HortPark is tough to beat

By Sharon Siddique

MDS President

Some 50 MDS members and friends gathered at the Fruit Room in HortPark for an afternoon of  “togetherness” on Nov 6.  This is the first time we have tried a four-hour programme and based on the feedback received, it was a great success.

Perhaps partly due to our eye problems, venturing out to new venues and experiences is not something many of us do.  In fact, most members who participated were going to HortPark for the first time.  Fruit Room was easy to find.

Lunch, which was catered by ChilliApi Catering, was really delicious.  Pineapple rice, bee hoon, prawns, chicken, veggies, and really some of the best yam cake…

After lunch we had a good time discussing  the reasons why protecting our eyes from harmful UVA and UVB light is so important.   It was a very interactive session, with everyone experimenting with the effects of various shades of yellow, orange, red, and, more commonly, amber, on enhancing contrast and reducing glare.  Words like “scratch resistant”, and “polarized” finally had practical meaning for eye care.

Next on the afternoon agenda was a tour of HortPark at 3.30pm.  For a full hour around 30 of our members and friends trouped around the HortPark, learning loads from a very enthusiastic professional guide.

At 4.30pm we met back at the Fruit Room for welcome glasses of cool water, and at 5.00pm we again all went our separate ways.  I think those of us who participated in the outing found it a a meaningful, enjoyable, and enriching experience.

Thanks to Exco for organising the event, and to Novartis for so generously sponsoring the costs.  We can begin now taking suggestions for next year’s  venue.  But HortPark will be tough to beat!

Always wear sunshades

By Kym Ong

MDS Treasurer

Here are some of the takeaways from the talk we had on Saturday at HortPark regarding sunglasses.

1) It was shared by adviser Au Eong Kah Guan that 100 per cent of ALL Singaporeans will develop cataract when they grow older. It's just whether they need surgery or not. Shocking statistic isn't it? 100 per cent. 

So, what are the preventive measures?

SUN SHADES!!!!

Always always wear your shades. It prevents UV rays from damaging our eyes. Just think of it as sun block for your eyes. 

2) Make sure that your designer sun shades protect you against both UVA and UVB rays. If you pick up something from the Pasar Malam and it costs $10, chances are, it will harm you instead.

3) Clouds in the sky AMPLIFY the UVA and UVB rays. So, if you are thinking you can skip the shades just cos its cloudy, you are so so wrong. In fact, you should pop them on faster than ever.

4) If you have done Lasik before or for whatever reason, now see halos at night when you are driving, then you can wear yellow shades which removes the halos.

5) Some doctors say that Transitions lenses are not good for your eyes. If you are interchanging your sun shades and glasses, your eyes just have to refocus once based on configuration of your eye wear. But, with Transitions lenses, the configuration of the lenses are changing all the time based on weather conditions, and this creates a continuos strain on your eyes.

6) Harmful blue light waves can be blocked from our eyes by wearing "Blue-Blockers". These are typically shades in yellow or amber colour. Wearing these coloured shades can help to prevent the exposure your eyes have to these harmful light waves. There are a wide variety of sunglasses that a consumer can choose from. As a consumer with an eye condition, it is important that we choose a pair that provides our eyes with a high level of protection so as to prevent them from deteriorating.
 

Sharon did an experiment once. As she walked down Orchard Road, she counted how many people in a hundred wore sunshades. THREE. Shocking.

First steps to a bionic eye?

Macular degeneration patients can look forward to a new eye implant which is already making waves in Europe.  Three patients in Germany were able to see shapes and objects within days of the implant being installed.

One was even able to identify and find objects placed on a table in front of him, as well as walking around a room independently and approaching people, reading a clock face and differentiating seven shades of grey, reports journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B. 

The implant sits beneath the retina and works as a direct replacement for light receptors lost to the condition. Because it is internal, it uses the eye's natural image processing capabilities beyond the light detection stage to produce a visual perception in the patient that is stable and follows their eye movements. Previous implants sit outside the retina and require the user to were an external camera and processor unit. 

If successful, the implant can be used for macular degeneration sufferers. The device is being hailed as an "unprecedented advance" in visual aids. 

Professor Eberhart Zrenner, chairman of the University of Tuebingen Eye Hospital, told Daily Telegraph: "The results of this pilot study provide strong evidence that the visual functions of patients blinded by a hereditary retinal dystrophy can, in principle, be restored to a degree sufficient for use in daily life. 

"The present study presents proof-of-concept that such devices can restore useful vision in blind human subjects, even though the ultimate goal of broad clinical application will take time to develop." 

David Head, chief executive of the British Retinitis Pigmentosa Society, said that it was exciting news but that it was early days. This is very significant process but it is a long way off being a bionic eye."

Professor Robert MacLaren, of Oxford University, who will carry out trials in Britain next year, said: "This is quite a breakthrough. It is akin to someone paralysed with a spinal injury standing up and walking."

Getting to HortPark

For those who have signed up for the HortPark outing this Saturday, the park is at Hyderabad Road, off Alexandra Road. You can hop on any bus which runs along Alexandra Road. HortPark is located mid-way between Pasir Panjang and AYE junctions. 

When at HortPark, you can ask the HortPark Info Centre for directions to the Fruit Room. Call Anne (6238-7387) if you have any questions.

The time is 1pm. See you at the Fruit Room!