A school vision test or a pediatrician's screening, while helpful, is not a substitute for a thorough eye examination. An examination assesses whether the eyes see clearly. But it also measures the eyes' ability to work together, to focus properly, and to move together in activities such as across a page of print or following a ball. Refractive errors (poor visual acuity or the presence of astigmatism) are also a major concern for school-age children.

If any of these or other vision skills is lacking or not functioning properly, your child will have to work harder. This can lead to headaches, fatigue and other eyestrain problems. Parents, as well as teachers, should be alert to these symptoms that may indicate your child has a vision or visual processing problem:

• Consistently sitting too close to the TV or holding a book too close
• Losing his place or using a finger to follow along while reading
• Squinting
• Tilting the head to see better
• Frequent eye rubbing
• Sensitivity to light
• Excessive tearing
• Closing one eye to read, watch TV or see better
• Avoiding activities which require near vision, such as reading or homework
• Avoiding activities which require distance vision, such as sports and other recreational activities
• Avoiding the computer because it ''hurts his eyes''

Schedule an appointment with your eyecare practitioner if your child exhibits any or the above signs. A visit with the doctor may reveal that your child is nearsighted, farsighted or astigmatic. These three refractive errors are easily corrected with glasses or contact lenses

In the United States over 140 million people wear eyeglasses and over 32 million people wear contact lenses. Through the progress of vision research, vision care specialists are applying a wide spectrum of solutions to detect and correct vision-related ailments. Scheduling regular eye examinations for you and your family is the first important step you can take to protect your vision.

Vision research experts are working towards achieving the following goals through this plan: assessing the impact of eye disease and visual impairment on the nation's health, developing effective strategies for screening of eye disease and visual impairment in children and adults, and determining the most appropriate diagnostic and treatment options to improve vision and preserve sight.

In addition to vision research information and facts, this plan will also focus on certain eye-related conditions, such as cataracts, glaucoma, retinal and corneal diseases, and visual impairment and rehabilitation.

Further information on vision research can be found at www.onr.navy.mil or www.nei.nih.gov/health/index.htm

Schaumburg, IL - Long-term exposure to UV rays has been linked to skin cancer around the eyelids. "Sunscreen is essential to protecting your skin, but a good pair of sunglasses will help protect your eyes, now and as you age," said Daniel D. Garrett, Prevent Blindness America spokesperson.

One of the risk factors for developing cataracts is long time exposure to UV rays. Cataract is the most prevalent age-related eye disease in the world, and according to the World Health Organization, the leading cause of blindness. There are nearly 20.5 million Americans age 40 and older with cataract. "Cataract affects more than half of all Americans by the age of 80, so anything you can do to cut your risk is advised," added Garrett.

UV radiation in sunlight, including both UV-A and UV-B, has been shown to be harmful to the eye. Constant exposure to bright sunlight can damage the cornea (the clear outer part of the eye that allows lights through to the retina), the lens (the part of the eye responsible for focusing), and the retina (the innermost layer of the eye that sends an image to the brain). The risk is greatest at midday, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and during summer months. Anyone who spends long hours on the beach or ski slopes without proper eye protection is at risk of developing photokeratistis - sunburn on the cornea. While it is not permanent, corneal sunburn can be extremely painful and result in temporary loss of vision.

Pterygium is another UV-related risk. Pterygium is benign tissue growth that starts in the white of the eye, but may extend to the cornea. Eventually, the growth blocks vision and surgery is necessary to remove it. Athletes and people who work outdoors in the sun and wind are at greatest risk of developing this condition.

A conference, which was attended by public health policy makers, health care providers, scientists, organizations for the blind, the women's health collaborative, and vision experts, was also the first public forum held by the Women's Eye Health Task Force, founded in 2002 by a group of concerned scientists at Harvard's Schepens Eye Research Institute in response to a statistic just coming to light: two-thirds of the world's blind are women.

That's right, of the 40 million people affected by blindness worldwide, two-thirds are women. If the gender-related causes of the disease aren't better addressed, the number of blind around the world could double in 25 years. A World Health Organization initiative, Vision 2020, has set the goal of eliminating avoidable blindness by the year 2020. Some doubt that such a goal is feasible unless health officials concentrate on improving women's access to treatment

Of the common eye diseases, dry eye syndrome, autoimmune diseases, and certain forms of cataract are intrinsically more prevalent in women than in men. In industrialized countries, age-related afflictions such as macular degeneration and cataract affect women more often than men.

