All About Cataracts
Inside everyone’s eye is a lens. Just like with a camera, the lens of your eye helps you to focus on things whether they are nearby or far away. To work well, the lens must be clear. As you age, the lens of your eye gradually becomes cloudy. We call a cloudy lens a cataract. The word cataract comes from an old Latin word for waterfall. Waterfalls produce heavy mist that can blur your vision. Cataracts have the same effect— blurry vision. Looking through a cloudy lens is like looking through a dirty window—everything is blurred. Everyone who lives into their 60s develops at least mild cataracts.
Early on, the cataract process not only makes your lens cloudy, it also makes your lens swell a little bit. When your lens gets bigger, you become a little more near-sighted. So in the early stages of cataract, simply changing your glasses prescription will usually restore your sight. But as you continue to get older, the cataract gets more and more cloudy, and eventually not even a change in your glasses prescription will improve your sight. At that point, the only way to restore your vision is to remove the cataract.
Cataract surgery is the most common surgical procedure performed on adults in the United States. The procedure is performed on an outpatient basis, generally takes a half-hour or less, and recovery time is usually only a few days. Cataract surgery is a two-step procedure— first the surgeon removes your cloudy lens, and second, a new lens implant is inserted into your eye. The cloudy lens is removed with a tiny instrument that enters your eye through a small incision—usually oneeighth of an inch or smaller—and gently breaks the cataract into tiny pieces that are then removed from the eye with a miniature vacuum cleaner. Once the cataract is out, you will need a new lens in order to focus after surgery. Artificial lens implants—made of plastic-like materials—are used to restore your ability to focus after surgery. These implants come in many different strengths, like glasses, and before your cataract operation, your doctor will perform several measurements to determine the appropriate lens implant strength for your eye. Once your cataract is out and your implant is in, the operation is over. Most people see better within a day or two after cataract surgery, but it is not abnormal or worrisome if your vision seems blurry for a few weeks after surgery as your eye heals. Your doctor will prescribe some eye drops for the healing period after surgery, and if you need new glasses after surgery, these will be prescribed for you once your eye is completely healed, usually about a month after surgery.
Cataracts cannot grow back, but sometimes a thin cloudy membrane grows behind the lens implant, making your vision blurry like the cataract did. This is not uncommon—it happens to roughly 40 percent of patients having cataract surgery. If it happens to you, a quick and simple laser treatment can be performed in the office to make a hole in the membrane for you to see through. Your doctor can help you learn more about cataracts.
To learn more please visit hillcountryeyecenter.com/” target=”_blank hillcountryeyecenter.com or call 512.528.1144
Dr. Vincent Restivo is a board-certified ophthalmologist who specializes in LASIK, PRK, cataract care and other advanced methods of vision correction. He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Ophthalmology and is past president of the Austin Ophthalmologic Society. A native of Boston, he began his education at Holy Cross College in Worcester, Massachusetts (1988-1992) where he received a B.A. in Biology. Following a research fellowship at the esteemed Dana Farber Cancer Institute at Harvard University, he earned his medical degree from the University of Texas Medical School at Houston (1993-1997). Dr. Restivo completed his intern year in Internal Medicine through Boston University (1997-1998) before returning to Houston to complete his residency in Ophthalmology through the University of Texas Medical School at Houston (1998-2001).
Today, he proudly serves his patients as the chief medical physician of Hill Country Eye Center. Dr. Restivo and his wife, Heidi, live in Austin and enjoy spending time with their son Maddox and their two dogs, Anna and Lacey.
Anxiety Coping For Teens – Regain Your Freedom Technique
Adolescence can be a challenging time with youth experiencing biological, psychological, and social changes. Both normative stressors such as moving from middle school to high school, as well as stressors such as parental divorce have been linked to an increased risk of such internalizing behaviors as depression and anxiety, the relationship between stress and at-risk behaviors, culturally diverse youth, and various coping mechanisms.
