There are a lot of things that can be done through the nose. You can breathe through your nose, sneeze through your nose, get a ring through your nose, and even pay through the nose. But did you know there’s another we can add to the list of the nose’s uses? We can also treat dry eye disease through the nose.
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Cataract surgery is typically a straightforward, uncomplicated procedure. Because cataracts are considered a normal part of aging and our expected lifespans are increasing with advances in medicine, the number of cataract surgeries performed every year in the US is approaching the 4 million mark. That’s a lot of cataract extractions.
A cataract is an opacity in the lens of the eye. Usually this lens is clear and transparent so that light can easily pass through to reach the back of the eye to form vision. Various factors can underlie the development of a cataract – age is the main one, but other factors such as environment, lifestyle choices, certain medications, systemic diseases, and trauma, can also contribute to the formation of a cataract in the eye.
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The dangers of cigarette smoking have been well-known for decades. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention lists tobacco use as the leading preventable cause of death in the United States, citing uncomfortable statistics such as smoking being responsible for around one in five deaths every year, and the life expectancy of a smoker being at least 10 years shorter than a non-smoker.
Despite knowing that cigarette smoking has the potential to cause death by way of cancer and various respiratory and vascular diseases, around 40 million adults in the US still indulge in a puff. However, if you knew smoking could result in spending the rest of your life with permanent blindness, would you still be so quick to flick open that lighter?
Risks are a necessary part of life. Stepping out of the house is a risk – you could get stung by a bee in the garden; staying inside the house is a risk – what if the bee comes through the window and you’re caught unaware? Understanding the consequences when we take these risks help us to make reasonable adjustments in response (if you’re deathly allergic to bees, becoming a beekeeper is not a good idea).
Pterygium – a benign wing-shaped overgrowth of tissue from the whites of the eye over the transparent cornea. It’s commonly known as surfer’s eye (carnosidad in Spanish) and is often thought to be related to UV exposure, which is why there is a higher prevalence in geographical locations closer to the equator. The vast majority of pterygium cases are seen in adults with the peak incidence between 20 and 40 years old, but just like little kids can get the odd premature white hair here and there, it turns out they can also get pterygia.
Who doesn’t love the sun and surf? The answer is probably nobody. And who loves surfer’s eye? The answer is also probably nobody. And if we’re asking who loves skin cancer, the answer is definitely nobody.
Surfer’s eye, also known as a pterygium, is a fleshy overgrowth of tissue from the membrane over the whites of the eye (the conjunctiva) to the cornea (the transparent dome at the front of the eye). Although a pterygium itself is considered benign, researchers in the Australian state of Western Australia have noted an association between the presence of pterygia and cutaneous (skin) melanoma.
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Pterygia (singular pterygium) are triangular, wing-shaped overgrowths of fibrovascular tissue on the front surface of the eye, extending from the conjunctiva on the whites of the eye over the transparent tissue of the cornea. Though pterygia are harmless and benign, they can cause some issues such as inducing astigmatism and decreased visual acuity, discomfort from recurrent inflammation, and cosmetic problems (who wants to have a wing growing across their eye?). While many patients are content to put up with a little pterygium, current treatment options for bothersome pterygia are centered mainly around surgical techniques.
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Is that a freckle or eye cancer? Good question. Here’s another question – did you know that you can get both freckles and melanomas in the eye? And because freckles are cute but melanomas are not, this brings us back to the all-important first question.
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The mention of cataracts can cause a bit of a heart palpitation for some people, particularly older ones who have family members who supposedly went blind from the condition. However, cataracts are as expected as wrinkles and white hairs – they are a normal part of aging. Over 24 million Americans aged over 40 have some degree of cataract; in the state of California over 16% of the population have a cataract in one or both eyes, which means more than 6 million Californians are walking around with a cataract, probably in addition to a few wrinkles and white hairs.
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Are headaches the same as migraines? Can a migraine cause a vision problem? Can a vision problem cause a migraine? Are headaches a symptom of an eye disease? So many questions!
The distinction between a headache and a migraine can be a little murky. Headache is an umbrella term referring to a number of disorders involving pain in the head, face, or upper neck area. A migraine is a painful primary headache disorder.
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There are a lot of things that can be done through the nose. You can breathe through your nose, sneeze through your nose, …
Cataract surgery is typically a straightforward, uncomplicated procedure. Because cataracts are considered a normal part …
The dangers of cigarette smoking have been well-known for decades. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention lists tobacco …
