The Eye Clinic of Texas

Practical Eye Health Tips for COVID

There are some practical eye health tips and precautions that you should consider to stay safe from COVID risk. We suggest thinking about:

If You Wear Contact Lenses, Consider Switching to Glasses for a While. There's no evidence that wearing contact lenses increases your risk of Coronavirus infection, but if you wear contacts, you tend to touch your eyes more than average. Wearing glasses decreases the likelihood and need to touch your eyes.
Wearing Glasses May Add a Layer of Protection. Eyeglasses or sunglasses can shield your eyes from infected respiratory droplets in the air, but they don’t provide 100% security. The virus can still reach your eyes from the exposed sides, tops and bottoms of your glasses. If you’re caring for a sick patient or potentially exposed person, safety goggles may offer a stronger defense.
Stock Up on Eye Drops and Medicine Prescriptions If You Can. If possible try to stock up on critical medications and eye drops, so that you’ll have enough to get by if you are quarantined or if your pharmacy is unable to fill your refills. If your insurance allows you to get more than 1 month of essential eye medicine, such as glaucoma drops, you should do so. Some insurers will approve a 3-month supply of medication in times of natural disaster. Ask your pharmacist or our office for help if you have trouble getting approval from your insurance company. And as always, request a refill as soon as you’re due. Don’t wait until the last minute to contact your pharmacy.
Avoid Rubbing Your Eyes. Everyone rubs their eyes! We all do it and it can be a tough to stop. But-doing so will lower your risk of infection. If you feel an urge to itch or rub your eye or even to adjust your glasses, use a tissue instead of your fingers. Dry eyes can lead to more rubbing, so consider adding moisturizing drops to your eye routine. If you must touch your eyes for any reason-even to administer eye medicine-wash your hands first with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. Then wash them again afterwards.

We look forward to seeing you soon for your regular eye exams for eye health & vision! In the meantime if you, a friend or relative should need help for a contact lens irritation, red eye or contact lens problem, PLEASE CALL 1-800-423-3937 and we can provide you with either a TeleEyeHealth Virtual Visit & Consultation or schedule an appointment for a personal visit at The Eye Clinic of Texas. Visit us at The Eye Clinic of Texas or Facebook.com/ecot.lasik/.

COVID Eye Safety & Contact Lenses-What to Know!

COVID Eye Safety & Contact Lenses

The traditional “best practices” for wearing contact lenses safely may not be sufficient to completely prevent COVID-19 spread, as wearing contact lenses requires a great deal of finger manipulation around the eyelids, nose and mouth in order to insert the lenses. Contact lens wearers often touch their eyes, mouth and nose, putting wearers at risk for contracting the virus. Even with the best care and hygiene the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) recently published recommendations for corona virus eye safety that strongly suggested not wearing contact lenses and keeping everything away from patients’ eyes. That said, you can choose to keep wearing your contact lenses but:

Wash your hands carefully and thoroughly with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, followed by hand drying with unused paper towels. This should occur before every contact lens insertion and removal. If soap and water are not readily available, use a hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol. People should avoid touching their face, including their eyes, nose and mouth, with unwashed hands.
Disinfect or dispose your contact lenses as prescribed by your doctor. Either dispose of your daily disposable lenses each evening, or regularly disinfect your monthly and two-week lenses according to instructions.
Discontinue lens wear if sick. Consistent with recommendations for other types of illness, those who feel ill with cold or flu-like symptoms should cease contact lens wear.

We look forward to seeing you soon for your regular eye exams for eye health & vision! In the meantime if you, a friend or relative should need help for a contact lens irritation, red eye or contact lens, PLEASE CALL 800-423-3937 and we can provide you with either a TeleEyeHealth Virtual Visit & Consultation or schedule an appointment for a personal visit at The Eye Clinic of Texas. Visit us at The Eye Clinic of Texas at our Eye Care Blog, or on Facebook.

COVID Guidelines You Should Remember!

COVID Safety Guidelines

We are all dealing with the day to day issues and safety concerns created by the COVID-19 virus. As time goes on, and it appears as if we may have reached the peak, sometimes there can be a degree of relaxation of the necessary guidelines and good practices to stop the spread. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) offers these general guidelines for preventing the spread of corona virus and protecting your health:

Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds.
You should especially wash your hands before eating, after using the restroom, sneezing, coughing or blowing your nose.
If you can’t get to a sink, use a hand sanitizer that has at least 60% alcohol.
Avoid touching your face-particularly your eyes, nose, and mouth.
If you cough or sneeze, cover your face with your elbow or a tissue. If you use a tissue, throw it away promptly. Then go wash your hands.
Avoid close contact with sick people. If you think someone has a respiratory infection, it’s safest to stay 6 feet away.
Stay home when you are sick.
Regularly disinfect commonly touched surfaces and items in your house, such as doorknobs and counter tops.

