes are no longer protected from dirt of bacteria. This is important because chlorine cannot entirely eliminate all bacteria or dirt from a pool.

The result, if you’re a pool swimmer, you could possibly be exposed to eye infections like pink eye. Chlorine can also dry your eyes out and leave them red and itchy. Using eye drops can help to restore the tear film needed to protect them. If you wear contacts, make sure to remove them before you swim, but if you do not, make sure to take them out and rinse them immediately following your swim. Goggles are also a great way to protect your eyes if you’re going to be in the pool for some time.

If you have more questions about eye health and chlorine, contact the Royal Oak Eye Care team. We’re here to help protect your eyes!

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We know that eating the right foods and having routine eye exams are steps to maintain eye health, but one of the lesser thought of tactics is protective eye wear. We want to make sure that you know what to look for when purchasing sunglasses and protective eye wear, so we’ve offered some tips below:

  1. Wear protective eye wear any time that your eyes are exposed to UV light. This can include cloudy days and winter months.
  2. Look for quality sunglasses that offer 99 to 100 percent of UVA and UVB radiation and screen out 75-90 percent of visible light.
  3. Make sure your sunglass lenses are perfectly matched in color and free of distortions and imperfections.
  4. Gray colored lenses are best. They reduce light intensity without altering the color of objects.
  5. Children and teens need sunglasses too. They typically spend more time in the sun than adults do.

For more tips on protecting your eyes in the sun, don’t hesitate to contact us. We’re here to help.

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If you’re one of the many whose eyes are affected by allergies, you know the challenge in attempting to keep them from flaring up. Carrying around eye drops, avoiding going outside all together, and allergy medicines are just a few of the ways that you can care for your itchy eyes, but there’s more to it than just those. So, we want to take an opportunity to help, if we can, by giving you some practical advice for your eyes.

  • Allergens – If at all possible avoid allergens. Pollen, mold, dust and the like can flare up your eyes in an instant. Staying indoors is one way to combat allergens, but dust is inside and so are pets. Using your home’s HVAC system, instead of opening the windows, is another way to help your eyes. The air filters can remove many of the allergens that are in your home and can make their way in your home. Another tip is to make sure you wash your hands often, especially after touching a pet, to make sure you’re not contacting your eyes.
  • Eye Drops & Medicine – Artificial tears can help temporarily by washing the allergens from your eyes, but there’s a lot of options when it comes to medicine. Decongestant eye drops, with or without antihistamines,  oral antihistamines, antihistamines with mast-cell stabilizers, corticosteroids, and immunotherapy shots are just some of the options for medical treatment of itchy eyes. All have advantages and disadvantages. For example, overusing decongestant eye drops, past a couple of days, can actually make your eyes symptoms worse.

It is best to consult your eye doctor as to which medicine will work best for you. Not everyone responds the same and working with your eye doctor, they can help you determine the right formula to control your itchy eyes.

If you have questions about your eyes, don’t hesitate to contact Royal Oak Eye Care, we’re here to help!

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