One such coping mechanism, The Regain Your Freedom Technique along with added on methods such as music therapy, aromatherapy, massage,visualization and daily journalling are aiding teens in their coping skills and recovery.
Learning to use these methods are a way of grounding themselves. This grounding is a way of refocusing the mind on the here and now as opposed to the past traumatic experiences associated with anxiety and the family of other disorders that travel with anxiety.
The secret is to not try and wipe out the memories in your mind but to approach them from a different angle.
The triggers that cause teens and adults to revisit their anxious ,anxiety state are diminished when enough time has past using the Regain Your Freedom Technique and the technique has been reinforced in the mind by the fact that it is used when the first feelings or memories of anxiety begin.
Although low levels of stressful life experiences are considered to be a normal part of development, higher levels can constitute a threat to the well-being and healthy development of children and adolescents.
Adolescents are exposed to increased rates of stressful life experiences and there is some evidence that increases in stressors account, at least in part, for the increased rates of psychological problems associated with this developmental period.
Many of the stressful life events and daily hassles of adolescence are similar for youths despite differences in cultural background or place of residence. However, adolescents from diverse cultural groups often encounter unique challenges that arise from the particular cultural-ecological niches they inhabit by virtue of their ethnic group membership and other context defining factors, such as their families socioeconomic status, history of immigration, integration with mainstream and ethnic communities, and the location of their neighborhoods and schools.
For some adolescents, these factors combine to offer increased opportunities for development of competencies that enable them to become productive young adults. Too often, however, these interacting factors expose adolescents to chronic adversities and cumulative stressors that overwhelm their anxiety coping abilities.
Stress has been related to both lower socioeconomic status and poorer health. This research tests a model which suggests that teenagers from varying socioeconomic backgrounds differ not only in terms of exposure to negative life events, but also in their interpretation of life situations.
Study participants were 100 high school students roughly half African American, the other half Caucasian. Students watched two different videos in a laboratory setting, one consisting of an ambiguous situation, the other a negative situation. Students answered open-ended questions, completed a questionnaire, and had their heart rate and blood pressure monitored.
Results found that lower socioeconomic adolescents were more likely to interpret the ambiguous social situations as threatening, suggesting that interventions aimed at minimizing youths threat interpretations may reduce the physiological toll associated with these perceptions.
Anxiety coping skills are still the best form of treatment to enable a teen to navigate through these years of development and deal with their changing bodies, psychological as well as situational experiences.
Many teens have already shown positive changes in their anxietyended.com/” target=”_blank anxiety coping skills. This technique is easy to use, plus it requires no medications. Guidance from adults and working with teens in putting this method into practice will also bring a feeling of acceptance and support to the teens who are in need of this support.
Send a comment with any concerns or questions you may have. We are here to help. Anxiety does not have be a lonely place when it can be openly spoken about and treatment received.
Learn more about anxietyended.com “Anxiety Coping For Teens” learn more about me and visit our blog at anxietyended.com/blog/130/stress-and-anxiety-suffering/ anxietyended.com/blog
Eating For Two
You provide your baby the best nutrition every day by breast feeding. Much of the nutrition your baby receives from breast milk comes from your body’s stored nutrients. So don’t forget – your nutrition is important too! Even while you are nursing, your baby is becoming familiar with the different flavors of food you eat. Follow these nutrition tips and set your baby up for good health that will last a lifetime!
1. Avoid Low Calorie or Fad Weight Loss Diets. Limiting the variety and amount of foods your eating can decrease much needed nutrients for your baby’s growth and development. Work on eating a healthy, balanced diet and keep your regular exercise regime with Baby Boot Camp! Keep in mind that nursing moms burn about 500 extra calories a day just from their milk production! This combined with your regular exercise and healthy eating will help you return to your pre-pregnancy weight.
2. Variety. Try to eat a variety of nutrient dense foods such as fruits, vegetables, lean meats, high fiber carbohydrates, and high calcium foods.
