Examing an ADD study

I ran across a shocking study recently on the misdiagnosis of attention deficit disorder and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, which is unfortunately, something I see very often. I will have parents bring their children in who have been diagnosed with this disorder looking for other answers after the medication fails to help. Many times, children are misdiagnosed with ADD when they have a vision problem that can be corrected with glasses and/or vision therapy. The study shows another reason that kids are often misdiagnosed: their age. These children are significantly more likely than their older classmates to be prescribed behavior-modifying stimulants such as Ritalin, said Todd Elder, whose study appears in an issue of the “Journal of Health Economics.” Such inappropriate treatment is particularly worrisome because of the unknown impacts of long-term stimulant use on children's health, Elder said. It also wastes an estimated $320 million to $500 million a year on unnecessary medication -- some $80 million to $90 million of it paid by Medicaid, he said. Read the rest here

The Strength of Community

I thought about what I would write about this week long and hard.

Many of you who come into the office hear me say some weeks it is hard to find things about the eye and health to write about sometimes.

This is one of those weeks. There will be no eye care in my column today.

Early Monday morning on the 23rd of January, many of our friends and neighbors had their worlds turned upside down by a force of nature. One exceptional young lady even lost her life.

And when something like this happens, your friendly neighborhood eye doctor could write something generic about wearing safety glasses as you volunteer in the cleanup.

I thought about doing that today, but when I wrote the first few words, it sounded hollow. Instead, I’ll write about our community, and how good and how strong I think it is.

Read the rest here

Has LASIK improved?

Here is my recent column on LASIK for the Trussville Tribune:

I have had many questions about Lasik surgery for vision correction recently. And no, Lasik is not the same as it was 10 or 12 years ago. New technology has expanded who can fit in the category of able to have Lasik, but the jury is still out on if it improves vision significantly over Lasik in its original form.

In 1994, when Baltimore ophthalmologist Anthony Kameen had Lasik surgery to correct nearsightedness and astigmatism, his options were not very extensive: a small mechanical blade, called a microkeratome, created a flap on his cornea, after which a conventional excimer laser was used to reshape the tissue underneath so that the cornea would be able to focus light directly on the retina, as it would in a normal eye.

That was, in a nutshell, the only way Lasik was performed then. Now, of course, the technology is much more advanced including smoother and more precise lasers, allowing patients to achieve better vision than ever possible. The newest technological addition called IntraLase allows patients to avoid operation via a metal blade, using a special laser that is used only for the purpose of flap creation.

Read the rest here

9/11 First Responders Bill has Problems

Here is a portion of my recent column for the Trussville Tribune:

If you were like me Sunday night, you got weepy-eyed during the 9/11 documentaries. It tugged at my heartstrings to see what these brave men went through and continue to endure today.

Congress passed a bill in the last year supplementing health care treatment for first responders and Ground Zero workers, but the bill specifically excluded treatment for cancer. Workers were given treatment for respiratory problems and psychological problems such as PTSD, but cancer was surprisingly excluded.

Today, we see an alarming spike in cancer among 9/11 workers. Specifically leukemia, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and multiple myeloma -- as well as esophageal, prostate and thyroid cancers.

In 2007, doctors at Mt. Sinai Medical Center, which monitors WTC responders other than FDNY, noted blood cancers like multiple myeloma, which normally strikes in the 60s or 70s, among relatively young cops.

The dust from the collapse of the towers is the specific culprit for these carcinogens. Imagine all the mercury, the asbestos, the plastics, the concrete all smashed together and heated to a melting point, the vapors seeping up through the rubble and into the air. You don’t have to be a doctor to realize that this is a bad mix to be working on top of for several months.

More and more workers die each month some 10 years later. Many die well before their time.

Read the rest here

Sunglasses as Important as Sunscreen.

Even the cryptkeeper wears sunglasses...oh wait, that's Hugh Hefner.

I forgot my sunglasses while driving the other day. Man it was not fun.

As we venture out to catch the final few weeks of warm weather, UV protection should be at the front of our minds. Unfortunately, most people think about the protection of their skin, when they should also be considering the safety of their eyes.

In fact, according to the American Optometric Association’s (AOA) American Eye-Q® survey, only one-third of Americans said UV protection is the most important factor they consider when purchasing sunglasses. Whether it’s cloudy or sunny, summer or winter, the AOA urges Americans to take measures to protect their eyes from the sun’s UV rays in order to decrease the risk of eye diseases and disorders.

Overexposure to UV rays is quite serious and can lead to cataracts, macular degeneration, or, in some cases, skin cancer around the eyelids . Other disorders that can occur are abnormal growths on the eye’s surface and even sunburn of the eyes. These conditions can cause blurred vision, irritation, redness, tearing, temporary vision loss and, in some instances, blindness.

Even more concerning is the lack of awareness surrounding the potential effects of overexposure to UV radiation. According to the American Eye-Q® survey, 35 percent of adults are unaware of the eye health risks associated with spending too much time in the sun without the proper protection.

The following top five tips from the American Optometric Association may help prevent eye and vision damage from overexposure to UV radiation:

1. Wear protective eyewear any time the eyes are exposed to UV rays, even on cloudy days and during the winter.
2. Look for quality sunglasses or contact lenses that offer good protection. Sunglasses or protective contact lenses should block 99 to 100 percent of UV-A and UV-B radiation and screen out 75 to 90 percent of visible light.
3. Check to make sure sunglass lenses are perfectly matched in color and free of distortions or imperfections.
4. Purchase gray-colored lenses because they reduce light intensity without altering the color of objects to provide the most natural color vision. Brown or amber-colored lenses may be better for those who are visually impaired because they increase contrast as well as reducing light intensity.
5. Don’t forget protection for young children and teenagers, who typically spend more time in the sun than adults and are at a greater risk for damage.

Don't neglect your baby's eyes

Recently a colleague and I have been traveling all over the state informing people about InfantSEE. If you have been in my office before, you probably have heard about it.

We offer a free eye exam to infants between 6 months and 1 year. In the exam we determine if your child is at risk for any vision problems.

One in 10 infants has a vision problem that goes undetected. We hope that InfantSEE can eradicate these problems, and preserve a child's vision. I urge everyone to take advantage of this program.

For more info, go to InfantSEE.org

Have a yearly exam...even if you don't need glasses

This guy is cute...but do you really want him seeing for you?

I am often asked, "Do I need a yearly exam? I don't wear glasses."

I always answer yes. I will always answer yes. Why? Because an eye exam is not always about glasses. An eye exam every year can detect problems that you might not know you have. Debilitating eye diseases like glaucoma are not something you notice, at least until you are bumping into things because your peripheral vision is shot. By then it's too late. It's German Shepard time. And by that I mean "the German Shepard that will leading you around for the rest of your life" time.

Eye exams are less expensive than German Shepards. Not as cute, but less expensive. So schedule one every year.