Alcohol’s Effects on Night Vision

We all know that alcohol impairs judgment and coordination and slows reaction time.

But here is yet another reason to cut back on your alcohol consumption: A study coming out of the University of Grenada has shown that overconsumption can also adversely affect your night vision. The study examined 67 subjects who had consumed various quantities of wine. The researchers used a “halometer” visual test to determine the level of night vision disturbances and optical image quality. What they found was that the greater the breath alcohol content level, the greater the visual disturbance.

Why Alcohol Affects Vision

Alcohol disturbs the tear film that covers the surface of the eye. The ethanol (intoxicating agent) present in alcoholic drinks disturbs the outer tear film layer, causing the aqueous part of the tear to evaporate. When tear film is disturbed, the image quality that forms on the retina is also negatively affected, leading to the presence of halos and other visual disturbances in night vision.

Pre-existing Vision Conditions

Now add into the equation a pre-existing vision condition, such as nearsightedness, farsightedness or astigmatism. If your vision is already impaired due to a refractive error and you consume alcohol, the tear film disturbance combined with poor choices (such as not wearing glasses or contacts) can lead to disastrous consequences for yourself and others. LASIK vision correction in Lake Dillon can correct these types of refractive errors, but even having 20/20 vision will not reduce the negative effects of alcohol on your vision.

In the past, some LASIK patients also complained of night vision problems after their procedure; however, today’s LASIK technology has effectively reduced this type of complication of LASIK. To learn more about Lake Dillon LASIK and find out if you might be a good candidate for the procedure, contact Lake Dillon Eye Care at 970-468-0389 or lakedilloneye.com. And whether or not you have LASIK, please never drink and drive.

Choose Sunglasses Wisely

One of the top benefits that LASIK vision correction provides is the opportunity to wear any type of sunglasses you want. Patients who achieve 20/20 vision after LASIK are usually excited to get rid of their expensive prescription sunglasses and start choosing a variety of fashionable sunglasses off-the-rack.

While most people know that it’s important to wear sunscreen with a high SPF to protect their skin from sun damage, few worry about UV protection in their sunglasses. The fact is that UV radiation can lead to serious eye problems, including cancer, cataracts, macular degeneration, painful sunburns of the cornea (photokeratitis) and damage to the eye lens and other parts of the eye. You should wear sunglasses any time you are outdoors – even in the shade, even in winter, even if you wear contact lenses that block UV rays.

At Lake Dillon Eye care, we not only help people achieve better vision through our advanced LASIK technologies in Lake Dillon, we also want our patients to keep their eye health a priority after LASIK. When choosing sunglasses after LASIK, it’s important to look for UV protection details on the labels and choose shades that provide 100% UVA and UVB protection. The color and darkness of the lenses has no impact on the amount of protection. Frames that wrap around and cover the sides of the eyes are also beneficial in protecting your eyes from harmful rays. 

This subject is so important that scientists in Brazil have developed and installed a free self-serve sunglass UV testing kiosk in San Carlos so people can test how well their sunglasses block UV rays. In a test of 800 users of the kiosk, 20% found their sunglasses provided inadequate protection. If you are unsure about your own sunglasses, talk to your optician, optometrist or ophthalmologist or invest in a new pair of sunglasses that meet the right requirements.

To find out if you might benefit from LASIK and have the opportunity to choose any sunglasses you want, take the free online LASIK Self-Evaluation at lakedilloneye.com. Then call Dr. Chang at 970-468-0389 to schedule your free LASIK Consultation. 

Will School Make You Nearsighted?

Researchers in Germany have uncovered a possible link between spending more years in school and the prevalence and severity of nearsightedness. In the Gutenberg Health Study, they looked at 4,658 Germans ages 35-74 who had myopia (nearsightedness), which causes distant objects to appear blurry while close-up objects are clear. The study did not include participants with cataracts or anyone who had refractive surgery.

The Findings

• 53% of university graduates had myopia
• 39% of high school graduates had myopia
• 24% of participants without a high school education had myopia

The myopia became more severe with each additional year of school.

