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Submitted by Eye Didn’t Know Blog
What’s the rationale behind the chiropractic field?
It’s easy to trace the hierarchy and progression of scientific ideas behind most medical science (just as it’s easy to show that medicine was pretty primitive 100 years ago).
Medical students learn the biology, physiology, biochemistry, anatomy, pharmacology, pathology, and so on, of human diseases. [...]
Sunglasses For The Masses
Submitted by Eye Didn’t Know Blog
Did you know? Various excellent charities exist for collecting used prescription eyeglasses and donating them to the poor in other countries, who otherwise might not be able to afford them.
Sara Schairer, however, had the brilliant idea of collecting and donating used sunglasses. She visited the Flying Samaritans eye clinic in [...]
20/20!
Submitted by Eye Didn’t Know Blog
Did you know? Two patients today asked me what 20/20 vision means. I suspect that every day other patients wonder as well, but don’t ask.The easiest way to think about 20/20 is that it means that the eye can see at 20 feet what the average, healthy eye can see [...]
Vitamin C and Cataracts
Submitted by Eye Didn’t Know Blog
There is a much higher concentration of vitamin C in the aqueous humor (the fluid in the front of the eye which bathes the cornea, iris, and lens) than in the bloodstream. For many years, some researchers have speculated that taking vitamin C could lessen the incidence of cataracts.
A new [...]
Medicare. Why Not Foodcare?
Submitted by Eye Didn’t Know Blog
Here’s a thought experiment. Which is more important, food, or medical care?
Why does food continue to improve in quality, yet decline in price?
Since government forces us into Medicare at age 65, shouldn’t we all be forced into Foodcare? Why not?
Economist Mark Skousen elaborates on these ideas here.
Rating 3.00 out of [...]
What would real health reform look like?
Submitted by Eye Didn’t Know Blog
For the answer, read this excellent article in January’s issue of Reason Magazine.
Hint: it looks nothing like Congress’s or our president’s idea of “reform.”
Rating 3.00 out of 5
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The Singapore Alternative
Submitted by Eye Didn’t Know Blog
Many people claim that health savings accounts, such as those used successfully at Whole Foods Market, cannot work on a large scale. John Stossel reports that Singapore uses health savings accounts as the model for their national health care. Almost 2/3 of medical expenditures are controlled by the individual. As [...]
Health Care Reform?
Submitted by Eye Didn’t Know Blog
John Stossel interviews John Mackey, of Whole Foods Market, who provides a tested alternative to the health care “reform” making its way through Congress.
Unlike Congress’s “reform”, which, of course, will do nothing of the sort, John Mackey’s Health Savings Accounts have been enthusiastically endorsed by his employees, have provided them [...]
How To Fix Health Care
Submitted by Eye Didn’t Know Blog
Do you think more government is the solution to health care costs?
Think about the cost of education, military, highways, and health care, which are all virtual government monopolies. Costs which have skyrocketed, with questionable quality.
Now think about the rest of the economy. Computers, televisions, clothing, and for-profit medicine, such as [...]
Diabetic Eye Exams
Submitted by Eye Didn’t Know Blog
This is a superb video from the American Academy of Ophthalmology. You should pass it along (by clicking the share button) to anyone with diabetes or anyone with a family member with diabetes
Rating 3.00 out of 5
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Why do you dilate my pupils?
Submitted by Eye Didn’t Know Blog
Did you know? Patients frequently ask why it’s necessary to dilate the pupils during a complete eye examination. It’s simple, really. Imagine the difference between looking into a room through a keyhole, and looking in through a large window. If you really want to get a good view inside the room, [...]
How the Eye Works
Submitted by Eye Didn’t Know Blog
Did you know? The average person has almost no idea how the eye works! When educating patients about their eye conditions, I routinely start from square one, and give them a quick overview of how the eye works. The simplest and most accurate explanation is that the eye is like [...]
Using Eyedrops
Submitted by Eye Didn’t Know Blog
Did you know? Patients are routinely prescribed eyedrops for a variety of conditions, including dry eye, infections, glaucoma, and for post-operative care. Few patients, however, are given instructions on how to instill their eyedrops. When asked to demonstrate how they instill their drops, few patients are able to perform drop administration [...]
