Fort Lauderdale, Florida Ophthalmologist & Eye Surgeon
As I continue in my mission to raise awareness of serious issues pertaining to vision, I just participated in my first ever podcast!
It was with the wonderful people at Keeping Us Safe.
I spoke about cataracts and older driver safety.
On top of that, I wrote a piece at the American Foundation for the Blind about making one’s vision a focus.
It is a huge honor to contribute at two sites of this stature.
It’s an amazing thrill and honor to be able to contribute to a publication such as US News.
I just submitted my first piece there – a story about the dangers of driving at night.
When I first started trying to increase awareness of serious eye issues, I would never have imagined that US News would be one of the stops on the journey.
If every article can challenge the readers and the way they think, it will all be worth it. If it can save anyone from serious eye illnesses, it definitely will!
Very excited to have contributed an article to Florida Today about how smoking impacts the eyes.
People know about the impact smoking has on the lungs but people don’t really think of it vis a vis the eyes.
It’s something to consider.
There are so many suffering with eye diseases who don’t even know it.
This is why it is critical to increase awareness, this is why it is critical to give back.
It is a privilege and honor to be an EyeCare America volunteer!
There is a new eye drop on the market which I’ve written about previously.
Now watch me speak about it!
We are already giving the drops to patients and while it’s too early to tell how it will work, having to only administer drops once a day is a big difference!
Prevention is better than cure and I do all that I can to help spread awareness about various eye ailments and issues.
When I speak to patients, they always say “If only I knew…..”
If only I knew about what caused glaucoma
If only I knew what causes cataracts
Because frankly, the awareness of what causes serious eye ailments that can result in vision loss, if not blindness isn’t what it should be.
I take great pride in my article in today’s Miami Herald about the dangers of blue light.
It is important that both employers and employees know about the seriousness of blue light and the consequences of it. It is a serious menace whose biggest weapon is ignorance.
Knowledge is really half the battle.
Sports is great for staying fit and healthy, but the physical exertion means injuries can occur, especially in contact sports.
In sports such as football and basketball where fingers are flying everywhere, serious eye injuries can occur.
When it comes to sports and the eye, certain precision sports such as archery require the athletes to have unbelievable vision. You may be surprised to hear this but softballers also have great vision.
Athletes such as golfers and tennis player don’t have the issue of being poked in the eye to contend with but they have to put up with a relentless harsh sun. Because of this, many of these athletes wear contact lenses in an attempt to reduce the harsh UV light they are exposed to.
Then there are the fans who also may be in the sun the whole day cheering on their favorite athletes. Don’t make sunglasses on how they look
I’m thrilled to be a contributor at Thrive Global.
I just submitted my first article there which is a look back at my 30 years as an ophthalmologist.
While many things in the industry have changed, the fundamentals have remained the same.
While we have more technology at our fingertips than ever before, it’s the way they’re applied that is timeless.
Dealing with a patient’s vision is a serious responsibility and one not to be taken lightly.
I look forward to contributing more articles to Thrive and spreading awareness of ophthalmology to a large audience.
I read a couple of articles relating to New Year’s Eve and wanted to share them.
The first was from Lee Shu Yen, deputy head of the Surgical Retina Department at Singapore National Eye Centre. She says something that I’ve spoken about before and that is being proactive when it comes to your health.
I urge Singaporeans to actively get health checks. Some diseases can be easily treated if diagnosed and managed early. For example, all diabetics should have an eye check-up at least once a year. This is important as there are often no symptoms of diabetic eye disease until it is late/advanced, and it can be challenging to treat and preserve vision.
This is something I wrote about last week.
Then there was the article I saw about New Years and fireworks. In it, Dr. Sumitra Khandelwal discusses the dangers of fireworks and what to do if you suffer an eye injury.
It’s a great piece especially for all the other times during the year when there are fireworks. But more importantly than that, we have to take away the point that in any situation, the eyes are at risk. We have to be careful and if something happens, not to panic. The points about not touching, rubbing or rinsing the eyes and not applying pressure to the eyes are universal and apply to any situation.
Have a wonderful 2018 and hope it’s a safe one.
Tragic story emanating from England where it’s revealed that patients are waiting up to six months for cataract surgery.
For those patients in this unfortunate position, not only due to have to live with the pain of cataracts for much longer than they would want, but their visions could deteriorate even more.
It degenerating into permanent blindness is not out of the question.
There is no easy solution here. Cataract surgery is highly specialized and they may not have that many capable of performing it.
Additionally the operating theaters may not be available.
The two factors combine to produce the long wait.
This is why it’s so critically important to have regular checkups. If you do, something can be detected at a very early stage and if there is a wait for surgery, it won’t have the same consequences as if it was already fully developed.
People don’t think of the eye doctor like they do the dentist, but those who go to the dentist regularly for a checkup are in a position where they can detect something in the preliminary stages.
You may have a cavity coming, why don’t we treat it in the next month, before it becomes too serious.
as opposed to
I’m in serious pain and have to have a cavity treated right now.
There may not be anything we can do about long waiting lists but we can be pro-active about our own health and wellbeing.