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!

SkyVision Continues to Grow and We Thank You!

WOW!  What a year!. We've worked very hard for you all, and you've rewarded us by telling your friends and family about your Skyvision Centers experience, and now many of your friends and family are coming to see us for their eyecare needs.  We are obsessed with our goal of giving you not only the very best eyecare but also the very best patient experience you could possibly have. 

We hired a couple of new staff members for our reception and technician staff.

We rolled out a new appointment notification system which has been very happily received by both patients and staff.   If you have not had the opportunity to sign up for the new DemandForce notification system just click here   SkyVision Demand Force  for appointment requests, sign up requests, our latest reviews, etc. 

We moved around our exam rooms again this year to accomodate for additional new pieces of equipment to service for our expanding number of patients .  

Our committment to you and the health of your eyes continues to be as strong as ever. We are always looking for the next, great development for you and your vision!

We look forward to seeing you, your family and friends this coming year.

Skyvision Centers....Vision Redesigned (R)

Omega 3 Fatty Acids

Are you getting yours? Omega-3 fatty acids, that is. It turns out that almost everyone doesn't get enough of these essential fatty acids in their diet.

Omega-3 fatty acids can be obtained most easily through dietary supplements. Fish oil capsule and Flax Seed oil capsules are probably the most accessible options. Omega-3 fatty acids can help to prevent heart disease and stroke, especially in men. They have been shown to decrease joint and muscle pain in people who suffer from diseases like Fibromyalgia.

In the eye world Omega-3 fatty acids are important in the care of Dry Eye of all kinds, especially EVAPORATIVE Dry Eye caused by problems with the glands in your eyelids that produce the oil in your tears. Also, there is lots of research that suggests that increasing the amount of Omega-3 fatty acids you take in can reduce the severity of Macular Degeneration. Taking Fish Oil, Flax Seed Oil, or a specialty formulation like Doctor's Advantage products can do the trick!

Does it matter what kind you take? What brand or what form of Omega-3 fatty acids you use? Of course it does! Purity of the Omega-3 sources is important, and some forms simply work better than others. The Skyvision Centers doctors have done their homework and we offer the Doctor's Advantage forms of nutritional supplements right here in the office.  You can also opt to have your Omega-3's delivered right to your home!

There are some healthy things that are pretty easy, like making sure you are getting Omega-3 fatty acids every day!

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.

Vitamins For Macular Degeneration: FAQ

Here are our answers to some of the Frequently Asked Questions about vitamins and Macular Degeneration (AMD):

1) Do I HAVE to take special vitamins?

Of course not! However, taking high doses of anti-oxidant vitamins per the AREDS1 and 2 studies is thus far the only known way to prevent progression and vision loss from AMD

2) If I don't take the vitamins will I go blind?

There is no way to know if any one individual person will lose vision from AMD. Everyone is different, and we can only tell you what the odds are from the research available.

3) If I take the vitamins am I guaranteed to not lose my vision?

Unfortunately the same answer applies here: we can only say that taking the antioxidant vitamins in the AREDS doses will reduce the number of people who lose vision, and the amount of vision lost, when we look at a large group of people.

4) Are there side effects from the vitamins?

Some people have some stomach issues from taking any vitamins, and AMD vitamins are no different. In addition, the pills are rather big, and if you have trouble swallowing pills you may have trouble taking the AMD vitamins.

5) Who SHOULDN'T take AMD vitamins?

Smokers should not take high dosed of beta-carotene, the vitamin A form used in the AREDS vitamins.

6) Any other risks from taking these vitamins?

There are conflicting studies with results that don't agree about the risk of reduced bone density from taking high doses of beta-carotene. You should check with your family doctor if this is a concern.

7) What brand names should I look for?

This is one of the hard questions to answer because there are quite a few name brands, and within those brands there are some confusing choices. In general, if you plan to buy your vitamins at a store, "Preservision", "ICaps", and IVites" are good choices. SkyVision docs have chosen to provide Doctor's Advantage vitamins here in the office.  Look for info regarding these vitamins in upcoming blogs. 
8) What if I am taking a multivitamin? Should/can I keep taking it?

Another very hard question to answer because we are fans of multivitamins for people of all ages. You need to be careful not to over-do the anti-oxidants with AREDS vitamins + multivitamins. The math (adding up the doses and dividing between vitamins) can be complex, too complex for any doctor's office to do for you with store-bought vitamins. (Again, look for the upcoming post about vitamins from Skyvision). Aim for a total of the AREDS doses of Vitamin C, E, beta-carotene, Zinc and Copper between all your vitamins.

We hope that's helpful!

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!