Health Care Costs
Submitted by Eye Didn’t Know Blog
Did you know? Imagine a restaurant where you don’t pay for your food. Everyone else in the restaurant pays your bill. Imagine that none of the other diners pay for their food. You, and everyone else pay for their meal. Do a thought experiment as to what would happen to [...]
Longer, Thicker, Darker Eyelashes With Latisse®
Submitted by Eye Didn’t Know Blog
Did you know? Latisse® is the new prescription medicine for growing longer, thicker eyelashes. Patients are already coming to my office and asking for it. The aesthetician in my office has been using it for a number of weeks and already reports a noticeable difference in her eyelashes.
Latisse® was developed [...]
Macular Degeneration and Cataract Surgery
Submitted by Eye Didn’t Know Blog
Did you know? For many years it has been controversial whether having cataract surgery could accelerate the development of advanced macular degeneration. Some patients have cataract surgery, and not long after, develop worsening of their macular degeneration. Patients, of course, will often blame the cataract surgery. (I have at least [...]
Botox® Competition Soon
Submitted by Eye Didn’t Know Blog
Did you know? Botox® has been a mainstay in non-surgical facial enhancement for over a decade, and has proven safe and effective. Every year we find more ways to use it (for example, to raise the corners of a downturned mouth, or soften the lines around the mouth). In the [...]
Self-adjusting eyeglasses?
Submitted by Eye Didn’t Know Blog
Joshua Silver, a British physicist, aims to make eyeglasses more readily available for poor people around the world. He has developed eyeglasses which can be adjusted by inflating or deflating a fluid filled lens. When the lens is properly adjusted, the adjusting syringe is removed and the glasses are ready [...]
Testing Your Color Vision
Did you know? There is an online resource which enables you to test your color vision. The X-Rite company, which manufactures devices which insure color standardization between computer monitors, provides a color test on their website. The test is called the 100-hue test, and involves arranging tiles in order of their hue. It’s rather challenging, [...]
Critical Thinking
Submitted by Eye Didn’t Know Blog
Brian Dunning is the host of one of my favorite podcasts, called Skeptoid.
Since not everyone listens to podcasts, Brian produced a video which encapsulates
what you need to know to think critically. This ability is crucial to evaluating medical
and nutritional claims, as well as claims you hear everyday in the media [...]
Happy Birthday, Joaquin Rodrigo! (1901-1999)
Submitted by Eye Didn’t Know Blog
Did you know? Famed Spanish composer Joaquin Rodrigo was born on this day in 1901. He is best known for his guitar concertos, which helped introduce the guitar into the classical repertory.
Rodrigo was blinded at age 3 from diphtheria, according to his biography. Diphtheria, while exceeding rare today, was [...]
Izon® Eyeglasses, by Ophthonix
Submitted by Eye Didn’t Know Blog
Did you know? For a number of years, San Diego–based Ophthonix has produced customized eyeglasses as well as an aberrometer/autorefractor to measure the eye’s wavefront characteristics and refraction. It is only recently, however, that a large-scale, well-designed, rigorous, double-masked study has been presented to show the effectiveness of these eyeglasses as well [...]
Plugging away at glaucoma!
Submitted by Eye Didn’t Know Blog
Did you know? Researchers are investigating a novel method to deliver medications to the eye. A study sponsored by the QLT Corporation placed medication for glaucoma in a small plug, inserted into the lower punctum of the eye. You have probably noticed these tiny openings in your eyelids which drain tears [...]
Glaucoma: a family affair?
Submitted by Eye Didn’t Know Blog
Did you know? Ophthalmologists routinely inquire about a family history of glaucoma, as it has long been known that glaucoma can run in families (the exact genetics are not known for most glaucomas, though). A recent study published in the British Journal of Ophthalmology compared the eye pressures of identical [...]
More fishy news
Submitted by Eye Didn’t Know Blog
Did you know? A study published in the August 2008 issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition showed that eating oily fish (like salmon) more than once a week may lower the odds of developing severe macular degeneration by 50%, compared to those who eat oily fish less than [...]
