I read a case report about a 60 year-old man who’s medical history included high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, obesity, and carotid artery disease. He was also a heavy smoker.  He went to see his eye doctor because he was having short periods (5 minutes) of seeing strange lights and colors in his left…[Read more]

I recently read a lengthy article on the news website ProPublica about the myth of drug expiration dates. The really, really quick version is that medications are safe and effective years after the expiration date.  If you want a little more background, keep reading. Before a drug comes to market, as required by the FDA,…[Read more]

I read an extensive article in National Geographic a few months ago which brought to light how dependent the world is on plastic materials, how cheaply they can be made, and how harmful (especially single-use plastics) they are to our world.  Since then, National Geographic has stopped mailing their monthly magazines wrapped in plastic and…[Read more]

Last week, several major news outlets were reporting this eerie story.   Read more from CBS News: Ocular melanoma is an extremely rare form of cancer, usually found in just six of every one million people. But it has been identified in a group of 18 patients in Huntersville, North Carolina, and in a second…[Read more]

Good news for chocolate lovers!  Results from a study published in the journal Appetite titled “Chocolate intake is associated with better cognitive function,” showed that processes such as visual-spatial memory and organization, working memory, and abstract reasoning were all significantly improved with frequently eating chocolate—particularly in women.  In addition, findings from the The American Journal…[Read more]

Muscae Volitantes- otherwise known as floaters.  We all have them and I get asked a lot of questions about them.   This short (3 minutes), informative video from Constantly Curious explains what they are and why we see them.  Check it out.    https://www.facebook.com/BeConstantlyCurious/videos/115505402448844/   Is Walking Dangerous? One would think that activities such as mountain…[Read more]

I was reading a case report about an 18 year old boy with an obsessive-compulsive disorder of eye rubbing.  He went to his eye doctor and was diagnosed with a very mild form of keratoconus (thinning of the cornea) and a cataract.  After having  cataract surgery, his aggressive eye rubbing caused the keratoconus to worsen…[Read more]

Nearsightedness, or myopia, is a big deal here in the U.S as well as worldwide.  It is estimated that roughly 50% of young adults in the U.S and Europe are myopic, which is double that of a century ago.  Furthermore, approximately 96% of 19 year-old men in Seoul, Korea are nearsighted!  The incidence of myopic…[Read more]

The September issue of National Geographic arrived in my mailbox recently and the cover read “The End of Blindness – Winning the Fight to See.” The article starts out with a story about a boy who, as a baby, would not make eye contact with his mother when she fed him. Instead, his eyes would…[Read more]

I came across an interesting article published in the International Journal of Ophthalmology.  This study was conducted in 2012-2013 involving patients with superglue injuries to the eyes.  I know what you are thinking, and yes, folks, it happens more often than you think. In the study, 105 patients (56 men and 49 women ranging from…[Read more]