Category: Eye conditions

Macular Degeneration: Act Early to Save Your Sight

Posted on by ECP Manager

When Jessica Falon’s grandmother was diagnosed with age-related macular degeneration (AMD), she understood there was a strong family risk of getting the disease and decided to take an active approach to protecting her own sight.

Jessica (pictured with her mother and grandmother) is 23 years old and visits her local optometrist regularly for a comprehensive eye examination. She doesn’t smoke and has adopted an eye-friendly diet to support the health of her macula.

Jessica’s grandmother, Helen, was diagnosed with wet (neovascular) age-related macular degeneration, a condition that caused rapid deterioration of her central vision. There is effective sight-saving treatment for this form of the disease, but by the time Helen saw an optometrist, her condition was already quite advanced.

Today, Helen is legally blind.

Helen lost her husband many years ago. She is a very independent person who loves cooking but, she started to notice she was making mistakes which were unlike her, “like putting salt in food instead of sugar or not being able to find things,” says Jessica.

Losing her sight was gradual.

“It has been quite hard to watch her lose that independence.”

What is AMD?

AMD is the leading cause of blindness and severe vision loss in Australia. One in seven people over the age of 50 have signs of the disease, and the incidence increases with age. It is a painless, progressive disease that destroys central vision, leaving peripheral vision intact.

Reducing the Risks

There’s no cure for AMD, but you can reduce your risk.

Jessica has made a couple of simple changes to her life in order to help her vision.

“It’s not that big of a change really, but we make a habit of putting spinach in just about everything and plenty of oily fish!” she says.

Jessica can’t guarantee making those changes to her diet will stop her getting AMD but, in making these changes, she is supporting the health of her macula.

“I can get regular macula checks and monitor my vision as I get older. If I can better my chances in any way, it is got to be a big win.”

The Four Major AMD Risk Factors

There are four major risk and prevention factors for AMD:

  1. Smoking

Smokers have a three to four times higher risk of AMD than non-smokers

  1. Age

As you get older, the risk of getting AMD increases dramatically

  1. Family history

If you have an immediate family member with AMD, you have a 50% risk of getting it too

  1. Eye exams

A regular eye exam with your local Eyecare Plus optometrist will ensure early detection of AMD, giving you the best chance of preventing vision loss.

Proactive Lifestyle Changes

Jessica knows that while she’s a long way off the high-risk 50 plus age group, the changes she’s making now will help put her in a great position to prevent or delay the onset of AMD as she gets older.

“I understand the hereditary aspect of the disease and so even though the prospect of macular disease seems in the distant future, my sister and I have talked about our vision. We have an Amsler grid on the fridge, and we are incorporating macula friendly foods into our meals,” says Jessica.

If you know AMD is something in your family, have a conversation about it.

“I have seen just how much AMD impacts Nana and the changes I have made to my diet and lifestyle are so easy,” says Jessica.

The Macular Disease Foundation Australia offers free advice and support for people at risk of, or living with, macular disease, including AMD and diabetic eye disease.

To find out more about macular degeneration, contact your local Eyecare Plus optometrist or call the National Macular Disease Helpline on 1800 111 709.

COVID-19: Helping Kids Reduce the Risk of Early Myopia

Posted on by ECP Manager

It is a number of weeks into self-isolation and as much as you try to get the kids outside to exercise their limbs and minds, they are constantly glued to their digital screens.

With Australian children doing school from home, they are spending significantly more time in front of their screens than they did before the COVID-19 outbreak, as a result parents have virtually given up on placing limits on the use of digital devices.

With all this extra screen time, how will your child’s vision be affected?

Spending more time indoors looking at screens and less time outside, will there be an increase in children developing myopia (short-sightedness)?

Will the increase of a reported 50% more time in front of their screens each day speed up the onset of myopia and increase prescription strength at a faster rate in the coming year?

About 40% of the world’s population has myopia and that figure is expected to rise to 50% by 2050.

Myopia causes objects further away to become more difficult to see. People who develop high myopia are at a much greater risk of developing glaucoma and cataracts much earlier in life.

So, what can you do to help your kids eye health during this time of enforced home isolation?

  1. Spend Time Outside

Take your kids outside to play or exercise for at least one hour (preferably two hours) a day to help prevent myopia from developing and progressing.

