Do Women Have a Better Sense of Color?

We at SkyVision Centers, the premier ophthalmology practice in Westlake, Ohio would like you to weigh in on this!

Take the quiz and then post your color number and gender on the SkyVision Facebook Page!

What is your color sense- Your Color IQ

Itchy Eyes . . . . Spring Allergies?

Spring is the time of year that we normally think of when it comes to seasonal allergies. As the trees start to bloom and the pollen gets airborne, allergy sufferers begin their annual ritual of sniffling and sneezing. Each year, 35 million Americans fall prey to seasonal allergic rhinitis, more commonly known as hay fever.

Although there is no magical cure for spring allergies, there are a number of ways to combat them, from medication to household habits.

What Causes Spring Allergies?

The biggest spring allergy trigger is pollen -- tiny grains released into the air by trees, grasses, and weeds for the purpose of fertilizing other plants. When pollen grains get into the nose of someone who’s allergic, they send the immune system into overdrive.

The immune system, mistakenly seeing the pollen as foreign invaders, releases antibodies -- substances that normally identify and attack bacteria, viruses, and other illness-causing organisms. The antibodies attack the allergens, which leads to the release of chemicals called histamines into the blood. Histamines trigger the runny nose, itchy eyes, and other symptoms of allergies.

Pollen can travel for miles, spreading a path of misery for allergy sufferers along the way. The higher the pollen count, the greater the misery. The pollen count measures the amount of allergens in the air in grains per cubic meter. You can find out the daily pollen count in your area by watching your local weather forecast or by visiting the NAB: Pollen & Mold Counts page on the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology’s web site.

Here are some of the biggest spring allergy offenders:

Trees

Alder
Ash
Aspen
Beech
Box elder
Cedar
Cottonwood
Cypress
Elm
Hickory
Juniper
Maple
Mulberry
Oak
Olive
Palm
Pine
Poplar
Sycamore
Willow

Grasses and weeds

Bermuda
Fescue
Johnson
June
Orchard
Perennial rye
Redtop
Saltgrass
Sweet vernal
Timothy

Allergy symptoms tend to be particularly high on breezy days when the wind picks up pollen and carries it through the air. Rainy days, on the other hand, cause a drop in the pollen counts because the rain washes away the allergens.

What are the symptoms of spring allergies?

The symptoms of spring allergies include:

• Runny nose
• Watery eyes
• Sneezing
• Coughing
• Itchy eyes and nose
• Dark circles under the eyes

Airborne allergens also can trigger asthma, a condition in which the airways narrow, making breathing difficult and leading to coughing, wheezing, and shortness of breath.

How are spring allergies diagnosed?

If you’ve never been formally diagnosed with spring allergies but you notice that your eyes and nose are itchy and runny during the spring months, see your doctor. Your doctor may refer you to an allergist for tests.

The allergy specialist may do a skin test, which involves injecting a tiny sample of a diluted allergen just under the skin of your arm or back. If you’re allergic to the substance, a small red bump (called a wheal or hive) will form. Another diagnostic option is the radioallergosorbent test or RAST. RAST is a blood test that detects antibody levels to a particular allergen. Just because you are sensitive to a particular allergen on a test, though, doesn’t mean that you’ll necessarily start sneezing and coughing when you come into contact with it.

What's the treatment for spring allergies?

Doctors treat spring allergies with a number of over-the-counter and prescription drugs. Over-the-counter allergy drugs are effective for many people and include the following:

• Antihistamines reduce sneezing, sniffling, and itching by lowering the amount of histamine (the substance produced during an allergic reaction) in the body.
• Decongestants clear mucus out of the nasal passageways to relieve congestion and swelling.
• Antihistamine/decongestants combine the effects of both drugs.
• Nasal spray decongestants relieve congestion and may clear clogged nasal passages faster than oral decongestants.
• Cromolyn sodium nasal spray can help prevent hay fever by stopping the release of histamine before it can trigger allergy symptoms.
• Eye drops relieve itchy, watery eyes.

Even though you can buy these allergy drugs without a prescription, it’s a good idea to talk to your doctor first to make sure you choose the right medication. Some antihistamines can make you feel sleepy, so you need to be careful when taking them during the day (although non-drowsy formulations are also available). Don’t use over-the-counter antihistamines and decongestants for more than a few days without talking to your doctor.

If over-the-counter remedies don’t help allergies, your doctor may recommend a prescription medication, allergy shots, or even oral/sublingual immunotherapy. Prescription nasal sprays with corticosteroids reduce inflammation in the nose. Allergy shots expose your body to gradually increasing doses of the allergen until you become tolerant of it. They can relieve your symptoms for a longer period of time than oral and nasal allergy medications. Although they don’t work for everyone, in people who do see a response, allergy shots can stave off symptoms for a few years.

