Category: <span>Eye health</span>

Keeping your eyes healthy will insure your most important sense – SIGHT!

Your eye examination includes: checking the front of the eyes making sure that the cornea is healthy without tear malfunction, the internal natural lens of the eye is clear without cloudiness or cataract, the optic nerve is not damaged due to glaucoma or other factors, and the central vision of the eye is not impaired from retinal changes or macular degeneration.

Simple Tips for Healthy Eyes

Your eyes are an important part of your health. There are many things you can do to keep them healthy and make sure you are seeing your best. Follow these simple steps for maintaining healthy eyes well into your golden years.

Have a comprehensive dilated eye exam. You might think your vision is fine or that your eyes are healthy, but visiting your eye care professional for a comprehensive dilated eye exam is the only way to really be sure. When it comes to common vision problems, some people don’t realize they could see better with glasses or contact lenses. In addition, many common eye diseases such as glaucoma, diabetic eye disease, and age-related macular degeneration often have no warning signs. A dilated eye exam is the only way to detect these diseases in their early stages.

During a comprehensive dilated eye exam, your eye care professional places drops in your eyes to dilate, or widen, the pupil to allow more light to enter the eye the same way an open door lets more light into a dark room. This dilation enables your eye care professional to get a good look at the back of the eyes and examine them for any signs of damage or disease. Your eye care professional is the only one who can determine if your eyes are healthy and if you are seeing your best.

Simple Tips for Healthy Eyes

Blurry vision is not the only reason to have an eye exam

Blurry vision is not the only reason to have an eye exam. Your child could have difficulty using both eyes together, a critical reading skill, and you might not know. Back to school means it’s time to get a comprehensive eye exam.  Also, much of a child’s learning is visual. How well can your child see? If you don’t know, it’s time for a comprehensive eye exam.

Our Eyes Are the Window to Our Health

The eyes are the only place in the body where we can actually see your blood vessels. For that reason, many health issues effecting other parts of the body can be observed in the eyes and sometimes before that disease is known to you. Medication side effects can affect your vision too.

Lumify

Lumify is an #eyedrop that helps with reducing redness and making the eyes ? appear whiter and brighter ✨ We carry them in our office so stop by and snag a bottle before it’s gone! #alamoanaeye

This is a photo of Lumify eyedrops in a coffee cup with winking eyes at the office of eye doctors Daniel Yamamoto & Tracie Inouchi
Lumify Eyedrops
View on Instagram http://bit.ly/2UGju1L

Golden State Warriors ? point guard, Stephen Curry ⛹?‍♂️, had a shooting slump recently and guessed what he changed to improve it?

CONTACTS! ? Seriously! Curry has a condition called #keratoconus in which the cornea, normally a circle, progressively thins and takes on a cone shape. When the cornea has a cone shape, it is unable distribute the light entering the eye equally and leads to blurred or distorted vision. Schedule an annual eye exam with our ? doctors and you too can become a shooting legend like Steph Curry (sorry, no guarantees ?)

View on Instagram http://bit.ly/2G9xWXl

Good Eye Health = Good Vision

Our eyes are the window to our healoth.  Good eye health = good vision.  Vision can change with age.  Regular comprehensive eye exams can protect your vision. Our eyes are the window to our health.  The goal as we “get on in years” is to be able to stay active and vibrant. Adopting a healthy lifestyle of eating properly, exercising and yearly health evaluations including yearly eye examination help with this goal.

Stop Smoking… The Great American Smokeout is November 15

Smoking damages nearly every organ in your body, including your eyes. We urges all our patients not to use tobacco or e-cigarettes, as smoking can cause harm to eye health.

Are Smoking and Vaping Harmful to YOur Eyes?Quitting smoking isn’t easy. It takes time. And a plan. You don’t have to stop smoking in one day. Start with day one. Let the Great American Smokeout event on November 15 be your day to start your journey toward a smoke-free life. You’ll be joining thousands of smokers across the country in taking an important step toward a healthier life and reducing your cancer risk. Plus, the American Cancer Society can help you access the resources and support you need to quit.

