HEALTIL
LOOK GOOD AND
FEEL GREAT!
• Facials
• Pedicures
•Massage • Make-up
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Mana ki fASLCUAIN
GIFT CERTIFICATES AVAILABLE
in the West Bloomfield Plaza
626-5511 • 626-1173
6672 Orchard Lake Rd.
REG. HOURS M - SAT. 9-5:30
TUES. & THURS. 9-8:30
The Great Harvest Experience
Fresh. Hot. Wholesome. No fats, oils, milk
products, eggs or preservatives. We grind Montana
Red Spring Wheat each day. We mix, knead, and bake
all by hand for pride in our craft and pleasure in
sharing the best breads with you.
There's always a free slice, warm from the oven.
Stop by and let us know what you think!
. • : GRAND OPENING
January 18, 1995
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BIRMINGHAM
S. Adams Rd. at Lincoln
ANN ARBOR
S. Main St., Woodland Plaza
810 433 1833
313 996 8890
Open Mon. 10-6, Tues. & Wed. 7-6, Thur. 7-7, Fri. & Sat. 7-6.
We support community organizations and schools with freshly baked donations!
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A Perfect Family Gift...
A Subscription to the Jewish News.
810-354-6620
Smart Steps To
Safeguard Sight
I
JENNIFER PLANTIER COPLEY NEWS SERVICE
is safe to say most of us take
our eyesight for granted. Con-
sidering that we rely on our
eyes so heavily, it's curious
that we think about them so
rarely. And since we revel in the
sight of the setting sun and our
children's glowing smiles — they
surely deserve more notice than
they get.
Some eye-opening statistics
from the National Society to Pre-
vent Blindness suggest just that.
A recent survey of elementary
school teachers indicates that as
much as 30 percent of poor school
performance may be the result of
unknown vision problems. More
widely, 50 percent of all blindness
could be prevented with more
diligent vision care.
About 1-in-4 school-age chil-
dren suffer from some sort of vi-
sion disorder, and while teachers
and parents detect some prob-
lems, a large number of them go
unnoticed. For this reason, it is
advisable for children to have reg-
ular eye exams. NSPB recom-
mends that children receive an
examination at birth, by six
months of age, during the
preschool years and periodically
throughout the school years.
Following are some of the most
common eye disorders found in
children. Keep in mind that the
sooner many of them are discov-
ered, the better the chances that
sight can be preserved.
• Myopia. Better known as
nearsightedness, it can usually
be treated with corrective lenses.
• Strabismus. There are
many children afflicted with this
disorder that renders them cross-
eyed. Treatment ranges from
glasses to surgery.
• Presbyopia. Requires the
use of bi-focals, which are now
also available as contact lenses.
• Amblyopia. Often referred
to as lazy eye, it can cause irre-
versible damage if not treated be-
fore the age of six.
How can you tell if your child
has a vision problem? Be pre-
pared to recognize the following
signs.
• Rubbing, shutting, covering,
blinking or squinting the eyes
more than usual.
• The child has a hard time
reading or seeing things clearly
in the distance.
• The eyes appear crossed, or
the eyelids red, swollen, encrust-
ed or watery.
• The child complains of dizzi-
ness, headaches or nausea after
reading, blurred vision or an un-
comfortable feeling in the eye area.
Some eyesight degeneration
occurs naturally with age and
other disorders are inherited ge-
netically, but many problems can
be minimized with prompt dis-
covery and treatment. Adults
should schedule thorough eye ex-
aminations every other year,
more often as they advance in
years, and at the first signs of a
vision problem.
AMD, or age-related macular
degeneration, has become the
number-one cause of blindness
in America. According to the
NSPD, the blinding eye disease
most often strikes people 60 and
older, and is more likely to appear
in those with a family history of
AMD. Some forms of AMD re-
spond to laser treatment, but only
when caught and treated early.
Cataracts also develop pri-
marily in older people — in fact,
more than half of Americans 65
and over have them to some de-
gree. Cataracts cloud the lens of
the eye, making it difficult to see
clearly. Vision changes brought
on by cataracts can be treated
nonsurgically with lenses, visu-
al aids and pupil dilation. In cas-
es of extreme vision loss, surgery
has proven highly successful in
restoring vision.
•• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
bout 25 percent
of school -age
children suffer
from a vision disorder.
Glaucoma, another blinding
eye disease, causes a build-up of
fluid pressure in the eye. It also
occurs most often in individuals
over 55. Family history, steroid-
use or some kind of eye injury can
bring it on earlier in life. African-
Americans should be aware that
they are 15 times more likely to
develop glaucoma before their
mature years. Treatment ranges
from eye medication to cor-
rective surgery, depending on the
stage and severity of the disease.
n increase in awareness
should prompt all of us to
pay just a little more at-
tention to the eyes that
serve us so well. Here are some
steps you can take to safeguard
them from harm.
Remember that 90 percent of
blindness caused by eye injury is
completely preventable. When
working in an environment with
flying debris — such as a con-
struction site — or even when
tackling a home-improvement
A