Do you know if you have sleep apnea? An eye exam may tell you

Sleep apnea is a lot more common than you might think, and it is affecting your eyes and vision in drastic ways. August happens to be National Eye Exam Month and this is as good of a reason as any to go get checked out.

There are three types of sleep apnea, but most people suffer from Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA), which makes up 84 percent of sleep apnea cases.

To find out why that matters, let’s layout a quick biology overview:

Our bodies need oxygen – we inhale it, our lungs hold it, our blood picks it up from the lungs and takes it to all of our cells and tissues. Every organ needs it. The brain, for instance, uses 25 percent of your oxygen intake. Without enough, your brain function declines.

OSA occurs when the soft tissue of the throat collapses and blocks the airway. It happens continually throughout the sleep cycle.

The blocked airway means you aren’t inhaling enough oxygen for your blood to carry throughout your body (decreased blood oxygen). The pause in breathing—called an apnea—can last anywhere from seconds to minutes. The brain then signals the body to wake up and breathe.

OSA is most common in overweight or obese men. It occurs in approximately 24 percent of men and 9 percent of women. African Americans also have a 2.5 times higher risk.

• Other factors that may predispose us to this condition include:
• Age – over 40
• Smoking
• Neck circumference over 19 inches (Trivia: OSA occurs in 34 percent of NFL linemen!)
• Some of the most common signs and symptoms include:
• Snoring – although not everyone who snores has sleep apnea
• Daytime sleepiness – do you nod off at work; maybe it isn’t that you are just bored?
• Cognition problems – losing your train of thought sporadically
• Restless sleep – do you toss and turn a lot?
• Loved ones mention you seem to stop breathing in your sleep

Despite its relatively high rate of occurrence, OSA goes undiagnosed in 80 percent of the men and 90 percent of the women who suffer from the condition. High rates of undiagnosed patients may be due to the fact that the best test—a sleep study—is both inconvenient and can be expensive for patients.

Sleep Apnea and the eye

An association of OSA and eye and vision problems is very common and often missed during any type of eye exam or physician visit. At your next eye exam, consider if you have any of these symptoms and share them with your provider. You may help them catch something they otherwise might miss!

There are three common eye-related OSA side effects to watch for:

• Floppy eyelid syndrome – this is the most common and the easiest to miss during your eye exam. The person often wakes with scratchy or irritated eye(s) and some mucus discharge (some people refer to it as crusty eyes) that comes and goes over a long period of time. Close to 100 percent of people with floppy eyelid syndrome have some form of OSA.
• Keratoconus – the person experiences irregular astigmatism and chronic blurred vision that glasses only partially correct.
• Glaucoma – everyone should be tested for glaucoma. Its association to OSA is often missed. If a provider suspects someone has glaucoma, and also has any risk factors for OSA, they should consider further screening.

OSA is not harmless – get checked.

OSA is not a benign condition; as such, be aware of this condition especially if you have any of the common risk factors. This condition is a lot more common than you think and will take its toll if not treated. Since OSA so often goes unrecognized and misdiagnosed, mention any of the common signs and symptoms to your eye doctor and your family doctor. 

Special thanks to EyeQuest Vision Director Dr. John Davis for contributing this post!

Healthy Vision Month reminds us to make our eyes a priority

May is Healthy Vision Month. With that in mind, we at eyeQuest encourage everyone to make eye health a priority and take steps to protect vision for a lifetime.

Vision might change as we get older, but vision loss is not a normal part of aging. Common eye diseases such as glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, and age-related macular degeneration threaten millions of Americans, potentially robbing them of vision, mobility, and independence.

New technologies are making a difference, but early diagnosis, timely treatment, and appropriate follow-up care are essential to preventing irreversible vision loss.

Early stages of common eye diseases typically have no symptoms and can only be detected through a comprehensive dilated eye exam. If you are over 40, a dilated eye exam is recommended yearly, especially if you are at higher risk for eye disease.

As an example, Glaucoma, which causes “silent” damage to the optic nerve, is more common in people with certain risk factors such as African-Americans ages 40 and older; everyone ages 60 and older, especially Latin Americans; and people with a family history of the disease.

The number one cause of permanent loss of vision in people under age 60 is diabetic retinopathy. Also for people over 60, the risk for age-related macular degeneration (ARMD) rises significantly.
 
All of these conditions progress without any symptoms at all. The good news is that with early detection through regular eye exams, they are all manageable.  Vision loss is mostly preventable if treatment is started before the damage is done.

Recent clinical trials sponsored by the National Eye Institute have shown great progress in the prevention of AMRD-related vision loss. The latest study results (known as AREDS) determined that people at high risk of developing AMRD could lower their risk by about 25 percent by taking vitamins with certain antioxidants and minerals –  another reason to eat your spinach and other green leafy vegetables.

So, do your older self a favor and think about how important your vision is during healthy vision month. If it has been more than a year since your last eye exam, schedule an appointment and then ask your eye doctor about any of your risk factors. Awareness and regular eye care can make a difference. Much like regular dental care!  

Make healthy vision last a lifetime. During Healthy Vision Month, encourage friends and family to make eye health a priority. For more information about keeping eyes healthy, visit https://www.nei.nih.gov/hvm/ and download a healthy vision month toolkit.

Guest post from eyeQuest Vision Director Vidya Baliga

Oral Health, Meet Eye Health

During Healthy Vision Month each May, the National Eye Institute encourages Americans to make their eye health a priority and informs them about steps they can take to protect their vision. But why are we talking about eye health on an oral health blog? 

Oral health is a critical piece to the oral health puzzle, but so is vision. Just as the mouth can be the first place to spot signs of chronic disease, so can the eyes. 

An eye exam, for example, can uncover broken or leaking blood vessels in the retina, which are an indicator of diabetes. Specifically, the capillaries that deliver blood to the retina can be broken down by a buildup of sugar in the bloodstream, and elevated blood sugar is a warning sign for diabetes that a vision provider would spot perhaps before anything else triggers a diabetes test from a primary care provider. 

Suggest embedding this video: http://www.cbsnews.com/videos/how-your-eyes-can-reveal-potential-health-problems/ code below.

View More: Health News|Live News|More News Videos

Some even suggest that identifying chronic diseases such as diabetes and hypertension at the eye doctor or dentist is more cost effective and can mean better outcomes for people who otherwise might not be diagnosed until a chronic disease has progressed or other complications develop.
Moreover, a healthy set of eyeballs means productivity and independence are within reach for much longer.

So what does the National Eye Institute encourage for healthy vision?

• Get a comprehensive dilated eye exam.
• Live a healthy lifestyle, including eating healthy foods, maintaining a healthy weight, managing chronic conditions, and not smoking.
• Know your family history.
• Use protective eye wear.
• Wear sunglasses.

Taking these steps can help prevent vision loss or blindness, which can result from many diseases and conditions. In addition, comprehensive dilated eye exams can detect problems early, when they’re easier to treat.

DentaQuest believes in eye care as much as oral health because you cannot have improved overall health without healthy eyes and mouths. This is in part why we created eyeQuest back in 2009.

At the start of 2009, we began administering a Medicaid vision program for 40,000 people in Nevada with Amerigroup coverage. As of April 1, 2016, we now administer vision programs across 9 states for 1.6 million people!

Still need convincing that vision is important to care for the same way you care for the rest of your body? Commemorate Healthy Vision Month by pondering and sharing these fun facts:

• 80 percent of what we learn is through our eyes.
• Eyes are the second most complex organ after the brain.
• An eye is composed of more than 2 million working parts.