We look forward to seeing you soon for your regular eye exams for eye health & vision! In the meantime if you, a friend or relative should need help for an urgent eye problem such as an eye accident, red eyes, eye pain, irritation, sensitivity to light, eye discharge, matter in eyes, eyelid redness, crusting, eyelids stuck together, excessive tearing, eyes burning, watering, feeling gritty, eyes itching, allergy eyes, eyelid swelling, eyelid lumps or eyelid bumps, PLEASE CALL 1-800-423-3937 and we can provide you with either a TeleEyeHealth Virtual Visit & Consultation or schedule an appointment for a personal visit at The Eye Clinic of Texas.

Visit The Eye Clinic of Texas or www.facebook.com/ecot.lasik/. The Eye Clinic of Texas is an affiliate of Houston Eye Associates, the largest ophthalmology clinic in the nation. We are a leading eye care practice serving the greater Houston, Galveston, League City and Texas City with offices at 1100 Gulf Freeway, Suite 114, League City, Texas 77573, 7111 Medical Center Drive, Suite 110, Texas City, Texas 77590 and 2302 Avenue P, Galveston, Texas.

TeleEyeHealth Virtual Visits for Eye Problems

TeleEyeHealth Virtual Visits

At The Eye Clinic of Texas we are often able to provide help for certain eye problems & conditions through the use of TeleEyeHealth Virtual Visits & Consultation without having to come to our office. TeleEyeHealth Virtual Visits use electronic & digital communications and software to provide clinical services to patients without an in-person visit. By using your home computer and webcam, or even your phone, we are able to visualize and evaluate urgent eye problems such as a minor eye accident, red eyes, eye pain, irritation, sensitivity to light, eye discharge, matter in eyes, eyelid redness, crusting, eyelids stuck together, excessive tearing, eyes burning, watering, feeling gritty, eyes itching, allergy eyes, eyelid swelling, eyelid lumps or eyelid bumps-and then help you, or if needed, schedule you to come in for an actual office visit. TeleEyeHealth VirtualVisits are covered by almost all insurance plans and help avoid an unnecessary trip to the emergency room or our office.

Dry Eye Disease & Migraine Headaches

What do migraine headaches have to do with dry eye disease? As it turns out researchers reporting on a large population based study in the journal JAMA Ophthalmology found that the odds of having dry eye disease with a diagnosis of migraine headaches was at least 20% higher than that of individuals without a diagnosis of migraine headaches. They also conclude that this association does not reflect a cause and effect relationship but rather identifies a risk factor that suggests we don’t overlook dry eye disease in patients complaining of migraine headaches.

If you or someone you know suffers from migraine headaches they should be evaluated for dry eye disease during their eye exam. Learn more when you schedule an eye exam at The Eye Clinic of Texas, an affiliate of Houston Eye Associates, at 800-423-3937, visit The Eye Clinic of Texas, or facebook.com/ecot.lasik.

The Eye Clinic of Texas is an affiliate of Houston Eye Associates, the largest ophthalmology clinic in the nation. We are a leading eye care practice serving the greater Houston, Galveston, League City and Texas City with offices at 1100 Gulf Freeway, Suite 114, League City, Texas 77573, 7111 Medical Center Drive, Suite 110, Texas City, Texas 77590 and 2302 Avenue P, Galveston, Texas.

Christmas Plants Treat Eye Tumors?

German researchers reporting in Science Signaling have identified a compound in the berries of the Coralberry plant that appears to be able to destroy Uveal Melanoma, the most common and an aggressive type of eye cancer. The Coralberry is a very common plant we use for Christmas and holiday decorations! The leaves of the plant contain bacteria that produce a toxin that inhibits a cancer cell molecule called Gq protein and thus is destructive to the cancer. It also appears that the toxin may be effective against skin cancer as well. At this time the investigation is still in the laboratory but researchers hope to make it into a pharmaceutical in the near future.

If you notice pigmented or non-pigmented lesions or dry scaly patches on your eyelids or around your eyes please let us know at your eye exam. Schedule routine eye exams with us at The Eye Clinic of Texas, an affiliate of Houston Eye Associates, at 800-423-3937, visit The Eye Clinic of Texas, or facebook.com/ecot.lasik.