Don’t Sacrifice Education for Vision

We are not recommending that people drop out of school to possibly protect their vision. Instead, while you are pursuing your education, be aware of your environment and how it is affecting your eyesight. For example, take frequent breaks from your computer and give your eyes a rest.

Another Reason Why Recess is Important

If these findings are valid, it makes sense for students to increase their time outdoors…making recess an important part of the school day (regardless of your level of education).

Already Nearsighted? You Have Options

Of course, people can have myopia regardless of the amount of schooling – you can be born with this condition where your eye is too long or too steep, causing light rays to focus in front of your retina rather than on the surface. If you are already nearsighted, you have options to correct your vision, including LASIK vision correction in Dillon. This quick and virtually painless procedure uses a laser to microscopically reshape the cornea so light will focus on the retina (the back of the eye) and clear vision can be obtained.

To learn more about your own vision characteristics and find out if LASIK technology in Dillon may help you see with 20/20 vision, contact Lake Dillon Eye Care by scheduling your free LASIK Consultation at lakedilloneye.com or by calling 970-468-0389. 

Will Glasses Stand the Test of Time?

Popular Mechanics recently published an online article titled “10 Things That Will Disappear in the Next 110 Years.” We thought we would share that list with you:

1. Eyeglasses
2. Video game consoles
3. Postage stamps
4. C batteries
5. Keys
6. Snow tires
7. Telephone poles
8. Band-Aids
9. Wallets
10. Flathead screwdrivers

The article didn't go into any specifics on why the publication’s editors felt these items would no longer be relevant. However, at Lake Dillon Eye Care we can take a guess at one reason why the #1 item on the list might phase out: LASIK vision correction. Dillon LASIK is already helping thousands of people in our area eliminate their need for glasses or contacts. It’s a laser procedure that corrects vision for people who are nearsighted, farsighted or who have astigmatism, but it’s not for everyone. If a patient’s corneas are too thin or if other eye problems exist, an alternative to LASIK may be recommended. The only way to know for sure if LASIK might reduce or eliminate your need for eyeglasses is to schedule a free LASIK Consultation at Lake Dillon Eye Care by calling 970-468-0389 or visiting lakedilloneye.com.

It’s possible that no one reading this blog will know for sure if all of these 10 things will be gone in 110 years. But it’s going to be interesting to see what the future holds for all types of technology, including vision correction. 

Sport Eye Injuries and Cataracts

At Lake Dillon Eye Care, we encourage our patients to maintain an active lifestyle, and participation in sports is a great way to do that. However, it is also extremely important that people of all ages protect their eyes while playing sports in order to minimize the chance of a sports-related eye injury in Lake Dillon. It is estimated that 90% of sports-related eye injuries can be prevented by wearing protective eyewear.

According to past statistics from the Coalition to Prevent Sports Eye Injuries, there have been as many as 600,000 eye injuries each year related to sports and recreation. The group considers the following sports to be high-to-moderate risk of eye injury (some may surprise you):

• Fishing
• Golf
• Basketball
• Baseball
• Softball
• Lacrosse
• Hockey
• Tennis
• Soccer
• Volleyball
• Water Polo
• Football
• Air Rifle
• BB Gun
• Paintball
• Boxing
• Martial Arts
• Cricket
• Squash
• Racquetball
• Fencing
• Badminton

It is estimated that 90% of sports-related eye injuries, such as blunt trauma, penetration injuries and more, can be prevented by wearing protective eyewear. If you wear prescription glasses to correct nearsightedness, farsightedness or astigmatism, your regular glasses will not provide adequate protection. Polycarbonate lenses can provide the right protection during sports, which means that you will have to wear contact lenses in order to see well. 

If you cannot wear contact lenses, or if you simply don’t like wearing them, you may be risking your eyesight by not having the ability to wear the right polycarbonate lenses. LASIK vision correction is one option to help improve your natural vision and give you the visual freedom to participate in sports more safely.

So, whether you play leisurely rounds of golf, fast-action basketball or any type of sport, protect your eyes. And if you are interested in learning more about LASIK in Lake Dillon contact Lake Dillon Eye Care at 970-468-0389 or lakedilloneye.com to schedule a free LASIK Consultation.