The Meibomian Gland Dysfunction Epidemic

Our Meibomian glands are just inside our eyelashes. They produce the oil or lipid part of our tears. The oil in our tears stabilizes the surface or the tears and prevents rapid evaporation. An abnormality in this layer cause a type of Dry Eye.

A video about your meibomian glands Video Link Click Here

Most of the eye doctors, and especially our own Cleveland Dry Eye experts here at Skyvision Centers, believe that we are now having an epidemic of Dry Eye and especially Meibomian gland disease. This is due at least in part to major changes in the U.S. populations intake of Omega-3 fatty acids over the last 50 years. These changes came about from government subsidies of corn, which is now the feed of choice for everything from cows to fish! This change in the diet of livestock and fish from grass and algae to corn is contributing to the frequency and severity of Dry Eye.

What can we do to reverse this? Well, we probably can't change U.S. farm policy overnight, but the doctors at Skyvision are convinced that everyone, especially anyone with Dry Eye, should be taking a high quality Omega-3 fatty acid nutritional supplement. For example, Doctors Advantage brand names "Eye Relief" or "Omega Shield" have the right combination of ingredients to help. Our doctors can advise you of what may be best for you.

Our vision, comfort, and even quality of life starts on the surface of the eye with our tear film and we would like to help you enjoy and feel your very best!

Good News On Omega-3 Fatty Acid Supplements

Do you take an Omega-3 Fatty Acid supplement like fish oil or flaxseed oil? If not are you thinking about taking one? Our doctors at SkyVision Centers keep coming up with more and more reasons you should!

Omega-3 Fatty Acids are building blocks for the oil secretion from the Meibomian glands in your eyelids. This oil is what stabilizes the front of your tear film and keeps your tears from evaporating before your next blink. We've lost count on the number of articles in the eye literature that have shown this. Whether you have Dry Eye or not, taking a supplement will improve the quality of your tears in most cases.

The Nurses Health Study which has followed thousands of nurses for decades published a very telling study on Omega-3 Fatty Acid content in diets and vision loss from Macular Degeneration. In short, those nurses who had the highest weekly intake of Omega-3 Fatty Acid in the DHA and EPA forms (see below) had a 1/3 lower incidence of lost vision.

Data continues to accumulate on the benefits of taking an Omega-3 Fatty Acid supplement as a way to decrease your risk of heart disease. This is especially true in men who have other cardiac risk factors. Once again, Fish Oil high in DHA and EPA has an anti-inflammatory effect that seems to work against the type of inflammation that attacks the coronary arteries. This is the same anti-inflammatory effect in your muscles and joints that CrossFitters have found, which is why using Fish Oil is a very common standard in the CrossFit community of athletes.

So what kind of Omega-3 supplement should you take. Dr. White likes to tell his patients that women can take either Fish Oil or Flaxseed Oil, but that men probably should NOT take Flaxseed Oil because of a potential danger to the prostate gland. Flaxseed Oil comes in 1000mg capsules and the best results come from taking 2 or 3 each day.

Fish Oil in capsule form (de-odorized to prevent "fish burps"!) is a little more complex. There are all kinds of levels of quality. You should look for ultra-filtered (to remove mercury), and you want to have the Omega-3 in the DHA/EPA (triglyceride) form. Look on the ingredients and buy the supplement that has the highest percentage of Omega-3 in the DHA/EPA form. Our Doctor's Advantage Omega Shield supplement (that Dr. White takes) has ALL 1200mg in the DHA/EPA form. In general, 1200mg pills have a higher concentration than 1000mg pills, and once again you should try to take 2 or 3 each day if you can.

Comics Day At Skyvision

We are always amazed at how many jokes and puns come up every day in the office. While macular degeneration is nothing to joke about, the term is often mispronounced in very funny ways. Our favorite here at Skyvision used to be"Immaculate Degeneration"! Now, thanks to "Crankshaft", we have a new one.

More Good News About Omega-3 Fatty Acids

It seems a day doesn't go by without more good news about Omega-3 Fatty Acid dietary supplements! We are anxiously awaiting the publication of the AREDS II study on Macular Degeneration (AMD), but in the mean time a study looking at just Omega-3 supplements has some very good news for AMD prevention.

A study has been following a number of health problems in almost 40,000 female nurses over more than 10 years. One of the things studied has been the development of AMD. Analyzing the diets of these nurses the investigators discovered that those women who consume Omega-3 Fatty Acids in the DHA and EPA forms have an approximately 33% LOWER chance of getting AMD!

The DHA and IPA forms of Omega-3 Fatty Acids are called the Triglyceride forms. After many years of trying to keep up on the literally hundreds of brands and levels of quality in drug stores the doctors at Skyvision recently chose a very special company, Doctor's Advantage, to supply our patients with the highest quality nutritional supplements for AMD and other problems.

Doctor's Advantage makes an Omega-3 Fatty Acid supplement called "Omega Shield". It is only available from eye doctors, but the company will send it directly to your home! Make sure that you ask about "Omega Shield" when you come to see the eye doctors at Skyvision Centers. This one very good way to practice preventative medicine for your eyes!