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Posts Tagged ‘New York Times’

NY Times: Let the Sunshine In, but Not the Harmful Rays

Posted on January 18th, 2011 by Liz B.

The New York Times recently ran a story about the harmful effects of UV rays and the importance of wearing sunglasses all year round!

SUNGLASSES are not just for summer.

Skiing on fresh snow, skating on reflective ice or hiking at high altitudes can be harder on your eyes than a day at the beach. Snow, as many East Coast readers may have noticed this week, reflects nearly 80 percent of the sun’s rays. Dry beach sand? Just 15 percent.

Most of us already know that ultraviolet (UV) rays can cause skin cancer and other problems. But that’s not all there is to worry about. “Most people don’t appreciate the damage that UV rays can do to their eyes,” said Dr. Rachel J. Bishop, a clinical ophthalmologist at the National Eye Institute in Bethesda, Md.

Read full story

File under: Eye Safety | Tagged: New York Times, sunglases, UV Rays, winter
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Eye health is a featured topic in the New York Times

Posted on December 21st, 2010 by Lisa P.

Joe Lovett is a documentary filmmaker. He also has longstanding glaucoma that is threatening his vision. New York Times health columnist Jane Brody writes about his new documentary “Going Blind” and touches upon the importance of eye health and coping with vision loss. Here’s an excerpt from the article you don’t want to miss.

Joe Lovett was scared, really scared. Being able to see was critical to his work as a documentary filmmaker and, he thought, to his ability to live independently. But longstanding glaucoma threatened to rob him of this most important sense — the sense that more than 80 percent of Americans worry most about losing, according to a recent survey.

Partly to assuage his fears, partly to learn how to cope if he becomes blind, and partly to alert Americans to the importance of regular eye care, Mr. Lovett, 65, decided to do what he does best. He produced a documentary called “Going Blind,” with the telling subtitle “Coming Out of the Dark About Vision Loss.”

Read the full New York Times article and watch the trailer to “Going Blind.”

File under: diabetes, eye health, Eye Safety | Tagged: documentary on going blind, galucoma, Going Blind, health news, Jane Brody, New York Times, vision loss, VSP Vision Care, why annual eye exams are important
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From the New York Times – Better Vision for the World, on a Budget

Posted on January 4th, 2010 by Liz B.

Focus on Vision, a Dutch company, produces very low cost adjustable glasses for the developing world. The company says it can produce its Focusspec glasses for about $4 a pair, a price its founders say will fall substantially, once the glasses are made in large volume. -Michel de Groot for The International Herald Tribune

Interesting article from the New York Times, discussing the staggering cost of poor eyesight around the world … “A study published in a World Health Organization journal in June estimated the cost in lost output at $269 billion a year.” Wow.

The article goes on to highlight several efforts to distribute inexpensive glasses throughout the world on a large scale including technology such as self-adjusting glasses (see Vernon D’s post about this technology).

Here is an excerpt of the article by Douglas Heingartner and a link for the full deal …

VEGHEL, the Netherlands — With AIDS, malaria and other diseases costing millions of lives every year, worrying about the vision of people in the developing world may seem like an indulgence.

But supplying glasses for the world’s poor may be one of the most valuable investments around. Hundreds of millions of people — some put the estimates as high as two billion — do not have the corrective lenses that would allow them to lead better, more productive lives.

A study published in a World Health Organization journal in June estimated the cost in lost output at $269 billion a year. Moreover, tackling vision problems early can help prevent later blindness.

Read entire article

Via New York Times