For more information download this fact sheet on Smoking, Vaping, and Your Eyes

November is Diabetes Awareness Month

November is diabetes awareness month

More than 30 million Americans have diabetes and another 84 million have prediabetes and are at risk for developing type 2 diabetes, according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). In addition, diabetes is the leading cause of new cases of blindness among adults. As prevalent as the condition is, 79 percent of Americans don’t know diabetic eye diseases have no visible symptoms and more than half do not know comprehensive eye examinations can detect diabetes, according to the most recent American Eye-Q® Survey conducted by the American Optometric Association (AOA).

During November’s Diabetes Awareness Month, the AOA, the leading authority in eye and vision healthcare, is committed to educating the public about the relationship between diabetes and eye health, as the annual Eye-Q survey shows that after learning about the topic many participants said they would be prompted to take steps to ensure their eye health. The AOA advocates for regular, dilated eye exams for those with diabetes, or at risk for diabetes, because the alternatives, like online vision apps, only check for refractive errors like nearsightedness, farsightedness or astigmatism and cannot detect diabetes.

Bad Habits of Contact Lens Wearers

Here is a great infographic from the American Optometric Association regarding the “Bad Habits of Contact Lens Wearers”

You know who you are…

  • Wash your hands before handling lenses.
  • Don’t sleep in lenses not intended for overnight wear.
  • Keep your case clean using fresh solution every time and replace it every three months.
  • Get an eye exam yearly.

Bad Habits of contact lens wearers infographic

Happy Halloween

Halloween optometry eyechart
Happy Halloween

Whether you’re goblin or ghoul, vampire or witch, poor costume choices—including decorative contact lenses and flammable costumes—and face paint allergies can haunt you long after Halloween if they cause injury.

Enjoy a safe and happy Halloween by following the “lucky 13” guidelines from FDA, the Consumer Product Safety Commission, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:

  1. Wear costumes made of fire-retardant materials; look for “flame resistant” on the label. If you make your costume, use flame-resistant fabrics such as polyester or nylon.
  2. Wear bright, reflective costumes or add strips of reflective tape so you’ll be more visible; make sure the costumes aren’t so long that you’re in danger of tripping.
  3. Wear makeup and hats rather than masks that can obscure your vision.
  4. Test the makeup you plan to use by putting a small amount on the arm of the person who will be wearing it a couple of days in advance. If a rash, redness, swelling, or other signs of irritation develop where the makeup was applied, that’s a sign of a possible allergy.
  5. Check FDA’s list of color additives to see if makeup additives are FDA approved. If they aren’t approved for their intended use, don’t use it.
  6. Don’t wear decorative contact lenses unless you have seen an eye care professional and gotten a proper lens fitting and instructions for using the lenses.

Safe Treats

Eating sweet treats is also a big part of the fun on Halloween. If you’re trick-or-treating, health and safety experts say you should remember these tips:

  1. Don’t eat candy until it has been inspected at home.
  2. Trick-or-treaters should eat a snack before heading out, so they won’t be tempted to nibble on treats that haven’t been inspected.
  3. Tell children not to accept—or eat—anything that isn’t commercially wrapped.
  4. Parents of very young children should remove any choking hazards such as gum, peanuts, hard candies, or small toys.
  5. Inspect commercially wrapped treats for signs of tampering, such as an unusual appearance or discoloration, tiny pinholes, or tears in wrappers. Throw away anything that looks suspicious.

For partygoers and party throwers, FDA recommends the following tips for two seasonal favorites:

  1. Look for the warning label to avoid juice that hasn’t been pasteurized or otherwise processed, especially packaged juice products that may have been made on site. When in doubt, ask! Always ask if you are unsure if a juice product is pasteurized or not. Normally, the juice found in your grocer’s frozen food case, refrigerated section, or on the shelf in boxes, bottles, or cans is pasteurized.
  2. Before bobbing for apples—a favorite Halloween game—reduce the amount of bacteria that might be on apples by thoroughly rinsing them under cool running water. As an added precaution, use a produce brush to remove surface dirt.

Eye Safety

FDA joins eye care professionals—including the American Academy of Ophthalmology, the American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus, the Contact Lens Association of Ophthalmologists and the American Optometric Association—in discouraging consumers from using illegal decorative (colored) contact lenses. These are contact lenses that have not been approved by FDA for safety and effectiveness. Consumers should only use brand name contact lenses from well-known contact lens companies.

