Maintaining Better Eye Health

>> I HEALTH EXPERTS SAYING MORE THAN 37 MILLION ADULTS SUFFER WITH COMMON EYE DISEASES LIKE CATARACTS, GLAUCOMA, AND AGE RELATED, MACULAR DEGENERATION, AS PART OF HEALTHY VISION MONTH. WE ARE JOINED NOW BY THE PRESIDENT AND CEO OF PREVENT BLINDNESS, MR. JEFF TODD AND DOCTOR RV PAUL CHAN, DR CHAN IS THE HEAD OF OPHTHALMOLOGY AT THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS COLLEGE OF MEDICINE. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR JOINING US TODAY FROM CHICAGO. >> TODAY, THANKS FOR HAVING US. >> CAN YOU FIRST ADDRESS HOW COMMON ARE EYE DISEASES THAT ACTUALLY LEAD TO VISION LOSS AND IN SOME CASES, EVEN BLINDNESS AND WHAT AGE GROUPS ARE MOST IMPACTED. >> YES, SO THERE ARE A NUMBER OF CONDITIONS THAT I WOULD SAY CAN GRADUALLY EFFECT OR A VISION IN TIME. AND I THINK THAT WE TALK ABOUT AGE GROUPS OBVIOUSLY COULD HAVE VISION LOSS EVEN WHEN AS A CHILD BUT WE THINK ABOUT ROUTINE SCREENING AND ROUTINE EYE EXAMS. THE GENERAL GUIDELINES WILL SAY, WELL, GET YOUR EXAMS AS A CHILD. AND THEN AS YOU GET OLDER. 20'S AND 30'S 40'S AND THEN AS WE GET OLDER, YOU START TO SEE THESE ARE THE CONDITIONS LIKE YOU MENTIONED EARLIER. AGE RELATED, MACULAR DEGENERATION, GLAUCOMA, CATARACTS, AND SO FORTH. THAT CAN. SLOWLY, I WOULD SAY SNEAK UP ON US TO CAUSE VISION LOSS, RIGHT? WE MAY NOT FEEL ANYTHING WE MAY NOT NOTICE ANYTHING SUDDENLY BUT ABSOLUTELY IF WE'RE NOT GETTING THOSE EYE EXAMS EARLY, WE'RE NOT NECESSARILY MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE OKAY. OTHER CONDITIONS THAT WE THAT I THINK THAT WE SHOULD TALK ABOUT OUR. DIABETES, HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE, ALL OF THESE THINGS THAT AFFECT HER BODY CAN ULTIMATELY AFFECT ARISE. CAUSE VISION CHANGES, CAUSE VISION LOSS AND AGAIN MAY NOT AFFECT US RIGHT AWAY. CAUSE PAIN, BUT CAN BE ABSOLUTELY DEVASTATING. >> CAN YOU TOUCH ON WHAT CONTRIBUTES TO US? >> GETTING EYE DISEASES LIKE GLAUCOMA AND CATARACTS. >> YES, SO ONE OF THE THINGS I THINK IS REALLY IMPORTANT IS NO OUR FAMILY HISTORY. AND SO WE THINK ABOUT GLAUCOMA, UNDERSTANDING WHO IN OUR FAMILY MAY HAVE HAD A CLOCK A MOST, THAT WE CAN GET AN EARLY INTERVENTION THERE, OF COURSE, ARE OTHER THINGS THAT CAN CAUSE GLAUCOMA. SO EVEN. A LARGE LENDER COUNTERACT CAN CAUSE HIGH PRESSURE IN THE EYE, BUT THERE ALSO DISCERN THAT TO ME. WE TALK ABOUT CATARACTS AGAIN. IT CAN BE MULTI-FACTOR. WELL, BUT I THINK MOST OF US WITH AN ACCOUNT OR ACTS, IT'S WE ALL GET CATARACTS, RIGHT? I HAVE A CATARACT AS WE GET OLDER IN TIME. CATARACTS MAY AFFECT OUR ABILITY TO DO CERTAIN THINGS LIKE DRIVE OR WALK AROUND AT NIGHT. AND SO FOR THAT. SO ON. BUT