  1. Plan Fun Activities

There are hundreds of things you can do with your kids; from board games and puzzles to reading a paperback book, having an indoor camp out to creating an obstacle course in your backyard.

  1. Be a Healthy Screen Role Model

Kids watch what their parents do and reflect their behaviour. Be a role model of healthy screen use to your kids. Reduce the time you spend scrolling through your phone, reduce binge watching TV series and turn off the TV as background noise.

  1. Take Phone Breaks

Make sure that, for every half hour of screen time, your kids take a 10 minute break to walk around and stretch their legs.

  1. Reduce Digital Eye Strain

To help reduce the impact of Digital Eye Strain it is important that the screen is no closer than 40cm from your child’s face.

  1. Unplug from Devices

Allocate times in the day to unplug from devices. At dinner time place all the phones on a table away from where you are all eating. Before preparing for bed, place all your phones on charge in another room and spend some time just hanging out as a family.

  1. Type of Screen Time

Be mindful of both the type of screen time and the people your kids are sharing their screen time with, as well as the duration of time they spend looking at a screen. Excessive amounts of time spent looking at a screen can be harmful to your child’s health.

  1. Natural Light is Best

Encourage your kids to sit near a natural light source when they are on their device. Bright, natural light is better for their eyes. If they can’t sit close to a natural light source, ask them to sit near a window angled perpendicular to their computer screen. At night, have their screen placed to the side of a light source, not directly underneath.

If you have concerns about your child’s eye health or you want to know more about the early impact of myopia, contact your local Eyecare Plus practice.

COVID-19 Confusion Causes Risk of Increased Blindness

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Eye Injections Shouldn’t Be Cancelled

As a result of the fear and confusion around COVID-19, there is a massive increase in the number of people who could unnecessarily lose their sight to wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD) due to cancelling eye health and macular degeneration treatment appointments.

Australians are required to stay at home, and only go out under certain conditions, in order to flatten the curve and slow the spread of the virus.

Although people can leave the house for essential services, some older Australians won’t leave at all for fear of contracting the coronavirus disease, even for essential eye health appointments that could help them save their sight.

One in seven Australians over the age of 50 have signs of AMD, and the incidence increases with age.

Wet AMD requires treatment for many years but because of the pervading fear around the virus, 33% of patients are cancelling this essential medical treatment.

Eye Injections Shouldn’t Be Cancelled

“Ophthalmologists are seeing a worrying increase in the number of people cancelling eye injections,” said Prof Paul Mitchell AO, internationally renowned ophthalmologist and National Research Advisor for Macular Disease Foundation Australia (MDFA).

“In my own clinic, up to one third of patients with conditions such as wet (neovascular) age-related macular degeneration (wet AMD) or diabetic macular edema (DME) are skipping these crucial appointments. Wet AMD needs treatment for many years, while DME or diabetic retinopathy mostly needs treatment for one year or so and may also need laser treatment. However, none of these people have, or are suspected to have, contracted the virus,” says Professor Mitchell.

“Projecting from my clinic, that means thousands of Australians are gambling with their vision. Without these regular injections, there’s a high risk that people will go blind or suffer significant vision loss, which is often then irreversible,” he says.

Essential Medical Treatment

Prof Mitchell said eye injections are considered essential medical treatment, while any sudden loss of vision in either eye, was an eye health emergency requiring urgent attention.

Ophthalmologists are rescheduling non-urgent appointments or treatments, but eye injections are “essential medical treatments and need to continue as scheduled,” says MDFA Medical Committee Chair A/Prof Alex Hunyor.

Social Distancing Protocols

Clinics are taking even stricter precautions now to protect patients and waiting rooms must comply with social distancing protocols.

“Many ophthalmology practices are asking patients to wait in their cars and calling them to come in only when required. Call ahead. Ask what extra protocols are in place, and what precautions you can take,” Dr Hunyor said.

People are anxious about possibly being fined for leaving the home to attend a medical appointment.

Prof Mitchell stresses that you shouldn’t cancel an essential scheduled eye injection.

“If you are a family carer, or someone who needs to take a person to a scheduled eye injection, you are not breaching public health measures to attend that appointment. Obviously. If the patient has the virus or has had contact with someone who has been infected, the ophthalmologist should be contacted by phone to re-schedule.’’

