[00:00:00] Speaker A: The National Eye Institute has designated May as Healthy Vision Month. And here to talk about that is Dr. Chantal Cousino Krieger with the National Eye Institute. She's an ophthalmologist there. And Dr. Cousino Krieger, thank you so much for taking some time for me. Really do appreciate it.
[00:00:16] Speaker B: Thank you so much for having me.
[00:00:18] Speaker A: Well, you know, it's in my experience anyway, I feel like eyesight is one of those things that you take for granted until it starts to fail you in any way.
So this is a great time, I think, to really highlight, you know, just vision and the importance of health, healthy vision, maintaining that.
Talk about Healthy Vision Month and kind of what the National Eye Institute is doing and highlighting this month in particular.
[00:00:48] Speaker B: Sure. So we sort of selected as our theme this year, healthy lives, Healthy Eyes. We want to really stress the importance between your general health and your eye health and the importance of maintaining both for overall well being.
[00:01:04] Speaker A: Very good. Yeah, it's. It's one of those things that, like, it doesn't happen. You know, your eye health isn't something that's, that happens or, or exists on an island. Right. It's a. It's more part of your overall health. And that's something that I think can get overlooked. Right?
[00:01:18] Speaker B: Yes. And, you know, we're very familiar that if something's wrong, it's going to hurt or not function well.
And unfortunately, that's not always true for eye conditions. There are several eye conditions that can develop or progr.
Without any early warning signs or without pain. Which really highlights the importance of getting your annual eye exams because we can detect them diseases or problems often before they cause symptoms for patients, which leads to better outcomes and earlier treatments.
[00:01:52] Speaker A: Yeah, and that is, that is the goal there. You know, better outcomes, earlier treatments. So then, you know, the longer you wait, obviously the, the more difficult it becomes.
What are some changes that folks can make? You know, we talk overall health and how it impacts eye health. Are there some changes that people can make or maybe just some things to keep in mind day to day that can really have a positive impact on their eye health?
[00:02:18] Speaker B: Absolutely. I mean, on a daily basis, what we eat matters.
So for eye health, we recommend a diet that is rich in leafy green vegetables. Some examples would be like kale collard greens and Also sources of omega 3s like fatty fish, like salmon and tuna or halibut are very good for your eyes. If you smoke, please quit and get daily exercise. Getting exercise can help control things like diabetes, high blood pressure, which can lead to damage in the eyes.
[00:02:51] Speaker A: Yeah, all important things. And, you know, one thing that I am extremely guilty of, and I think a lot of us are these days, just because of the nature of a lot of the work that, that a lot of us do.
I spend a lot of time staring at screens.
[00:03:04] Speaker B: I think we all do.
[00:03:05] Speaker A: Yeah, I mean, you know, whether it's the tiny one in my hand or, you know, Starship Enterprise, basically that I have in front of me right now, you know, it's, I'm staring at these screens all day. What can we do to sort of minimize the impact of that? And, and, and really, you know, I guess minimize the strain on our eyes from, from doing that all day.
[00:03:27] Speaker B: So we have a nice rule. We call it the 20, 20, 20 rule. So every 20 minutes, shift your eyes from looking at something up close to looking at something 20ft or further away for at least 20 seconds. This gives your eye a chance to kind of relax the muscles inside it that may have been tensed. Blink a few times, because we don't tend to blink when we're focusing on things up close and can help us, you know, with this screen fatigue.
[00:03:57] Speaker A: Love that. I mean, and I will. I literally just caught myself doing it as you were saying, okay, 20ft away, what can I look at? And it's, it's helpful. It actually made my height feel better for, for a moment.
And so that's important. And so what, you know, things are maybe, you know, preventable as far as eye diseases and, and disorders that folks could, you know, just take steps to, you know, make sure that they're doing things that are, you know, healthy for their eyes that could prevent certain, you know, particular illnesses.
[00:04:31] Speaker B: Well, sometimes we're not able to prevent diseases, but we are able to catch them early and treat them earlier. So a I can think of are1, talk to your family. Ask what kind of eye diseases run in your family so that you can get screened for them so that they can be caught early.
And another thing is to get your eye exams, we should really all get a complete eye exam by age 40 and then depending on what's found, about every two to three years after that, after the age of 65, it should be every one to two years.
So let us take a look, catch those things early and help come up with a treatment plan.
[00:05:10] Speaker A: Very good. And just, you know, I mean, I'm sure this will impact others as well. But a very sort of a personal question that I have, not about you, but about myself.
I had, I had LASIK done probably. God, it was probably 20 years ago now.
And so how often should I be going or anyone who's had LASIK type surgery like myself be going to get, you know, a checkup? Because I, you know, I think my vision's good, but, you know, I haven't been in a while, so I don't really know.
[00:05:40] Speaker B: Well, like I said, it depends how old you are. If you're over 40 and you haven't had your complete eye exam, then there's no time like the present to go ahead and make that exam.
Most people who have had LASIK used to be nearsighted. That's why most people have refractive surgery. I had it myself. I wish it kept me young, but I'm over 40 and I have trouble now seeing things up close. And it's helpful to go and get examined and talk about what the right kind of up close prescription might be for you. But it's also healthy because at one point you were nearsighted. You still have a nearsighted retina that should be examined.
[00:06:16] Speaker A: Yeah, very. This very poignant reminder for me. It's almost like, you know, when's the best time to plant a tree? You know, 20 years ago or whatever. When's the second best time? Today, so.
[00:06:26] Speaker B: Exactly. We'll, we'll do the same for eyes. We'll call it like trees. Like that philosophy.
[00:06:30] Speaker A: Exactly. All right, well, just about time for us to wrap up here, doctor, but anything else that you wanted to mention or maybe some online resources for folks that they could go and check out?
[00:06:41] Speaker B: Oh, absolutely. So we really do recommend that we have a Wonderful
[email protected] HVM and there's wonderful tools and resources, some great animated videos that will talk about topics that are relevant especially for an aging population.
[00:07:02] Speaker A: Very, very good. Well, Dr. Chantal Kuzneau Krieger with the National Eye Institute, thank you so much for your time. I really do appreciate it. It's been great.
[00:07:09] Speaker B: All right, thanks for having me.
