Catch up with what Optometry Times®' shared this week:

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Optometry news

Maintaining eye health in 4 simple steps

By Pamela E. Theriot, OD, FAAO

Although studies show that people fear going blind more than almost anything else, most don’t practice daily eye care. It seems that patients take ocular health for granted and expect their eyes to function with little to no maintenance. Contrast this to the fact that almost all brush and (perhaps) floss their teeth twice daily—and teeth can be replaced!

To counter this lack of focus on the eyes, I review medications with patients, offer tips to modify their work environments, and suggest the simple daily steps found in the TFOS DEWS II report under Staged Management & Treatment Recommendations for Dry Eye Disease¹:

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Observing disease progression of geographic atrophy in 3 siblings

By Lynda Charters

Researchers from Johns Hopkins in Baltimore, and the Bascom Palmer Eye Institute in Miami, joined together to conduct clinical imaging and histopathologic studies to gain a better understanding of geographic atrophy (GA) in 3 siblings who had been followed for 18 to 20 years.

“Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a highly complex disease that involves many different cell types. One way to advance the current understanding of GA is to study how disease progression varies among related individuals,” according to lead author Malia M. Edwards, PhD, assistant professor, Wilmer Eye Institute, Johns Hopkins Hospital, underscoring the importance of a sibling study.

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New and emerging myopia management: The value of outdoor time

By Ashley Wallace-Tucker, OD, FAAO, FSLS, Dipl ABO

One of the primary questions parents ask me is, “Is there anything I can do to PREVENT my child from becoming nearsighted?” In years past, that very question would prompt a bewildered look and an attempt to fumble through an answer mostly consisting of some variation of the 20-20-20 rule.*

Although the 20-20-20 rule is still a solid recommendation, recent studies have provided practitioners with more specific recommendations to help potentially prevent the onset and slow the progression of myopia. This blog series will explore new and emerging anti-myopia treatments and discuss how to add them to your conversations of myopia management and prevention with concerned parents.

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Study: Smoking associated with higher risk of surgery for TED

By Lynda Charters

Researchers from the Departments of Ophthalmology Boston Children’s Hospital, and Massachusetts Eye and Ear, Harvard Medical School, Boston, reported that smoking was associated with an increased risk of surgical intervention for treating thyroid eye disease (TED) in the Intelligent Research in Sight (IRIS) Registry.¹

The authors undertook a retrospective cohort study that included adults with Graves’ disease in the IRIS Registry from January 1, 2013, to December 31, 2020. The primary outcome was the need for surgery to treat TED, ie, orbital decompression, strabismus surgery, and eyelid recession surgery.

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Eyes on the future: Meet the female deans leading optometric education

By Kassi Jackson, Editor; Emily Kaiser, Assistant Managing Editor

For a nickel a lens, Karla Zadnik, OD, PhD, would help her paternal grandfather polish trial lenses in his basement optometry practice. He was the only grandparent she knew, and Zadnik would grow up to follow in his footsteps and find her path in the optometric industry, eventually becoming dean of The Ohio State University (OSU) College of Optometry in Columbus.

Melissa E. Trego, OD, PhD, also found her way into optometry because of her grandfather, although her story is slightly different. “He was diabetic, he couldn’t see very well, and all he wanted to do was read his Bible,” Trego said. Her involvement in her grandfather’s care drove her to her passion to improve people’s quality of life through their sight. Now she is the dean of Pennsylvania College of Optometry (PCO) at Salus University in Elkins Park.

Working to find her career path, Alicia Feis, OD, FAAO, always knew she wanted to be in a helping profession. Did she want to be a teacher? A pediatrician? Optometry was not quite on her radar, although this would change during the spring of her senior year of college when an optometrist came in and spoke to her health professions class. “I have never met an optometrist in my entire career [who] has ever said that they don’t like what they do,” Feis said. Her path took her full circle—she is now a pediatric optometrist who teaches. She is also dean of Arizona College of Optometry at Midwestern University in Glendale.

These women are a few among the many who have led the wave of female leadership in optometry in recent decades. From seeing shifts in representation throughout the industry and academia during their careers to being part of that wave of leadership, these deans of optometry schools across the nation have seen some of it all.

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Over 65 million units of contact lens and eye care materials recycled through recycling initiatives

By Kassi Jackson, Editor

Bausch + Lomb recently announced its ONE by ONE and Biotrue Eye Care Recycling programs have recycled a combined 65.8 million units—or 397,194 pounds—of used contact lenses, eye care and lens care materials. This amount is equivalent to the weight of 3 commercial-sized airplanes.

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