Self-Isolation Guidance

The Australian Government’s strong guidance is for all Australians to self-isolate, unless for essential medical or health care needs.

For their own protection, people age 70 and over (over 60 for people with pre-existing medical conditions, or over 50 for Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander people with pre-existing medical conditions) are strongly advised not to leave home unless absolutely necessary.

Wherever possible, people in this category should ask family, friends, neighbours or community members to shop for groceries or collect medicines for them.

Australians still need to take care of their eye health and attend scheduled treatment appointments during this novel coronavirus crisis.

The last thing anyone needs is to emerge from this pandemic with severe vision loss as a result of not treating a major eye disease like AMD or diabetic eye disease.

It is understandable that people are fearful.

For guidance on your eye health contact your ophthalmologist or referring Eyecare Plus optometrist to discuss your concerns and to ask questions. You can also call the Macular Disease National Helpline on 1800 111 709.

Glaucoma: The Patient Journey

Posted on by ECP Manager

Glaucoma management can be a major challenge for a patient.

Whilst a person must adhere to the advice from their eye care professional about how to take their medication, often, as it is with many other chronic diseases, glaucoma can have poor patient adherence.

In fact, it is estimated that one-third of glaucoma patients don’t take their medication as prescribed.

To help improve care management, there are four key stages a patient goes through in the glaucoma journey.

Stage One: Seeing eye care professionals

Once you’ve seen your optometrist and they suspect glaucoma, they will provide you with a glaucoma treatment plan or refer you to an ophthalmologist. At this stage, adherence is essential but many patients can be left untreated because they don’t follow through with appointments. It is critical that once early diagnosis of glaucoma is confirmed, treatment starts straight away.

Stage Two: 1-3 months post-diagnosis

It can be very scary for a person to discover that they have glaucoma.

There is a lot of information to take on board and an individual can only handle so much in a consultation. This is a stage where you, as a patient, will likely have many questions. Write down your questions when you think of them and have them ready for when you see your eye care team.

It is important at this stage to ask all the questions you have of your eye care professional. They can provide you with answers to your questions.

Glaucoma Australia is also available to provide you with a range of support and treatment resources to help you during this time.

Stage Three: 5-6 months post-diagnosis

Several months after you’ve been diagnosed with glaucoma, you move into the third stage of care.

This stage is a crucial point in the ongoing care of a glaucoma patient.

Glaucoma Australia report that only 36 to 50% of patients adhere to their eye drop regime within the first 12 months.

Adherence to your treatment regime, particularly in those first 12 months, is critical to your long-term eye health.

Glaucoma Australia can help you during this stage by staying in touch to find out if you’re having difficulties with the treatment regimen.

Along with your eye care professional, Glaucoma Australia can provide you with education and support to help resolve any problems you may have.

Your team can discuss the importance of ongoing monitoring for glaucoma so that your treatment regimen can be adjusted if required.

Stage Four: 12 months ongoing

After 12 months of living with glaucoma you are in your treatment routine and it’s all about getting on with life.

Glaucoma Australia can help improve your knowledge of glaucoma by sending you monthly email newsletters and, if needed, you can call their free helpline and educator.

Providing personalised phone-based support and automated email communications at each of these stages improves a person’s knowledge of the disease. It helps highlight the importance of treatment and appointment adherence which is specifically aimed at saving a person’s sight.

Glaucoma Australia can provide patients with information about glaucoma, medication advice and ongoing support including individualised behavioural strategies to help improve adherence.

Don’t allow glaucoma to blindside you.

Patients who are living with glaucoma are not alone. Your local Eyecare Plus optometrist and Glaucoma Australia will work with you to help you on the glaucoma journey.

Glaucoma: Don’t be Blindsided

Posted on by ECP Manager

“When I got glaucoma it really hit home at how lucky I was to not lose my sight,” says Kirk Pengilly, iconic rock legend and glaucoma patient.

Glaucoma is the leading cause of irreversible blindness worldwide. It is a disease of the optic nerve which affects 300,000 Australians.

There are no warning signs of the disease’s onset and due to glaucoma having little to no symptoms, 50% of those impacted by the disease are not aware that they have it.

Because early signs can go undetected glaucoma might only be noticed when a significant amount of nerve fibres have been permanently damaged.

