Tribune reporters give vision advice

3:44 PM EDT, May 6, 2012

Rare disorder nearly takes Baltimore woman's sight

When Tamika Morgan developed red irritated eyes in the fall of 2010, she wasted no time heading to an optometrist at a local retail store who gave her drops for pink eye.

8:16 AM EDT, May 3, 2012

Vitamins E, C no help against vision disorder

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Taking vitamins E and C may do nothing to protect aging eyes from macular degeneration — the leading cause of vision loss in older adults, a new clinical trial finds.

5:31 PM EDT, March 13, 2012

Should all African Americans get glaucoma screening?

Screening middle-aged African Americans for glaucoma may prevent some from losing their vision, but the benefits are modest and costly, suggests a new study.

March 7, 2012

Treatment improves for age-related sight loss

Peter Miller was a high-powered businessman who owned several electronic security firms when he was diagnosed with age-related macular degeneration in 1999.

2:12 PM EST, February 22, 2012

A closer look at online shopping for eyeglasses

Armed with a prescription and some patience, consumers can save hundreds of dollars — and maybe some time — by buying eyeglasses online.

2:08 PM EST, February 8, 2012

Seeing more than just blurred vision in your eye exam

When people come to the Reisterstown office of Drs. Eickhoff & Rowe for eye exams, the optometrists do more than simply ask which line of letters they can read on the eye chart.

November 28, 2011

The Healthy Skeptic: Promise of ChromaGen lenses for dyslexia a bit blurry

We rarely stop to think about it, but reading is an amazing accomplishment. It turns markings on a page or a screen into coherent thoughts. It's a complicated process: The eyes see a procession of letters, and the brain turns them into words.

12:48 PM EST, November 16, 2011

Eyelid inflammation becoming more common

Blepharitis, usually identified by a sufferer's red, irritated eyelids, is becoming more common. And while doctors aren't sure why, it can be controlled with vigilance, according to Dr. Laura K. Green, residency program director of cornea, cataract and refractive surgery at the Krieger Eye Institute at Sinai Hospital of Baltimore. She said there are some simple things sufferers can do at home, such as keeping the eyelids clean, that can help ease the irritation.

October 12, 2011

Beware decorative contact lenses

For Halloween revelers, turning their eyes from blue to otherworldly with over-the-counter, decorative contact lenses may enhance holiday fun, but health experts warn these devices can lead to serious vision-threatening problems.

6:06 PM EDT, September 19, 2011

Blurred vision plagues astronauts who spend months in space

WASHINGTON -- If NASA ever wants to send astronauts to Mars, it first must solve a problem that has nothing to do with rockets or radiation exposure.

3:45 PM EDT, September 14, 2011

Give free eye care to a child in need

While seniors have a monopoly on bad eyesight, children also suffer poor vision: 21 percent of preschoolers are farsighted, 4 percent are nearsighted and 10 percent have astigmatism, according to a National Institutes of Health-funded study released in August.

August 31, 2011

Pinkeye test to get Chicago-area trial

An upcoming clinical trial could help show if a test kit for a common eye ailment will save consumers money and reduce faulty diagnoses, health experts say.

August 27, 2011

Optometrists help patients focus in on improved living

If you're reading this with the aid of correctional lenses, you have an optometrist to thank.

1:40 PM EDT, July 1, 2011

Laser surgery just part of vision-care focus

If there is one truth in the world of vision care, we know it is this: Eyes are essential and so are the doctors who take care of them.

April 27, 2011

Vision clinic takes the long view

The thought of forgoing reading because of her rapidly deteriorating eyesight terrified Joan Retzlaff after suffering complications from her wet macular degeneration.

April 5, 2011

Prevent Blindness enlists kids in battle for eye health

Some 30,000 Chicago Public Schools students will learn about eye health in a pilot program aimed to get children and their parents to take vision more seriously.

September 24, 2010

How to prevent (or at least delay) cataracts

Cataracts, a clouding of the eye's lens that blocks vision, are common in people 65 and older. But although age is a major risk factor, you may be able to slow the process. Some tips:

May 28, 2010

Senseless deprivation

As people age, the senses through which they come to know the world often deteriorate, altering what they can see and hear.

December 1, 2009

Doctors predict 'boom' in eye diseases

In a year where an estimated 2.8 million Baby Boomers will celebrate their 60th birthday, age-related eye diseases are becoming increasingly important health issues, according to the American Optometric Association (AOA). The AOA is reminding Americans 60 and older that early detection through a comprehensive eye exam can prevent or slow vision loss due to cataracts and other age-related eye diseases such as macular degeneration, glaucoma and diabetic retinopathy.

November 13, 2009

The better to see you with

Diabetes is a serious disease that can bring about complications such as blindness and other vision-related disabilities.

August 25, 2009

Common eye problems

Few 40-year-olds' to-do lists include "Be proactive about not going blind," so you might have to play catch-up. Age 40 really is the time to start protecting your eyes against serious diseases such as glaucoma and macular degeneration, neither of which has symptoms in the early stages. (That's in contrast to the loss of close-focus vision that forces 45-year-olds into bifocals but doesn't threaten blindness.) "Patients may go to the drugstore and get these over-the-counter reading glasses and think, 'Hey, I've fixed my eyes,' " says Andrew Iwach, an ophthalmologist who is executive director of the Glaucoma Center of San Francisco. "Yet they may be unaware that they can be silently losing vision."

August 20, 2009

Workplace eye safety

Every day more than two thousand people injure their eyes at work. Ten to twenty percent of those injuries will cause temporary or even permanent vision loss. Many experts believe that ninety percent of those injuries can be prevented by using proper eye protection on the job.

August 18, 2009

Computers may cause eye syndrome

You probably spend time on the computer at work or school everyday. Staring at the screen too long can cause a vision condition, if you're not careful. Working at the computer can put you at risk for Computer Vision Syndrome.

August 11, 2009

Considering LASIK surgery?

It's been a little over a year since Joseph Schnell, an elevator construction worker from Philadelphia, had LASIK eye surgery to correct his nearsighted vision. Rather than becoming clearer and sharper, though, Schnell's vision soon was plagued by near-constant glare, halos, starbursts, and double images. The results, he says, have affected his mood--he became depressed shortly after--and he rarely sleeps through the night because of eye pain.