================================================================= V I S I O N U P D A T E ================================================================= 20 Dec 2003 Issue #26 Promoting Health Through Knowledge Ted Roxan, Editor editor@visionupdate.net ================================================================= IN THIS ISSUE... 1. Feature Article Study links myopia to quality of life 2. Ask the Doctor Talking with the experts 3. News Briefs President Signs Bills on Contact Lenses 4. Relevant Links Important resources. 5. Preventative Medicine Eye Docs Urge Eye Exams During Glaucoma Awareness Month ----------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Feature Article Study links myopia to quality of life MYOPIA - which affects four out of five people in Singapore - may be more than just an inconvenience as a study shows its relation to the quality of life. On average, myopic patients are prepared to give up 13 per cent of the rest of their lives to have perfect vision without glasses, said Alexandra Hospital's head and consultant in ophthalmology and The Eye Institute's research head, Associate Professor Au Eong Kah Guan. Results of the study, done by the Singapore Polytechnic and The Eye Institute, were based on an instrument called utility theory to quantify the quality of life. It surveyed 149 myopes who were asked questions such as the number of years they expect to live, and the number of years they would be willing to give up for an imaginary technology to cure their myopia. Low myopes (with less than -3.0 dioptre) were found to be willing to give up an average of 13 per cent of their remaining years, moderate myopes (between -3.0 dioptre and -5.99 dioptre) 10 per cent, and high myopes (-6.0 dioptre or more) 21 per cent. The survey excludes people with more serious eye diseases like cataract or glaucoma. 'If you would like to trade more of your life, then it means that you don't like the present state of your myopia,' said Singapore Poly's Optometry Centre head Wilfred Tang. 'So much so that you'd like to trade your precious life to get rid of it.' The researchers also linked the key findings to public health implications. 'I think people with high myopia would like more services devoted to them,' said Dr Tang. 'They need more care because they don't feel so good about life.' Myopia can also be costly. According to Dr Tang's calculations, a child who starts wearing glasses at the age of seven would have spent about $6,300 by the time he is 70, without taking into account inflation. ----------------------------------------------------------------- ASK THE DOCTOR SPONSOR The Homemaker`s Journal is an e-mail newsletter published Mon- Fri that poses fun questions to readers about organizing, crafting, gardening, frugal living and other homemaking subjects; readers can respond to the questions and receive the resulting, very informative `tip sheet`. Join the fun!http://www.getswap.com/subscribe.asp?list=2-7 ----------------------------------------------------------------- 2. Ask the Doctor Talking with the experts Dr. Webber: You may have Blepheritis, which is an inflammation of the lids. Try using diluted baby shampoo and a Q tip to clean the lid margins twice per day followed by warm compresses for 2 weeks. Thank you Question from : april woodrum I recently suffered a bought of the flu and developed some severe eye pain in my left eye everytime i cough. the coughing has since gone away, but the pain is still there to the point that if i even clear my throat it hurts . as a result of this, my eye aches all the time and i am having a hard time looking at bright lights, my monitor and even night time driving has become difficult. im just wondering if it could be a strain because of all the coughing, or something worse. thanks Dr. Webber: You may have an Iritis, which is an internal inflammation or a Virally induced corneal inflammation. See your eye doctor today. Thank you ----------------------------------------------------------------- 3. News Briefs President Signs Bills on Contact Lenses Bush used a rare weekend at the White House to enact the new laws. Among them was legislation that requires eye doctors to give patients, without charge, their contact lens prescriptions. Without that information, to which eyeglass wearers have been entitled since 1978, the nation's 36 million contact lens wearers have been forced to buy lenses from the prescribing optometrists or ophthalmologists, often at higher prices than might be available elsewhere. The legislation also allows lens providers to fill a prescription even if the doctor fails to call back within eight hours to verify it. Supporters said the bill could save users an average of 20 percent. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Newsletter Courtesy of VisionUpdate http://visionupdate.net ----------------------------------------------------------------- 4. Relevant Links Important resources. National Eye Institute http://www.nei.nih.gov Eye Net http://myeyenet.com/ Blind Foundation http://www.afb.org Macular Degeneration Foundation http://www.eyesight.org LASIK Institute http://www.lasikinstitute.org NIH http://www.nih.gov ----------------------------------------------------------------- 5. Preventative Medicine Eye Docs Urge Eye Exams During Glaucoma Awareness Month SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 18 /PRNewswire/ -- The American Academy of Ophthalmology, the Eye M.D. Association, urges those who may be at risk for developing glaucoma to get a complete eye examination from an Eye M.D. during January as part of Glaucoma Awareness Month. Glaucoma, a condition associated with elevated pressure inside the eye, can damage the optic nerve and cause vision loss. ----------------------------------------------------------------- CLASSIFIED AD **Discover A New Breakthrough In Compensation** Get your FREE TRIAL Membership NOW! We will have this offer for a very limited time! Get yours NOW! http://www.ezineblaze.com/index.php?73211 aol friends ----------------------------------------------------------------- CLASSIFIED AD Quick Humor for Quick Minds. Subscribe to Bruce H.G. Calder`s Joke of the Day for (usually) brief, (almost) always funny, and (occasionally) original stuff.http://www.getswap.com/subscribe.asp?list=2-1 ----------------------------------------------------------------- To un subscribe; reply to this email with the subject un subscribe ----------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright 2001-2003 VisionUpdate Inc. ----------------------------------------------------------------- ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Please rate this Ezine at the Cumuli Ezine Finder. http://www.cumuli.com/ezines/ra22176.rate ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~