If you have never worn contact lenses before, Halloween should not be the first time you wear them. Experts warn that buying any kind of contact lenses—which are medical devices and regulated as such—without an examination and a prescription from an eye care professional can cause serious eye disorders and infections, which may lead to permanent vision loss. Despite the fact that it’s illegal to sell decorative contact lenses without a valid prescription, FDA says the lenses are sold on the Internet and in retail shops and salons—particularly around Halloween.

The decorative lenses make the wearer’s eyes appear to glow in the dark, create the illusion of vertical “cat eyes,” or change the wearer’s eye color.

“Although unauthorized use of decorative contact lenses is a concern year-round, Halloween is the time when people may be inclined to use them, perhaps as costume accessories,” says FDA eye expert Bernard Lepri, O.D., M.S., M.Ed.. “What troubles us is when they are bought and used without a valid prescription, without the involvement of a qualified eye care professional, or without appropriate follow-up care. This can lead to significant risks of eye injuries, including blindness.”

This article appears on FDA’s Consumer Updates page, which features the latest on all FDA-regulated products.

Parents: What You Need to Know About “Pink Eye”

Dr. Daniel Yamamoto & Dr. Tracie Inouchi offers tips to help protect your family from eye infections

As cold and flu season continues to show its ugly face in our communities, Dr. Daniel Yamamoto & Dr. Tracie Inouchi encourages families to practice good hygiene habits to prevent the spread of infectious disease, including conjunctivitis, also known as “pink eye,” which can be easily spread, especially this time of year.

What is conjunctivitis?

Conjunctivitis is an inflammation or infection of the conjunctiva, the thin transparent layer of tissue that lines the inner surface of the eyelid and covers the white part of the eye. Conjunctivitis is a common eye disease, especially in children, and because it is contagious, it usually starts in one eye and spreads to the other, affecting both eyes.

If your child has conjunctivitis, he or she may experience the following symptoms:

  • A gritty feeling in one or both eyes
  • Itching or burning sensation in one or both eyes
  • Excessive tearing
  • Discharge coming from one or both eyes, usually causing the eyes to be “sticky” upon awakening.
  • Swollen eyelids
  • Pink discoloration to the whites of one or both eyes
  • Increased sensitivity to light

What causes conjunctivitis?

“Conjunctivitis is commonly caused by contagious viruses associated with the common cold,” said Dr. Inouchi  “This type of pink eye can be spread easily, especially among children in school, due to their close proximity to others. However, it’s usually a minor infection and can be treated easily. Conjunctivitis can also occur from a bacterial infection, which can happen if someone touches their eye with unclean hands or if they were using contaminated cosmetics or other facial products.”

In addition, conjunctivitis can be caused from irritants and chemicals (pollen, smoke, and chlorine in swimming pools) or allergens (pet dander or dust mites).

How is conjunctivitis treated?

“The appropriate treatment for conjunctivitis depends on its cause,” said Dr. Inouchi. “Conjunctivitis caused by a viral infection can’t be treated with antibiotics; it simply has to run its course, like with the common cold. Cool compresses, extreme care with hygiene, and artificial tear solutions are effective home remedies.”

Bacterial conjunctivitis is usually treated with antibiotic eye drops or ointments prescribed by your eye doctor. Patients could see improvement after three of four days of treatment, but the entire course of antibiotics must be taken to prevent the bacteria from mutating and the conjunctivitis from returning.

Preventing conjunctivitis

Practicing good hygiene habits, including the steps below, is the best way to control the spread of conjunctivitis: Cover your mouth when coughing or sneezing and do not touch or rub your eyes with your hands (coughing into the middle arm/sleeve helps to prevent spread through hands).

  • Regularly disinfect surfaces such as countertops, bathroom vanities, and door handles with an appropriate antibacterial cleaner.
  • Wash your hands thoroughly and frequently and try to avoid touching the eyes or mouth.
  • Change your towel and washcloth daily, and don’t share them with others. If one eye is infected, don’t use the same cloth on the other eye.
  • Replace liquid forms of eye makeup and wash makeup brushes with antibiotic soap products.
  • Don’t use anyone else’s personal eye care items (mascara, etc.)

If you suspect your child has conjunctivitis, Dr. Daniel Yamamoto & Dr. Tracie Inouchi can determine if he or she has the infection and advise you on treatment options. To make an appointment with Dr. Daniel Yamamoto or Dr. Tracie Inouchi call (808) 949-2662.