World Glaucoma Week: Don’t Be Blindsided

Pengilly, fronts Glaucoma Australia’s risk awareness campaign ‘Don’t Be Blindsided’ in support of World Glaucoma Week (8-14 March 2020).

The ‘Don’t be Blindsided’ campaign urges Australians to have their eyes checked by an optometrist every two years to prevent the irreversible damage caused by glaucoma if left untreated.

While people over the age of 50 and those with a family history of glaucoma are most at risk, Pengilly is proof that anyone can be blindsided by this insidious disease.

Kirk Pengilly was 29 years old when he found out he had glaucoma. His personal experience shows that glaucoma can happen to anyone as he and his family had no history of the disease.

His plea is for Australian’s to have their eyes tested regularly as early detection and intervention is the key to saving a person’s eyesight.

“An eye test is quick and painless and could be the difference between losing your vision, or not. Don’t let glaucoma blindside you, have an eye exam this World Glaucoma Week,” says Pengilly.

Glaucoma Risk Factors

You are at a higher risk of developing glaucoma if you:

  • Have a family history of glaucoma
  • Have high eye pressure
  • Are aged 50 or over
  • Are of African or Asian descent
  • Have diabetes
  • Are short or long sighted
  • Have been on a prolonged course of cortisone (steroid) medication
  • Experience migraines
  • Have had an eye operation or eye injury
  • Have a history of high or low blood pressure

How To Detect Glaucoma

A comprehensive eye exam is the only way glaucoma can be detected. It is not something you can detect yourself.

There are no symptoms or warning signs in the early stages of this disease.

Glaucoma slowly damages your vision without you being aware as your other eye tends to compensate for the initial vision loss.

The loss of sight from glaucoma is very gradual and a large amount of peripheral vision could be lost well before there is an awareness that you have the disease. Once the nerve fibres have been damaged vision loss can’t be restored.

In Australia, 2-3% of the total population will develop glaucoma.

Immediate relatives of a person with glaucoma have an almost 1 in 4 chance of developing the disease in their lifetime. Older people are at a higher risk as 1 in 8 Australians over 80 will develop glaucoma.

All Australians over the age of 50 should see their optometrist every two years for a comprehensive eye exam.

If you have a family history of glaucoma or are of Asian or African descent it is recommended that you get your eyes checked every two years from the age of 40.

To find out more about glaucoma visit Glaucoma Australia or make an appointment at your local Eyecare Plus optometrist.

Coronavirus: Optometrists Are Taking Immediate Action

Posted on by ECP Manager

Optometrists in Australia are being proactive about putting in place procedures to stop the spread of the coronavirus, which, the World Health Organisation has declared a global health emergency, only the sixth time the WHO has declared an international emergency of this kind.

The virus is reportedly spreading from person-to-person. According to NSW Health advice, a person can catch the virus if they’re in close proximity to an infected person after only 15 minutes.

Close contact means being face-to-face with an infected person for at least 15 minutes or being in the same room for at least two hours, as someone who has coronavirus when that person was infectious.

Patients preparing to see their optometrist will be asked two questions before all appointments and again on arrival at the optometry practice:

  • Have you returned from a coronavirus affected area in China in the past two weeks?
  • Have you returned from China with symptoms of fever, cough, sore throat or breathing difficulties?

If your answer is ‘Yes’ to either of the above questions health authorities in Australia have advised that it is safest for you to ‘not’ see your optometrist until after the incubation period of 14 days has passed.

As of early February, the coronavirus outbreak had killed more than 362 people and infected over 17,300 globally. It is now starting to spread beyond China with one person from the Philippines dead from the virus.

In Australia, it has been reported that there are currently 12 people diagnosed with the virus – four in NSW, four in Victoria, two in Queensland and two in South Australia.

Coronavirus initially causes flu-like symptoms of fever, coughing, sore throat and breathing difficulties. It can lead to pneumonia and in 2.9 percent of cases people will die from the virus, according to the Australian Department of Health.

The incubation period is often longer than other viruses such as the flu and can take two to 10 days to show symptoms. During the incubation period the virus remains contagious.

If you have travelled to an affected area and, within 14 days of travel, have developed a fever, cough, sore throat or shortness of breath or if you have had contact with a person with confirmed coronavirus, you should isolate yourself from other people.

If you show these signs seek medical assistance straight away by contacting your GP or your emergency department or call the health direct helpline on 1800 022 222.

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