Eye Care Advice for Aging Eyes in Allentown, PA

Here is a helpful article that i found and wanted to pass along to you. For more assistance with an aging loved one in your life visit our website at http://www.family-caregivers.com.

(ARA) - Growing older and getting reading glasses seem to go hand in hand, just like getting gray hair or wrinkles as you age. But that doesn't have to be the case if you take steps to care for your eyes as you age.

Presbyopia, a natural effect of aging, happens to just about everyone around the age of 40, even if you have had laser eye surgery. As you age, the lens in each of your eyes begins to lose its ability to change focus quickly on an object or page of text, causing blurred vision at reading distance. Chances are that you know several people who have this condition, and you may develop it yourself, now or in the future.

Some simple, yet often overlooked steps can help you take care of your eyesight as you age:

* During prolonged intervals in front of a TV, computer or other electronic device, try blinking more often than you might normally. Every so often, look away from the device and focus on a distant object.

* Be sure to have adequate light while reading; a simple lamp may not do the trick, causing you to strain your eyes.

* Maintain a healthy diet. Contrary to popular belief, carrots are not the best vegetable for your eyes: spinach and other dark, leafy greens contain high amounts of lutein and zeaxanthin, beneficial antioxidants for vision.

* Visit your eye care professional regularly.

Beyond a healthy lifestyle, there are solutions to common age-related vision problems. With presbyopia, bifocals or reading glasses (for contact lens wearers) are a common solution. However, reading glasses can be cumbersome and easily misplaced, and bifocals require you to use a magnification lens intended for reading anytime you look down, which can make mundane tasks as simple as walking down stairs unnecessarily difficult.

Bausch + Lomb's Multi-Focal contact lenses are designed with All-Distance Optics, a technology that delivers sharp, clear vision wherever you choose to focus. By using a gradual power shift across the entire lens, your eyes effortlessly adjust from up-close reading to mid-range computer work to distance vision while driving. There's no need to reach for glasses to accommodate a quick change in distance.

Multi-Focal contact lenses mean you don't have to sacrifice convenience for clear, crisp vision. Ask your eye care professional about how Multi-Focal contact lenses can help you say goodbye to your readers today, or log on to www.goodbyereaders.com to learn more.

Courtesy of ARAcontent

Vitamin D Levels Associated With Parkinson’s Disease Risk in Allentown, PA

Individuals with higher levels of vitamin D appear to have a reduced risk of developing Parkinson’s disease, according to a report in the July issue of Archives of Neurology.Vitamin D is known to play a role in bone health and may also be linked to cancer, heart disease and type 2 diabetes, according to background information in the article. “Recently, chronically inadequate vitamin D intake was proposed to play a significant role in the pathogenesis of Parkinson’s disease,” the authors write. “According to the suggested biological mechanism, Parkinson’s disease may be caused by a continuously inadequate vitamin D status leading to a chronic loss of dopaminergic neurons in the brain.”Paul Knekt, D.P.H., and colleagues at the National Institute for Health and Welfare, Helsinki, Finland, studied 3,173 Finnish men and women age 50 to 79 who did not have Parkinson’s disease at the beginning of the study, in 1978 to 1980. Participants completed questionnaires and interviews about socioeconomic and health background, underwent baseline examinations and provided blood samples for vitamin D analysis.

...continue reading at http://www.alzheimersreadingroom.com/2010/07/vitamin-d-levels-associated-with.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheAlzheimersReadingRoom+%28Alzheimer%27s+Reading+Room%29

For more assistance with an aging loved one in the Allentown, PA area visit our webiste at http://www.family-caregivers.com.

Why Patients Aren’t Getting the Shingles Vaccine in Allentown, PA

Shingles and its painful complication, called postherpetic neuralgia, result from reactivation of the chicken pox virus, which remains in the body after a childhood bout and is usually dormant in the adult. Up to a third of all adults who have had chicken pox will eventually develop one or both of these conditions, becoming debilitated for anywhere from a week to several years. That percentage translates into about one million Americans affected each year, with older adults, whose immune systems are less robust, being most vulnerable. Once the rash and its uncomfortable sequel appear, treatment options are limited at best and carry their own set of complications.

Read more…
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/10/health/10chen.html?ref=health

For more assistance with an aging loved one in your life visit our website at http://www.family-caregivers.com.