With February being Age-Related Macular Degeneration Month, The International Academy of Low Vision Specialists (IALVS) is urging patients to focus on recent advancements in the field.
Doctor Errol Rummel, OD, FAAO, FCOVD, FNORA, FIALVS, is an optometric physician with certification and expertise in a variety of special eye care fields of knowledge. Rummel is the Director of the Rummel Eye Care/Low Vision Care Center in Jackson, N.J. (www.rummeleyecare.com)and one of the few eye doctors in the United States to have achieved Clinical Skills Certification Level 3 in Neuro-Optometric Rehabilitation (FNORA). Neuro-Optometric Rehabilitation includes care of people with visual/ocular issues due to neurological issues like head injury, stroke, brain tumor and multiple sclerosis.
The diagnosis of low vision due to age, such as macular degeneration, often comes with more consequences than just the inability to see. A new study by the National Eye Institute (NEI) reports that patients with low vision experience twice the depression that the blind experience and five times more depression compared with normal populations. The study brought together mental health and eye care professionals to study the causes of depression in those diagnosed with low-vision due to age. Learn what you can do to help!
Dr. Chris Palmer OD talks on KARE and recommends seeing your optometrist regularly. February is macular degeneration month and Dr. Palmer shares how he is helping people living with macular degeneration.
Doctors may not yet be able to cure age-related macular degeneration (AMD) or reverse its effects, but recent innovations and improved understanding of best practices are greatly lessening its impact. Until a breakthrough to eliminate this degenerative disease that robs its victims of their sharp, central vision appears, it's a relief to see steady progress being made to keep patients functional, safe and independent. With February being Age-Related Macular Degeneration Month, it's an ideal time to focus on recent advancements in the field.
It's well understood that having too much glucose (also called sugar) in your blood from diabetes can damage a person's cardiovascular system and lead to such health problems as heart attacks and strokes. Lesser widely known is how frequently excess glucose can damage small blood vessels in the eye and lead to serious eye problems, including blindness. A recent study conducted by Everyday Health concluded that less than half of diabetics comprehend their risk of vision loss. Fewer still are aware of its prevalence.
In addition to being the fourth leading cause of death in the United States, strokes can lead to any number of life-changing disabilities. One of the most common side effects of the estimated 800,000 strokes that occur each year in the country is a loss of side vision (hemianopsia) of up to one-half to the right or the left. With May being both "Stroke Prevention Month," as well as "Healthy Vision Month," there is a new focus on the challenges patients with stroke-related hemianopsia face, as well as the hope that advanced Side Vision Awareness Glasses (SVAG) can provide.
This February, which is designated Age-Related Macular Degeneration Month, also marks a shift in best practices for treating the vision-robbing disease. A growing number of patients, their families and healthcare providers see great value in choosing two different doctors to focus on different aspects of the disease. In addition to one doctor to treat the medical condition causing loss of vision, another helps manage the effects permanent vision loss has on lives.
Watch the video of Dr. Edward Paul speaking on the main stage of Business Expert Forum at Harvard Faculty Club.
The International Academy of Low Vision Specialists (IALVS), the largest private group of low vision optometrists in the world, has added sitecues® to its patient and caregiver website http://www.IALVS.com making the site more accessible to low vision visitors. Visitors can now easily zoom in on any part of the website, and can have any section read aloud. With this added functionality, the IALVS is furthering its core mission to help people with low vision maintain independence and enhance quality of life.
"In our culture, driving is a symbol of independence," says Dr. Richard J. Shuldiner, low vision optometrist and founder of the IALVS. "Sadly, low vision often results in people either losing their license or being unable to renew their license.
Working on behalf of the millions of people with low vision or legal blindness is the International Academy of Low Vision Specialists (IALVS), an organization of optometrists and ophthalmologists specializing in novel treatments, therapies and rehabilitative counseling. The academy's mission is to help people enjoy rewarding lives - lives full of hobbies and other pleasurable pursuits - despite diminished eyesight.
"Most eye doctors focus on preventing vision loss through medical and surgical means. But some conditions cause vision loss despite whatever means we have available," explained Dr. Richard J. Shuldiner, low vision optometrist and founder of the IALVS.
"I founded the IALVS with the idea that there is life after vision loss. Our doctors are trained in finding means to maintain independence and lifestyle, despite the vision loss. We prescribe low vision glasses to allow people to continue everyday activities like driving, reading, seeing faces, playing bridge, and writing emails."
While millions will, happily, visit the dentist, frequent their OBGYN or take daily supplements to prevent high cholesterol, few actively work at maintaining their eye health as they age. Nobody knows this better than the nationwide network of Optometrists, all members of the International Academy of Low Vision Specialists (IALVS), who spend their careers assisting those who are losing their eyesight, and often losing it fast.
As part of their national outreach program, the IALVS team of low vision optometrists are today releasing new guidelines for preserving eye health, as well as calling on those worried about their failing visionto seek immediate help.