Vision Problems & Senior Falling Risk

Falls are a substantial cause of morbidity and mortality in seniors. Further, fear of falling (FoF) and activity limitation and restricted mobility due to FoF are also more common in older adults with vision impairment (VI) and are associated with declines in health related quality of life and independence. Vision impairment (VI) and blindness affect 1 in 11 Americans aged 65 and older in the United States. Because of the aging of the population, the number of older adults with VI is predicted to increase through at least 2050. VI is associated with lack of independence, a poor sense of well-being, and risk of falls. In a given year, approximately one third of adults aged 65 and older will fall and VI more than doubles this risk. Thus the importance of regular eye exams to detect, diagnose, prevent and treat common senior eye problems such as cataract, glaucoma, macular degeneration and diabetic eye problems cannot be stressed enough!

Please schedule regular senior eye exams at The Eye Clinic of Texas, an affiliate of Houston Eye Associates, at 800-423-3937, visit The Eye Clinic of Texas, or facebook.com/ecot.lasik.

Lazy Eye Risk in Premature Children

There is generally concern regarding vision problems in premature children and especially those with retinopathy of prematurity (ROP). Researchers investigated whether the incidence rate, cumulative incidence, and prevalence of any amblyopia risk factors were greater in retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) and non-ROP screened groups of children up to age 3. The incidence of amblyopia risk factors was not significantly different between non-ROP and ROP screened children however, the prevalence of refractive errors among premature children-especially astigmatism- was higher than that reported in childhood in the eye care literature. Based on this, it may be appropriate to screen all children with a history of prematurity for refractive errors around 24 months of age.

If a friend, relative or acquaintance has a child born prematurely, it might be worth suggesting that they schedule a screening eye exam by age 2 if they have not already done so at the direction of their pediatrician. Please schedule an eye exam at The Eye Clinic of Texas, an affiliate of Houston Eye Associates, at 800-423-3937, visit The Eye Clinic of Texas, or facebook.com/ecot.lasik.

How Common is Dry Eye Disease?

Dry eye disease (DED) is a multi-factorial ocular surface disease characterized by symptoms of dryness, grittiness, discomfort, irritation, and often visual disturbance. DED can create significant burdens on patients, including problems in social settings, occupational functioning, and reduced quality of life. Known risk factors for DED include female sex, increasing age, and certain systemic health conditions (i.e. autoimmune diseases), and a wide range of medications that are known to result in dry eyes. It is estimated that some 5% to 34% of individuals over 50 suffer from dry eyes depending on the definition of dry eye used to prepare the estimate.

If you or someone you know suffers from dry eyes please schedule an eye exam at The Eye Clinic of Texas, an affiliate of Houston Eye Associates, at 800-423-3937, visit The Eye Clinic of Texas, or facebook.com/ecot.lasik.

Heavy Smoking and Vision Loss

Researchers at Rutgers University Behavioral Health Care reported findings of a study in Psychiatry Research demonstrating that smoking more than 20 cigarettes a day can damage your vision. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 34.3 million adults in the US currently smoke cigarettes and that more than 16 million live with a smoking-related disease, many of which affect the cardiovascular system. Cigarette smoke consists of numerous neurotoxic compounds that are harmful to health. These neurotoxic chemicals are believed to result in nerve damage to the optic nerve and retinal nerve fiber layer resulting in a loss of color vision and contrast sensitivity. This damage is in addition to the known harmful effects of smoking which doubles the risk for age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and hastens the yellowing of the crystalline lens of the eye where cataracts form.

If you or someone you know is a smoker-now is the time to quit! To learn more about eye health and smoking schedule an eye exam at The Eye Clinic of Texas, an affiliate of Houston Eye Associates, at 800-423-3937, visit The Eye Clinic of Texas, or facebook.com/ecot.lasik.

Deep Learning & Macular Degeneration Risk Assessment

Age Related Macular Degeneration (AMD) is a leading cause of vision loss in seniors. Aging is the greatest risk factor! In its most advanced stages, it can deprive an individual of his or her ability to perform basic activities such as reading, recognizing faces, and driving. Approximately 11 million individuals are affected with AMD in the United States (U.S.) alone and the prevalence of AMD in the U.S. is anticipated to increase to 22 million by the year 2050.

Early detection and treatment is critical in helping patients avoid vision loss from AMD. Recently researchers reported interesting results in the journal JAMA Ophthalmology regarding how “deep learning” (DL) or artificial intelligence (AI) might be a useful addition to the physician in the examination and monitoring process for patients at risk for AMD and its progression. Their findings suggest that using DL to grade and monitor AMD is comparable to experienced humans for estimating 5-year risk of progression to advanced AMD. This could be very helpful in assisting physicians in having a detailed risk assessment in the long term care of AMD patient.

If you want to learn more about your risk of age related macular degeneration (AMD), schedule an eye exam at The Eye Clinic of Texas, an affiliate of Houston Eye Associates, at 800-423-3937, visit The Eye Clinic of Texas, or facebook.com/ecot.lasik.