It's a fact:

• Two-thirds of blindness and visual impairment occurs in women
• Three quarters of visual impairment is estimated to be preventable or correctable
• One third of age-related macular disease and cataract may be due to smoking

March is National Save Your Vision Month, designed to increase awareness of eye health and help reduce incidence of serious and debilitating eye conditions such as cataracts, age-related macular degeneration (ARMD), glaucoma, and diabetic neuropathy. Populations with higher dietary intake of antioxidants, such as vitamins A, C, and E, plus several members of the carotenoid family, such as lutein and zeaxanthin, have a lower incidence of developing eye diseases, such as ARMD, cataracts, and glaucoma. There are several dietary supplements that have supportive research in protecting eye health.

Dietary supplements promoted for eye support may contain lutein, zeaxanthin, beta-carotene, vitamins E and C, the enzyme alpha-lipoic acid (ALA), and trace minerals that support the antioxidant enzyme pathway (glutathione) such as zinc, selenium, and copper. Herbal formulas are based on a more traditional support, and these supplements often contain bilberry extract (Vaccinium myrtillus) and ginkgo extract.

There are hundreds of carotenoids, but lutein and zeaxanthin are the carotenoids found in highest concentration in the macular region of the eyes (the back of the eye where the retina is located), where they are believed to help filter out (or absorb) damaging blue light and prevent free radical damage to the delicate structures in the back of the eye. High dietary intake of lutein-rich fruits and vegetables has been associated with a significant reduction in macular degeneration, the leading cause of blindness in Americans over the age of 65.

You should look for a whole body formula nutritional supplement that includes the key ingredients for eye health. The supplement should be in elemental formulation and be taken in multiple doses in order to assure the maximum absorption your body will allow. Ask you eye doctor if Total Focus Vitamins is right for you.

In October 2001, the National Eye Institute announced the results of the Age-Related Eye Disease Study. In what might be a very promising development, the study concludes that high doses of antioxidant vitamins and zinc can have a positive effect on the progression of age-related macular degeneration (AMD). The study results were published in the October issue of the journal, Archives of Ophthalmology.

Scientists found that people who are at high risk of developing advanced stages of AMD (i.e., people who have intermediate AMD, or advanced AMD in one eye) lowered their risk by about 25 percent when taking a combination of vitamin C, vitamin E, beta-carotene and zinc. In the same group of patients, the nutrients reduced the risk of vision loss caused by advanced AMD by 19 percent.

The daily dosages used were:

• Vitamin C: 500 milligrams
• Vitamin E: 400 international units
• Beta-carotene: 15 milligrams
• Zinc oxide: 80 milligrams
• Cupric oxide: 2 milligrams (this nutrient was added because high-dose zinc supplements are associated with copper deficiency)

The study also found positive results from zinc alone and anti-oxidants alone, but neither was as effective as the combined supplement. The daily dosages of the nutrients administered in the study exceed dosages recommended by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. For this reason, you should check with your physician before trying this regimen.

If you would like to get more information on these results, you can visit the Total Focus Vitamins website for links to this and other important studies concerning nutrition and eye health.

Diabetes affects your body from head to toes. This includes your eyes. The most common and most serious eye complication of diabetes is diabetic retinopathy, which may result in poor vision or even blindness. Each year between 12,000 and 24,000 people lose their sight due to diabetic retinopathy.

Retinopathy is the medical term for damage to the tiny blood vessels (capillaries) that nourish the retina, the tissue at the back of your eye that captures light and relays information to your brain. These blood vessels are often affected by the high blood sugar levels associated with diabetes.

The longer a person has diabetes, the greater his or her risk is for developing diabetic retinopathy. However, diabetic retinopathy does not only affect people who have had diabetes for many years, it can also appear with in the first year or two after the onset of the disease. For some people, diabetic retinopathy is one of the first signs that they have diabetes.

"Unfortunately, one-third of the people affected by diabetes are unaware they have the disease," according to Jose S. Pulido, M.D., professor or ophthalmology at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., "and are at greater risk for vision loss and other complications. The first step in preventing complications is finding out if you have the disease. It's important for all healthy adults over the age of 45 to have a blood sugar test once every three years."

