Contact Lenses that Adjust to Sunlight?

Did you know that there are now FDA approved contact lenses that adjust to sunlight? These contact lenses darken automatically when you wear them in bright sunlight and then lighten in darker lighting conditions, just like the eyeglass lenses you have known about for years. They are available under the name ACUVUE® OASYS Contact Lenses with Transitions® Light Intelligent Technology. This convenient feature may be helpful for certain patients who are particularly light sensitive but shouldn’t be regarded as a substitute for UV protecting sunglasses which offer a great deal more protection.

If you would like to learn more about ACUVUE® OASYS Contact Lenses with Transitions® Light Intelligent Technology please call The Eye Care & Surgery Center at 908-789-8999, visit The Eye Care & Surgery Center, Google or facebook.com/eyecareandsurgerycenter to schedule an appointment.

The Eye Care & Surgery Center is located at 592 Springfield Avenue, Westfield, New Jersey 07090, 10 Mountain Boulevard, Warren, New Jersey 07059 and 517 Route One South, Suite 1100, Iselin, New Jersey 08830, and is conveniently located for patients from throughout central and northern New Jersey.

Aging, Cognitive Decline, Vision & Hearing

Many people seem to think that getting older and normal aging results in an almost certain loss of cognitive abilities and nothing can be done to slow or halt this decline. Research doesn’t actually support this thinking, especially with regard to maintaining good vision and hearing. Researchers  studied a group of people 50+ years of age from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS), the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA) and the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) and found that there is a clear pattern whereby seniors who work to avoid sensory impairment-particularly vision and hearing-do not experience the same magnitude or speed of cognitive decline as those who have a single sensory impairment and more so a dual sensory impairment. The message is quite simple-seniors and those at risk fir age related memory loss and cognitive decline need to be sure to maintain their eye health and vision and hearing.

If you or someone you know-especially those in the senior age group-has not had a thorough eye health and vision exam, please schedule an appointment at The Eye Care & Surgery Center at 908-789-8999, visit The Eye Care & Surgery Center, Google or facebook.com/eyecareandsurgerycenter to schedule an appointment.

The Eye Care & Surgery Center is located at 592 Springfield Avenue, Westfield, New Jersey 07090, 10 Mountain Boulevard, Warren, New Jersey 07059 and 517 Route One South, Suite 1100, Iselin, New Jersey 08830, and is conveniently located for patients from throughout central and northern New Jersey.

Lipid Lowering Medication Can Help Diabetic Retinopathy

Did you know that medications used to treat high cholesterol and triglycerides in your blood can help diabetic retinopathy? In two clinical studies, the Fenofibrate Intervention and Event Lowering in Diabetes (FIELD) study and the Action to Control Cardiovascular Risk in Diabetes (ACCORD) study, the medications Fenofibrate (TriCor, Lipofen, Triglide, Trilipix) and Statins (Lipitor, Crestor, Mevacor, Pravachol, Zocor) have been found, to reduce the signs of blood vessel disease in the retina from diabetic retinopathy but also to actually reduce the need for certain treatments for diabetic retinopathy.  We are hoping that additional research becomes available that helps us help patients with diabetes avoid the sight threatening complications of this terribly common disease.

If you or someone you know has diabetes please be sure to have regular eye exams in order to avoid the potentially blinding vision loss from this disease. Schedule an eye exam at The Eye Care & Surgery Center at 908-789-8999, visit The Eye Care & Surgery Center, Google or facebook.com/eyecareandsurgerycenter to schedule an appointment.

The Eye Care & Surgery Center is located at 592 Springfield Avenue, Westfield, New Jersey 07090, 10 Mountain Boulevard, Warren, New Jersey 07059 and 517 Route One South, Suite 1100, Iselin, New Jersey 08830, and is conveniently located for patients from throughout central and northern New Jersey.

Pterygia “Surfer’s Eye” & Melanoma Skin Cancer Risk

Does a Pterygium or "Surfer's Eye" Increase Melanoma Risk?  

A pterygium (pronounced “tuh-RIJ-ee-uhm”) is an elevated, wedged-shaped bump of tissue on your eyeball that starts on the sclera or white of your eye-most often on the side near your nose and can extend to the cornea. Although A pterygium is commonly referred to as "surfer's eye"  because being around bright sunlight for long periods of time-particularly the harmful UV reflected light from water such as the ocean-can increase your risk. But there are other causes as well and  you don't have to be a surfer or ever see the ocean to get a pterygium. Ultraviolet radiation from the sun appears to be the primary cause for the growth of pterygia but exposure to dust and wind along with dry eye disease are very common causes. Pterygia usually develop in 30- to 50-year-olds, and are rarely are found in children. If you have a light skin complexion and light eyes you have a greater chance of getting a pterygium.

Recently, researchers reporting in the British Journal of Ophthalmology reported the results of a study that considered whether people who had pterygia were at greater risk of melanoma skin cancer. They felt that since pterygia seemed to me more common in light skinned, light eyed people who were exposed to a lot of sunlight, that maybe they had greater melanoma skin cancer risk. They found that having a pterygium indicates a significantly increased risk of developing a melanoma of the skin and that eye care providers who see patients with developing pterygia should advise these patients of this increased risk and recommend regular skin surveillance with a dermatologist. Further, we know that if a pterygium becomes inflamed and affects the cornea, excision- pterygium surgery-may be necessary to avoid vision changes from corneal distortion or even scarring.

If you or someone you know has a pterygium, please schedule an eye exam at The Eye Care & Surgery Center at 908-789-8999, visit The Eye Care & Surgery Center, Google+ or facebook.com/eyecareandsurgerycenter to schedule an appointment.

The Eye Care & Surgery Center is located at 592 Springfield Avenue, Westfield, New Jersey 07090, 10 Mountain Boulevard, Warren, New Jersey 07059 and 517 Route One South, Suite 1100, Iselin, New Jersey 08830, and is conveniently located for patients from throughout central and northern New Jersey.