AGAIN, YOU KNOW, I'M A WRITER SPECIALIST. I HAVE A LOT OF REALLY GREAT CATARACT SURGEON COLLEAGUES, BUT ULTIMATELY IF A CAT IS AFFECTING YOUR VISION AND THERE ARE THINGS THAT YOU CAN DO THAT OR THAT CAN TAKE CARE OF THAT. >> AND I KNOW MANY TIMES WE DON'T REALIZE THAT I HEALTH CAN ACTUALLY BE A PREDICTOR OF OVERALL HEALTH AND THAT AN OPHTHALMOLOGIST CAN DETECT OTHER DISEASES DURING A NORMAL EYE EXAM. WHAT KINDS OF HEALTH CONDITIONS CAN BE A LIMITED IN A ROUTINE, COMPLETE EYE EXAM. >> YEAH, ABSOLUTELY. AND COMING AND ONE THING I'M GOING TO TURN OVER TO JEFF I CAN TELL YOU SO MANY TIMES HOW WE'VE SEEN PATIENTS COME IN THAT THE FIRST TIME THAT THEY'RE SEEING ME IS THE FIRST TIME THAT THEY'VE BEEN DIAGNOSED WITH A CERTAIN SYSTEM, A CONDITION LIKE DIABETES OR HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE FOR MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS. AND THEN WE'RE REFERRING THEM TO THEIR PRIMARY CARE PHYSICIAN TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY'RE CARED FOR. BUT I KNOW THAT, YOU KNOW, TO PREVENT BLINDNESS HAS DONE A SURVEY AROUND SOME OF THIS. SO MAYBE, JEFF, YOU CAN TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THAT. YEAH, WE DO. WE'VE DONE A SURVEY RECENTLY AND ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE FOUND IS THAT THAT. >> MOST PEOPLE 75% OF PEOPLE. I REALLY DON'T UNDERSTAND THAT SO MANY I HEALTH CONDITIONS ADVANCE WITHOUT SIGNS OR SYMPTOMS. BUT WE ALSO KNOW AS DR CHAN ALLUDED TO THERE, THERE'S SO MANY OTHER HEALTH CONDITIONS THAT CAN BE DETECTED THROUGH A SIMPLE EYE EXAM. WE'RE LEARNING MORE THAT HIGH CHOLESTEROL, BRAIN TUMORS, DIABETES, ET CETERA, CAN BE DETECTED THROUGH EYE EXAM. SO WE'RE NOT TRYING TO SAY THAT PEOPLE SHOULD CONSIDER THEIR EYE DOCTOR THEIR FIRST SOURCE OF CARDIOLOGY EXPERTISE. BUT IT DOES SHOW THAT THAT THAT TUNE IN TO YOUR EYE HEALTH CAN CERTAINLY IMPACT OTHER. I HELP OTHER HEALTH CARE CONDITIONS. >> CAN YOU GIVE US SOME TIPS ON WHAT WE CAN DO TO PRESERVE AND PROTECT OUR VISION? AND I WONDER SUNGLASSES REALLY HELP. >> I I ALWAYS SAY TO MY PATIENTS, HEALTHY LIFE, HEALTHY EYES, RIGHT? SO MAKING SURE THAT YOUR OVERALL HEALTH IS IS IS GOOD. DIET EXERCISE, ALL OF YOU TO ALL OF THESE THINGS MATTER. AND YES, SUNGLASSES ARE IMPORTANT AS WE GET OLDER UV PROTECTION. BUT ALSO JUST IN GENERAL, I PROTECTION IS IMPORTANT AND LIKE YOU MENTIONED EARLIER AROUND AROUND CHILDREN, YOU KNOW, GOING BACK TO THAT, YOU KNOW, REALLY IMPORTANT TO GET THEIR EYES CHECKED EARLY BECAUSE THEY'RE NOT ALWAYS GOING TO TELL US WHAT'S GOING ON. THANK YOU SO MUCH, DR CHAN AND JEFF, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR JOINING US TODAY.