Approximately 29 million people in America have diabetes. However, some are at greater risk than others:

• About 13 percent of all African Americans have diabetes
• More than 10 percent of all Latino Americans have diabetes
• Fifteen percent of Native American and Alaska Natives receiving care from Indian Health Services have diabetes
• Twenty percent of the U.S. population ages 65 and older have diabetes.

During pregnancy, diabetic retinopathy may be a problem for women with diabetes. To protect vision, every pregnant woman with diabetes should have a comprehensive dilated eye exam as soon as possible. Your doctor may recommend additional exams during your pregnancy.

Since diabetic eye disease may be developing even when your sight is good, regular eye exams are important for finding problems early. Some people may notice signs of vision changes. If you're having trouble reading, if your vision is blurred, or if you're seeing rings around lights, dark spots, or flashing lights, you may have eye problems. Be sure to tell your health care team or eye doctor about any eye problems you may have.

All people with diabetes, both type 1 and type 2, are at risk. That's why everyone with diabetes should get a comprehensive dilated eye exam at least once a year. Between 40 to 45 percent of Americans diagnosed with diabetes have some stage of diabetic retinopathy. If you have diabetic retinopathy, your doctor can recommend treatment to help prevent its progression.

If your sight is poor, an eye doctor who is an expert in low vision may be able to give you glasses or other devices that can help you use your limited vision more fully. You may want to ask your health care provider about support groups and job training for people with poor vision.

The threat of blindness is scary. But with early detection and treatment, the risk of severe vision loss from diabetic retinopathy is small. Studies show effective treatments for diabetic retinopathy can reduce severe vision loss by up to 94 percent. You can take steps to protect your sight if you have diabetes. These include a yearly eye examination and steps to keep your blood sugar, blood pressure and blood cholesterol under the best possible control. Even though Diabetes is now an epidemic in the United States and the leading cause of new cases of blindness, vision loss can be prevented it the disease is diagnosed in time.

At what age can kids start wearing contact lenses? There is no one answer to that question. Physically the eyes can tolerate contact lenses at a very young age. Perhaps the real question should be, "Is my child mature enough to where contact lenses?" Each parent needs to evaluate their child individually. If the child is responsible in other areas such as, homework, everyday chores, and personal hygiene and grooming, he may be an excellent candidate for contact lenses. On the other hand, if the child needs frequent reminders, he is probably not ready for the responsibility of wearing and caring for contact lenses.

Children are naturally great contact lens wearers if they accept the responsibility for them. They adapt well due to their flexible personalities. Often, children tend to follow instructions better than adults. Therefore they tend to have fewer problems associated with over wearing or not using the correct care solutions.

Sports and contact lenses are a great combination. Contact lenses are usually a safer vision option than glasses for recreation use. Contact lenses offer better optics and peripheral vision than eyeglasses. This clearer vision can improve sports performance.

In many cases, the child's physical appearance changes dramatically when switching from eyeglasses. This can prompt a self-confidence and self-esteem surge in the child. School performance and participation may also increase.

Keep in mind that switching a child from glasses to contact lenses does not have to be a permanent decision. If the child does not adapt well, your eyecare doctor will not hesitate to recommend glasses. Contact lenses can always be tried again at a later date.

A school vision test or a pediatrician's screening, while helpful, is not a substitute for a thorough eye examination. An examination assesses whether the eyes see clearly. But it also measures the eyes' ability to work together, to focus properly, and to move together in activities such as across a page of print or following a ball. Refractive errors (poor visual acuity or the presence of astigmatism) are also a major concern for school-age children.

If any of these or other vision skills is lacking or not functioning properly, your child will have to work harder. This can lead to headaches, fatigue and other eyestrain problems. Parents, as well as teachers, should be alert to these symptoms that may indicate your child has a vision or visual processing problem:

• Consistently sitting too close to the TV or holding a book too close
• Losing his place or using a finger to follow along while reading
• Squinting
• Tilting the head to see better
• Frequent eye rubbing
• Sensitivity to light
• Excessive tearing
• Closing one eye to read, watch TV or see better
• Avoiding activities which require near vision, such as reading or homework
• Avoiding activities which require distance vision, such as sports and other recreational activities
• Avoiding the computer because it ''hurts his eyes''

Schedule an appointment with your eyecare practitioner if your child exhibits any or the above signs. A visit with the doctor may reveal that your child is nearsighted, farsighted or astigmatic. These three refractive errors are easily corrected with glasses or contact lenses.

