Contact lens wearers, beware!

Or rather, be aware.

According to my opthalmologist and emedicinehealth.com (and many other sites), "People who wear contact lenses are at an increased risk of corneal ulcers." Stop right there, you are thinking, what in the world is a corneal ulcer? A corneal ulcer is an open, sometimes infected, sore on your cornea (the clear part of your eye that covers the iris or colored part). Mine was diagnosed yesterday after enduring a night and morning of a very sore, red eye which especially hurt when exposed to light or when changing focus - so basically all the time:)

Before the opthalmologist even looked into my eye, he asked me if I wore contact lenses. When I told him that I wore the kind that allowed for 30 days and nights of continuous wear, he looked very concerned. "When those things came out on the market, I was yelling at the tv," he explained. "I have seen so many problems come directly from those lenses." "Well, I don't usually wear them that long," I protested. "I usually take them out at least one night a week." Then, he looked into my eye, and said, "That's it. That's what's causing your problems. A corneal ulcer."

Corneal ulcers are very serious. If left untreated, they can cause permanent vision damange or even blindness in only 24-48 hours. Yikes! I am a very lucky girl (also blessed) that although my ulcer was wildly infected, it is peripheral and will not affect my vision. There will, however, be a scar visible to someone who looks closely at my eye. The doctor prescribed agressive antibiotic treatment so I have 1 set of drops every 2 hours, another set 4x daily, and eye ointment that I apply before bed.

You can bet that I came home from the doctor and the pharmacy and looked around online. I'd hever heard of a corneal ulcer, but evidently, they are not uncommon with contact lens wearers.
I asked my opthalmologist why extended wear contacts are on the market if they are so dangerous and he said the average eye-care precriber doesn't see the the problems. (DUH! They aren't qualified to treat eye diseases, so why would someone with a problem go to them?!) He said, and websites concurred that, your risk of corneal ulcerations increases 10-fold when using extended-wear soft contact lenses.

If you wear contact lenses, or especially extended wear contact lenses, be very careful!

• Always wash your hands before handling the lenses. Never use saliva to lubricate your lenses because your mouth contains bacteria that can harm your cornea.


• Remove your lenses from your eyes every evening and carefully clean them. Never use tap water to clean the lenses.


• Never sleep with your contact lenses in your eyes.


• Store the lenses in disinfecting solutions overnight


• Remove your lenses whenever your eyes are irritated and leave them out until your eyes feel better.


• Regularly clean your contact lens case.

Here are symptoms to watch for - if you ever experience these, get your eyes checked out immediately!

• an ache in your eye


• feeling of something in your eye


• pain when looking at light


• lots of tears (lacrimation)


• swollen eye


• pus or discharge from your eye


• a white round spot on the cornea that is visible with the naked eye (that means the ulcer is very large)

Mitt Romney, Presidential candidate?

Here's a site dedicated to promoting Mitt Romney as THE Republican candidate. There is some very interesting information there. Check it out, if you're so inclined.

Another MUST read: "What Shamu taught me about a happy marriage"

I know, I should rename this blog "Mrs M's favorite articles from the New York Times". Anyway, this one has great ideas on training husbands and kids and made me genuinely laugh out loud. Enjoy!

a little news

My husband was sustained as bishop of our ward this week. We would certainly be grateful for prayers on behalf of our family and our ward.

Warning labels on formula?? Breast is best, says article

There's an article in the NY Times today called Breast Feed or Else. It suggests that the body of evidence supporting breast feeding has grown so large that it's not just healthy to breastfeed, it's risky NOT to breastfeed. You may have to register to read the article, but it is worth reading.

Here's a paragraph touting some of the benefits of breastfeeding:

Ample scientific evidence supports the contention that breast-fed babies are less vulnerable to acute infectious diseases, including respiratory and gastrointestinal infections, experts say. Some studies also suggest that breast-fed babies are at lower risk for sudden infant death syndrome and serious chronic diseases later in life, including asthma, diabetes, leukemia and some forms of lymphoma, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Research on premature babies has even found that those given breast milk scored higher on I.Q. tests than those who were bottle-fed.

The article also mentions health benefits to mothers who breastfeed:

According to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, extended breast-feeding reduces the risk of ovarian cancer and breast cancer. New studies have also found that women who breast-feed face a lower risk of adult-onset or Type 2 diabetes, and they seem to be at lower risk for osteoporosis later in life.

Immediately after childbirth, nursing accelerates healing by reducing the amount of bleeding and causing the uterus to contract more rapidly back to its normal size. Making milk burns up to 500 extra calories a day, so nursing mothers get help shedding extra pounds from pregnancy, experts say, especially if they nurse for an extended period.

Experts say lactation also seems to have a calming effect on the mother, which may be an adaptive mechanism to ease the transition to life with a new baby. Every time a mother nurses, she gets a spike in oxytocin, which may have an antianxiety effect and help promote bonding with the new baby, said Kathryn G. Dewey, a professor of nutrition at the University of California, Davis, and an expert on breast-feeding.

Should there be warning labels on formula, as the article suggests? The proposed text for these labels is something like

The Department of Health and Human services has determined that "breast-feeding is the ideal method of feeding and nurturing infants."

or

The Department of Health and Human services has determined that"breast milk is more beneficial to infants than infant formula."

What do you think? The evidence is overwhelmingly in favor of breastfeeding, but I'm not sure warning labels on formula are the way to encourage breastfeeding. A public education campaign certainly needs to accompany it, and ob-gyns need to continue emphasizing the health benefits of breastfeeding (and the risks of not doing so).