Some allergy sufferers turn to natural therapies for relief, although the research is mixed on their effectiveness:

• Butterbur. The herb butterbur (Petasites hybridus), which comes from a European shrub, shows potential for relieving seasonal allergy symptoms. In one Swiss study, butterbur was just as effective as the antihistamine Allegra for reducing allergy symptoms.
• Quercetin. This flavonoid, which is found naturally in onions, apples, and black tea, has anti-inflammatory properties and has been shown in research to block histamines.
• Stinging nettle. The roots and leaves of the stinging nettle plant (Urtica dioica) have been used to treat everything from joint pain to prostate problems. Although some people use freeze-dried stinging nettle leaves to treat allergy symptoms, there isn’t much research to show that it works.
• Nasal irrigation. Nasal irrigation with a combination of warm water, about a quarter-teaspoon of salt, and a quarter-teaspoon of baking soda may help clear out mucus and open sinus passages. You can administer the solution through a squeeze bottle or a neti pot -- a device that looks like a small teapot. Use distilled, sterile, or previously boiled water to make up the irrigation solution. It’s also important to rinse the irrigation device after each use and leave open to air dry.

Just because a spring allergy treatment says “natural” doesn’t mean that it is safe. Some herbal remedies can cause side effects or can react with medications you’re taking. Talk to your doctor before you start taking any herb or supplement.

How to manage spring allergies

It’s nearly impossible to completely avoid spring allergies if you live in an area where plants grow. However, you can ease sniffling, sneezing, and watery eyes by avoiding your main allergy triggers. Here are a few tips.

• Try to stay indoors whenever the pollen count is very high (pollen counts usually peak in the mornings). 
• Keep your doors and windows closed whenever possible during the spring months to keep allergens out. An air purifier may also help. 
• Clean the air filters in your home often. Also, clean bookshelves, vents, and other places where pollen can collect. 
• Wash your hair after going outside, because pollen can collect there.
• Vacuum twice a week. Wear a mask because vacuuming can kick up pollen, mold, and dust that were trapped in your carpet

Reviewed by Kimball Johnson, MD on June 16, 2012

© 2012 WebMD, LLC. All rights reserved.

What Are Bifocals and How Do They Work?

OK...you'r over 40 years old and you can't read things up close. Maybe you have to take your glasses off and you can read. Maybe you need those $3.00 cheapo glasses from the pharmacy, even putting them on over your contact lenses. But you're starting to get cranky because of all the on-and-off with the glasses stuff. What to do? It's time to talk about bifocals.

Bifocals are glasses that have both a correction for your distance vision on the top of the lens, and a correction to help you read on the bottom. The first bifocal was actually invented by Benjamin Franklin. Yup...the same guy who did the whole kite and key thing to discover electricity! Ol' Ben just glued the top half of one lens to the bottom half of another and created what we now call an "Executive" bifocal.





This very simple type of lens has evolved into into more modern bifocal lenses. The most direct descendant of the Franklin lens is the Flat-top bifocal. These lenses have a very large area devoted to your distance vision, with a smallish insert or segment that allows you to focus on objects up close. The working distance, how far away you can hold something and still be in focus, is fixed with this type of bifocal.

What about seeing things a little further away, say a computer screen? And by the way, I think those bifocals where I can see the lines make me look older. Isn't there some kind of newer lens?




Absolutely! The most modern bifocal lenses are called "No-line" or "Progressive" lenses. These lenses have a smooth change in focus from the topo of the lens (distance), through the middle (arm's length), to the bottom of the lens (reading distance). We say that there's a "column of clarity", a sweet spot for each working distance for our vision. This column is usually shaped somewhat like an hourglass.

Our favorite Progressive lenses at Skyvision are Varilux products like the Varilux Comfort or the Varilux Physio. We always try to match the strengths of a particular lens to your special visual needs. Our doctors and opticians are experts on making this match. If you are having trouble with reading come on in and learn all about bifocals!

I Have Pinkeye...Can I Wear My Makeup?

Can I wear makeup if I have Pink Eye? Do I have to throw out my old makeup? And HEY, just what IS pinkeye, anyway?

Pink Eye, or Conjunctivitis, is one of the most frequent caused of emergency visits at Skyvision Centers. Dr. White, Dr. Schlegel, and Dr. Kaye are all experts in treating all of the causes of conjunctivitis. True Pink Eye is an infection caused by either a bacteria or a virus. A majority of Pink Eye in young children is caused by bacteria, but as we get older most of it is actually from viruses. You catch viral Pink Eye like you catch a cold through coughing, sneezing, or coming in contact with tears. Bacterial Pink Eye is usually from contact with tears. Both are VERY contagious.