In the United States over 140 million people wear eyeglasses and over 32 million people wear contact lenses. Through the progress of vision research, vision care specialists are applying a wide spectrum of solutions to detect and correct vision-related ailments. Scheduling regular eye examinations for you and your family is the first important step you can take to protect your vision.

Vision research experts are working towards achieving the following goals through this plan: assessing the impact of eye disease and visual impairment on the nation's health, developing effective strategies for screening of eye disease and visual impairment in children and adults, and determining the most appropriate diagnostic and treatment options to improve vision and preserve sight.

In addition to vision research information and facts, this plan will also focus on certain eye-related conditions, such as cataracts, glaucoma, retinal and corneal diseases, and visual impairment and rehabilitation.

Further information on vision research can be found at www.onr.navy.mil or www.nei.nih.gov/health/index.htm

Schaumburg, IL - Long-term exposure to UV rays has been linked to skin cancer around the eyelids. "Sunscreen is essential to protecting your skin, but a good pair of sunglasses will help protect your eyes, now and as you age," said Daniel D. Garrett, Prevent Blindness America spokesperson.

One of the risk factors for developing cataracts is long time exposure to UV rays. Cataract is the most prevalent age-related eye disease in the world, and according to the World Health Organization, the leading cause of blindness. There are nearly 20.5 million Americans age 40 and older with cataract. "Cataract affects more than half of all Americans by the age of 80, so anything you can do to cut your risk is advised," added Garrett.

UV radiation in sunlight, including both UV-A and UV-B, has been shown to be harmful to the eye. Constant exposure to bright sunlight can damage the cornea (the clear outer part of the eye that allows lights through to the retina), the lens (the part of the eye responsible for focusing), and the retina (the innermost layer of the eye that sends an image to the brain). The risk is greatest at midday, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and during summer months. Anyone who spends long hours on the beach or ski slopes without proper eye protection is at risk of developing photokeratistis - sunburn on the cornea. While it is not permanent, corneal sunburn can be extremely painful and result in temporary loss of vision.

Pterygium is another UV-related risk. Pterygium is benign tissue growth that starts in the white of the eye, but may extend to the cornea. Eventually, the growth blocks vision and surgery is necessary to remove it. Athletes and people who work outdoors in the sun and wind are at greatest risk of developing this condition.

Two-thirds of blind persons in the U.S. and the world are women. Of the common vision-altering and sight-threatening eye diseases in the United States, dry-eye syndrome, rheumatoid diseases, and certain forms of cataract are more prevalent in women. Moreover, most blinding diseases, especially age-related macular degeneration and cataract, are more prevalent in women because women live longer than men.

Because women are often the caregivers and health managers/educators of the family, they must to be informed about, eye diseases influenced or made worse by nutrition, smoking, genetics, or environmental insult (damaging sunrays), and about the causes and prevention of ocular trauma.

How well a child develops its vision, from infancy on, will affect his or her entire development. Because 80 percent of all learning depends on vision, failure to develop visually appears to affect a young person's academic performance, even his or her intelligence.

Children don't realize that the visual disturbances they experience aren't normal, so they seldom report signs in time to prevent problems.

A child's vision will be its primary tool for leaning throughout the school years. That is why it is so important that in preschool, parents and caregivers know more about this critical aspect of child development.

Please don't wait, if you are concerned about your child's learning abilities or the struggles they face while learning, please call Dr. Elliott's office and schedule a complete visual examination.

There is an Alternative to Refractive Surgery

Gentle Molding is custom designed corneal molding lenses that reduce myopia (nearsightedness) and astigmatism while you sleep and is totally reversible. It is a non-surgical therapeutic correction of myopia and astigmatism. It is safe for adults too!

• Slows down and reverses myopia progression in young children • No cutting of the cornea • No corneal scarring • No glare and flare at night • More consistent correction of myopia and astigmatism year after year • Vision can be "fine-tuned" by changing the corneal molding lens curves and powers to provide the best possible vision, reducing the need for glasses.

Cataract and Macula Degeneration are the leading causes of blindness in the world. While cataract vision can be corrected with surgery, there is no cure for dry macula degeneration.

The primary causes of the conditions occur over a period of time; damaging sunrays, lack of proper nutrition and smoking. Dr. Elliott is committed to the research of these eye diseases and dedicated to educating our patients as to how they can prevent, slow down or maybe stop the progression of their effects.