This February, which is designated Age-Related Macular Degeneration Month, also marks a shift in best practices for treating the vision-robbing disease. A growing number of patients, their families and healthcare providers see great value in choosing two different doctors to focus on different aspects of the disease. In addition to one doctor to treat the medical condition causing loss of vision, another helps manage the effects permanent vision loss has on lives.
Having an identical twin is a little like having an echo of yourself. You're not identical, not really. You have different opinions, prefer different foods. But there's also a commonality most siblings don't have. You share some of the same strengths and talents. And maybe some things that aren't so great.
My twin sister, Sharon, and I were like that, especially when we were young. We were both math whizzes. We took advanced classes in high school and knew early on what we were going to be: CPAs. Then one day in algebra I noticed Sharon squinting at the blackboard.
Richard J. Shuldiner, OD, F.A.A.O., a California optometrist who is Clinical Director of Low Vision Optometry in Southern California and Founder of the International Academy of Low Vision Specialists (IALVS), spends twelve months of the year helping patients with vision-limiting conditions. However, to coincide with May's %u2018Healthy Vision Month', Dr. Shuldiner is taking extra steps to urge every Californian to get an eye exam, know their family's eye history and take positive action to ensure prolonged good vision.
Universal Eye Health is the theme for World Sight Day 2013 and this year's call to action is simple: get your eyes tested. It's a mantra that has long been adopted by the International Academy of Low Vision Specialists (IALVS), a group of United States optometrists who provide solutions for vision limiting conditions including Age Related Macular Degeneration (AMD) one of the leading causes of blindness in the United States.
"IALVS completely endorses the World Health Organization in its efforts to bring awareness to leading causes of blindness," said Dr. Richard J. Shuldiner, low vision optometrist and founder of the International Academy of Low Vision Specialists (IALVS) in the US.
While a diagnosis of Age Related Macular Degeneration (AMD) can be devastating, it does not mean that all patients will be relegated to a life spent unable to travel far from home. Members of the International Academy of Low Vision Specialists suggest patients get a second opinion, because there are things that can be done to give these people options.
According to a Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Study released earlier this month (http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/09/19/us-macular-degeneration-idUSBRE98I0JY20130919), AMD patients do go outside their home, but they do not go as far from home as compared to individuals with normal vision.
A pair of specially developed reverse telescope glasses proved to be a trump card in solving the problems of a low vision patient who liked to play bridge but could no longer do so because of complex sight issues.
Richard J. Shuldiner, OD, F.A.A.O., a California optometrist who is Clinical Director of Low Vision Optometry in Southern California and Founder of the International Academy of Low Vision Specialists (IALVS), said he made the glasses because as a low vision optometrist and a card player himself he had dual insight into the woman's problems.
Dr. Richard Shuldiner develops glasses for low vision patient who liked to play bridge, trumping multiple sight issues and gets her back in the game.
A pair of specially developed reverse telescope glasses proved to be a trump card in solving the problems of a low vision patient who liked to play bridge but could no longer do so because of complex sight issues.
International Academy of Low Vision Specialists optometrists utilizing new lens technology to help correct a basic problem experienced by those with macular degeneration (ARMD).
There is new hope for people whose vision has been compromised by age related macular degeneration (ARMD), glaucoma and diabetic retinopathy.
The International Academy Of Low Vision Specialists is pleased to announce the launch of a standalone website, http://www.LowVisionEyeDoctors.com dedicated to educating consumers about low vision and low vision solutions. The site was created to serve as an online resource for people with vision impairment due to macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, glaucoma and other eye conditions often associated with aging. The initiative aims to answer questions that those with low vision, in addition to their loved ones and caregivers, may have by addressing its causes and warning signs, as well as vision-enhancing devices and medical solutions.
Harvard University Special Health Report released August 22, 2013 states "The earlier Age Related Macular Degeneration (AMD) is detected, the more likely it can be treated successfully." International Academy of Low Vision Specialists (IALVS) doctors, agree wholeheartedly.
Believing in LIFE AFTER VISION LOSS; The IALVS is a group of optometrists who are specially trained in low vision to help patients suffering from:-- -Macular Degeneration: Wet or Dry, Albinism, Glaucoma, Stargardt's Disease, Diabetic Retinopathy, Retinitis Pigmentosa and Other Vision-Limiting Conditions.
New Low Vision Website Provides Valuable Resources to Those Suffering with (AMD) Age Related Macular Degeneration and other Vision Limiting Conditions.
The International Academy Of Low Vision Specialists is pleased to announce the launch of a standalone website, http://www.LowVisionEyeDoctors.com dedicated to educating consumers about low vision and low vision solutions. The site was created to serve as an online resource for people with vision impairment due to macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, glaucoma and other eye conditions often associated with aging. The initiative aims to answer questions that those with low vision, in addition to their loved ones and caregivers, may have by addressing its causes and warning signs, as well as vision-enhancing devices and medical solutions.