What to do about your makeup if you have Pink Eye? Well, there's actually not a whole lot of very good research here so our advice is good, solid, Cleveland medical common sense! Don't wear makeup until your eyes look and feel better, and YES, you should throw away your mascara and your eyeliner.

And don't forget, your cousin's or your neighbor's or your BFF's eyedrops for THEIR Pink Eye may not be right for YOU. Come see us at Skyvision for your diagnosis and treatment!

A PHARMACY IN THE OFFICE?

Have you ever received a prescription from your doctor and had a pharmacist ask you to change to a generic when you went to fill the prescription?  Or how about this experience:  you have been receiving a branded drug from a mail order pharmacy for many years and all of a sudden your co-pay goes up by a factor of 5 or even 10, but a generic is less expensive.  What do you do?

Even more importantly, what if your doctor has told you that there truly is a difference between the generic version of a medicine, or medicine that a pharmacy wants to substitute, and the very specific medicine your doctor has prescribed?  How can you get the medicine your doctor wants you to have?

The doctors at Skyvision, indeed all of the staff at Skyvision Centers deal with this question every single day.  A recent example is patients who have been on a branded glaucoma medication who are switched to the generic of an older medicine in the same class who then go on to have a very serious complication in their retina, one that is a well-known complication of the older medicine, but generally not seen with the branded medicine. 

One interesting option has been presented to Skyvision Centers.  There is a company that will set up an in-office mini-pharmacy to dispense the medication that your doctors want you to take.  What is interesting about this particular service is that they make sure that any discounts, coupons, or co-pay assistance is factored into the price of the medicine.  In other words, any and all discount programs available would be applied to your price.  There might still be a less expensive generic version of your prescription, or a generic version of a similar prescription, but in those instances where your doctor felt the branded medicine was a better choice for you it would be made available with no “hassle factor”. 

What are your feelings about doctors dispensing medicine in the office?  Would you find this more convenient?  What kinds of concerns might you have?  We would love to hear your thoughts.  

A NEW STEROID EYE DROP FORMULATION

Steroid eye drops were first introduced in eye care in the 1970’s and 1980’s.  They were truly revolutionary!  For people with chronic inflammation of any type the creation of steroid eye drops was truly a sight-saving development.

With this benefit came some side effects and complications, however.  The original steroid, prednisolone, has been shown to cause an elevation in eye pressure in as many as 30% of people who take it.  In addition, long-term use often leads to the development of cataracts.  All of the steroid eye drops to date have been suspensions; you had to shake them vigorously in order to make sure you got the right amount of steroid in your eye. 

Bausch & Lomb recently introduced a new gel formulation of the steroid Loteprednol which has been provided under the brand name Lotemax.  The physics behind this gel are truly extraordinary!  Shaking it just once permanently suspends the steroid medicine.  There is no settling of the medicine in the bottle!  The other very cool thing about this new drop is that the gel is re-liquified within one or two blinks after inserting the medicine.  Not only do you get the exact amount of steroids that is desired from a single drop, but this nearly instant liquefaction means less discomfort and less blurriness. 

Lotemax was found in its FDA trial to be effective in reducing the inflammation following cataract surgery.  In addition, Lotemax has been known to cause a much less frequent rise in pressure than other steroid eye drops.  For these reasons the doctors at Skyvision Centers are very excited to have this new steroid eye drop as an option to treat you.  

DemandForce is alive and well at SkyVision! Thank You to our patients for our 5 Star reviews!

"What does that mean, you ask?  As you know, the global online community becomes more robust with each passing day. It’s hard to imagine life without cell phones and computers because communicating has become so easy, efficient, and effective."    source:   DemandForce Dish Newsletter, August 2012. 

SkyVision  adopted the new online system about one year ago to help improve the quality and timeliness of communication to its patients.   The staff and patients have responded to it very well.   On a daily basis Demandforce notifies patients of upcoming appointments and patients can confirm via their cell phone or computer.  After a patient visits they also receive a thank you for visiting and are asked to complete an online review if they wish.   In addition, they can also submit a survey where their opinions are polled.

Our patients have responded with such enthusiasm to this that we have received well over 450 reviews in less than a year.  In addition, we have received over 475 surveys.   For our reviews, we have achieved the highest overall rating of 5 Star  ***** over the long haul.   We have received many comments, opinions, suggestions, etc through the surveys.    We appreciate the patients taking the time to respond to either the surveys and reviews and they can be done anonymously or with their names.    

SkyVision not only is at the top of its class in its practice of the very best eye care by highly experienced doctors and staff, it is also committed to the advancement of communication with the patient and by keeping pace with the latest in current trends and lifestyles.

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