3. Complex Carbohydrates. Avoid the white bread, rice, and pasta and opt for their whole grain counterparts. Look for 3 or more grams of fiber per serving on the food label. Complex carbohydrates provide important B-vitamins, minerals and fiber.
4. Protein. Make sure to have several servings of protein foods daily, like lean beef, poultry, fish, beans, tofu, or eggs. Protein foods are rich sources of minerals including iron, and zinc. Protein is also important for your baby’s growth and development.
5. Fats. Add several servings of “good” fats. Healthier fats include canola oil, olive oil, soy butter, and tub margarines with no Trans fats.
6. Fruits and Vegetables. Your goal is 5 a day. Fruits and vegetables are vital to provide important vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants for your baby’s growth, development, immune system and overall health.
7. Calcium. Aim for at least 3 servings of calcium-rich foods daily for good bone formation. Calcium-rich foods include milk, yogurt, cheeses, cottage cheese, fortified soy or rice milk, sardines, and kale.
8. Nuts and Nut Butters. Avoid eating nuts and nut butters
while breast feeding especially if you have a family history of food allergies.
© 2004 Meri Raffetto
About the Author
Owner of Real Living Nutrition Services, Meri Raffetto is a Registered Dietitian and a recognized professional in the area of nutrition and wellness. She has received a bachelor’s degree in both nutrition and psychology and has extensive experience in nutrition counseling and medical nutrition therapy. She offers individual nutrition counseling and has developed one of the only non-diet online weight management programs available on the internet. Her practice includes teaching people how to eat for endurance, improve vitality, and lose weight healthfully. For more information or to sign up for Real Living’s free nutrition newsletter, visit reallivingnutrition.com reallivingnutrition.com.
Children and Depression
Are your children suffering from depression? It might be a medical problem which needs for them to be medicated for and you should always seek out medical advice. But what if it related to their diet and eating habits?
Many children who are overweight or obese are depressed. Children can be cruel and the taunts they face because of their size will kill their self esteem but also give them depression. No more will they want to go outdoors, and for some they will give up wanting to live. Some might even attempt suicide as an alternative because in their thinking anything is better than what I am living at the moment. Even death is more pleasant a prospect than life.
Yes all children need to be seen by a doctor who will look and see what is causing their depression. They might need to go on tablets which might help but unless the root cause if found and treated then it is like putting a band-aid on a deep cut hoping it will heal. A deep cut will need cleaning, stitches and in some cases antibiotics to kill the infection. The same is true with children who are suffering depression from their size.
A tablet is like the band-aid it looks like it is doing its job but until the body is cleansed of all those toxins and then the weight is dealt with nothing will change.
If your children are obese then you have it in your power to change what they eat. Yes they might be binge eating or a secret eater but at least some changes will be made that will start to see the problem changed. You will also need to spend time with them talking about what they are feeling.
Overweight or obese children are more likely to be bullied so you need to take control and talk to the schools. Some will be more helpful than others. But remember if these attacks are taking place because of their weight problems then you have the responsibility to make the necessary changes to the food consumed.
One thing you might want to consider when your children are depressed is getting them involved in exercise. It might be the last thing they want to do but telling them you are going with them for that walk.
There is a medical reason for this not just to get fit and tone up muscles but exercise releases ENDORPHINS. You might be wondering what they are. Endorphins are a natural anti-depressant. This is why when you do 20 mins of exercise you will feel better. That alone should encourage you to get your children and family out to exercise during the week.
You can help your children if they are suffering from depression. Get medical advice but talk to them and find out why they are suffering from depression. If it is related to their weight then do something about it. If they don’t take exercise then start with them to go out and walk if nothing else.
With your help depression in your children can be helped or even ended, today try and find out what is causing your children to be depressed.
Copyright – Bev Clement of theperfectdietbook.com theperfectdietbook.com where you can learn how to lose weight, raise healthy children and see obesity killed