Volume 03 | January 2017
Greetings!
Happy New Year.
 We at Chicopee Eyecare wish
you and your family  
a safe and Happy New Year!
Here are some belated Christmas gift suggestions I came across a couple of weeks ago.
 
"To your enemy, forgiveness.  To an opponent, tolerance, To a friend, your heart.  
To a customer, service.  To all, charity.  
To  every child, a good example.  
To yourself, respect."
(Oren Arnold) .

We at Chicopee Eyecare wish you and your family a healthy, happy and prosperous New Year! 

  Whether you are a new or returning patient, thank you for the confidence  you have placed in us as your optometrists. And if you have never been to our office, we welcome the opportunity to serve you.  

Your email address has been saved  in our secure database. Our intention is to offer monthly newsletters on topics that we hope will be helpful and of interest to you. Please don't hesitate to call us if you ever have any questions or comments.

And you can do us a small favor!  Please like us on Facebook  and maybe subscribe to our YouTube channel where you can watch Dr. Momnie insert a contact lens on a six month old baby or Dr. Guzek-Latka discuss diabetes and how it affects the eyes, all at Chicopee Eyecare, P.C.   Thank you again for choosing our office. Our goal is to safeguard your eyes and help you achieve a lifetime of clear and comfortable vision.

                                                              Dr. David C. Momnie
                                            Dr. Camille Guzek-Latka
                                             Dr. Julianne M. Rapalus  
Digital Eye Strain

Six tips for reducing eye strain in today’s  digital-device-ubiquitous world.

Digital devices--they’re everywhere!  Laptops, desktops, smart phones, tablets and now, the Apple Watch worn on your wrist.  According to a 2016 report by the Vision Council, 90% of Americans use digital devices daily for two or more hours each day and 60% of Americans use them for five or more hours each day.  So it’s no surprise that two in three people surveyed reported symptoms of digital eye strain, experienced as blurred vision, dry eyes, eye fatigue, headaches and neck and back pain.  Here are six tips that may help:
  • Follow the “20-20-20 Rule”.  Every 20 minutes, make time to take a 20 second break to view something 20 feet away.

  • Keep Close.  Keep documents close to the keyboard to minimize head and neck movement.

  • Avoid Glare.  Use window blinds and drapes and avoid glare on the screen from overhead lighting. Consider using a glare filter.

  • Get Comfortable.  Keep your head and torso in an upright posture and your back supported by your chair. Ideally, the computer screen should be about 15 degrees or 4 inches below eye level.

  • Blink.  It sound obvious but people tend to blink less when on a computer.  Adequate blinking minimizes developing dry eyes

  • If eye strain is still a problem, schedule and eye examination to ensure that your visual system is functioning properly.  Sometimes a special pair of computer glasses will help.

    (Taken from an article by Emily Teel in Eyecare Business)  

How smoking can damage the eyes

We all know that smoking can increase one’s risk of heart disease and lung cancer. However, there are several side effects of smoking that involve the eyes and not all of them are reversible.   

Macular degeneration:  Smoking increases your risk of developing age-related macular degeneration (AMD).  This condition affects central vision tasks like reading, driving and recognizing faces. Smokers have more than double the risk of developing AMD. 

Cataracts:   A cataract is a clouding of the crystalline lens that is used to focus light onto the retina and occurs naturally with aging.  However, like AMD, you are twice as likely to develop cataracts if you smoke.  With a cataract, you are likely to experience some blurred vision and increased glare making night driving more difficult.

Diabetic Retinopathy:  Diabetic Retinopathy is the leading cause of blindness in working age adults and develops when the blood vessels in the eye begin to leak.  Smoking increases the risk of progression of the disease and can lead to permanent vision loss.

In summary, when you quit smoking, you help preserve your vision and increase your chances of maintaining your lifestyle longer than if you had smoked.  

Where did our last intern go?

Where do they go?  
Dr. Julianne Rapalus and Dr. Camille Guzek-Latka with our previous student intern, Taylor Meltzer. 
Taylor is currently assigned to a VA Hospital in the Boston area.

We all wish her the best of luck.
 
Case of the Month
Every month,  we
will be presenting a recent  case which we
hope you will  find 
interesting  and informative.

This month’s case is a patient we saw in November who presented with red and irritated eyes and crusted eyelashes. Conjunctivitis or as it is commonly called, pinkeye, is usually caused by viruses, bacteria or allergies.  (There are some other more serious causes which we won't discuss here.) 

In bacterial conjunctivitis, there is often a pus like discharge from the eye whereas in viral and allergic conjunctivitis, the discharge is more watery. Rarely is vision blurry from conjunctivitis although there is sometimes increased sensitivity to light with viral conjunctivitis.   

We usually treat bacterial conjunctivitis, as shown in the picture to the left, with antibiotic eye drops.  Like the common cold, antibiotics are not effective for viral conjunctivitis and the infection must run its course over 7-10 days.  Viral ( unlike bacterial) conjunctivitis is very contagious so limiting contact with others and frequent hand washing is recommended.  The hallmark of allergic conjunctivitis is itching and the condition improves when the allergen is removed.  There are some formerly prescription and now over the counter eye drops that are effective. 

Finally, be sure to throw away makeup and contact lenses worn while you were infected and as we said above, wash your hands frequently if the conjunctivitis is viral or bacterial in nature. We suggested you call our office rather than call your primary care physician if you develop red and irritated eyes because examining the eyes through a microscope makes it much easier to make the correct diagnosis.  Invariably we will work you into our schedule on the day you call the office.   


In Case Of Emergency
Office Hours
We are available when you need us 
Our office and optical department are open during the following hours:

Monday                  9:00 am - 5:30 pm

Tuesday                 9:00 am - 5:30pm

Wednesday            9:00 am - 5:30pm

Thursday                9:00 am - 6:30pm

Friday                     9:00 am - 5:30 pm

Saturday                9:00 am - 12:30 pm   

                 Sunday Closed

         One of our doctors is always available for emergencies on nights, weekends and holidays.   Call (413) 592-7777 and our answering service will put you in touch  with an on-call optometrist.

"The people in this office are committed to providing you with the highest quality of eye care and to t reating you with kindness and respect."  
©2016 Chicopee Eyecare - All Rights Reserved
Chicopee Eyecare · 113 Center Street · Chicopee, MA 01013 · (413) 592-7777 info@chicopeeeyecare.com
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