We Begin the Year 2020 With Appreciation...
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As we said in last January’s newsletter, uncompromising high-quality care and a positive patient experience are what’s most important to us. Maybe someday you’ll be able to walk into a McDonalds and order and pay for your meal at a kiosk without ever interacting with a restaurant employee but at our office, the patient always comes first and a competent and friendly staff will always be there to serve you. And as you know, we are a private practice and are not financially accountable to a private equity company or corporation as some nearby offices are. Our interests are solely aligned with you, are valued patient.
The entire staff of Chicopee Eyecare wishes you a very happy New Year filled with peace, health and prosperity.
Thank you again for choosing our office. Our goal is to safeguard your eyes and help you achieve a lifetime of clear and comfortable vision.
Brett Burns, O.D.
Camille Guzek-Latka, O.D.
David C. Momnie, O.D.
Julianne M. Rapalus, O.D.
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How Secondhand Smoke Affects Children's Eye
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A new study published in October, 2019 in JAMA/Ophthalmology (Journal of the American Medical Association) found that secondhand smoke was associated with the abnormal development of the eyes in children. A cross-sectional study of 1400 Hong Kong children found that the exposed children had thinning of the choroid, the vascular layer of the eye between the retina and the outer white of the eye, called the sclera. The dose-dependent thinning was associated with the number of smokers in the home and the quantity of smoking. The tobacco ingredients nicotine, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide and nitric acid all directly or indirectly affect the blood supply to the retina. Previous studies in Europe found that maternal secondhand smoking or pregnancy smoking was linked to low birth weight, preterm births and hospital admissions due to asthma.
This article confirms one more reason not to smoke in the same house and even in the vicinity of children.
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Can You have Arthritus in the Eyes?
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We all know that arthritis can affect our fingers, wrists and feet, causing swelling and pain. The most common types of arthritis are osteoarthritis (OA) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA).
Technically, you can’t have arthritis in your eyes but RA is a disease that can affect the entire body, including the heart and lungs and even the eyes. RA affects collagen, part of the connective tissue in the joints which makes up a large part of the sclera and cornea of the eye. The most common eye problem associated with RA is dry eye and a particular type of dry eye, Sjögren’s syndrome, is also associated with a dry mouth. Our office uses multiple treatments for dry eyes including artificial tears and ointments, omega 3 supplements and prescription eye drops like Restasis and Xiidra. Another eye problem related to RA is iritis, an inflammation of the iris which can lead to serious complications in the eyes, including glaucoma. We treat iritis with steroid eye drops. Dry eyes and iritis are both caused by inflammation. Your rheumatologist will need to treat the arthritis inflammation throughout your body and we can treat the inflammation in your eyes. So no, you can't have arthritis in your eyes.
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Dr. Latka Promoting Optometry to Students
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Westfield State University recently hosted several workshops and professional networking nights for various careers. Dr. Camille Guzek-Latka represented the profession of optometry and spoke to several students interested in a career in healthcare. For most optometry schools, the undergraduate prerequisite program must include courses in calculus and statistics, physics, general and organic chemistry, biochemistry, and human anatomy and physiology. Dr. Guzek-Latka shared her college preparation before applying to The New England College of Optometry in Boston along with her experience as an optometrist for the past 38 years. Here, Dr. Guzek-Latka chats with a group of interested students.
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Did Leonardo DaVinci Paint With an Eye Turn?
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An article in a recent Science News edition by Sophie Bates suggests that eye dominance and not an eye muscle problem is why Leonardo da Vinci and Rembrandt painted themselves with eyes that were not straight. Previous research hinted that the two of them had strabismus, where the non-fixating eye either drifts in or wanders out. Their self-portraits appeared to show exotropia where one eye turns out. By using trigonometry and mirrored photographs, neuroscientists concluded that the famous authors simply had a strong dominant eye. When they would get within a few inches of the canvas to draw details, their non-fixating eye would appear to be turned out. The picture to the left is da Vinci’s Salvator Mundi which he is believed to have painted in his own likeness. Based on the light reflection, doesn’t the left eye appear to be drifting out a little?
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Dr. Momnie's Article in Healthcare News
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Dr. David Momnie was one of twenty healthcare professionals invited to report on the most significant advances in their particular fields in the last decade. They were also asked to make a prediction on what new developments will occur in the next ten years. Dr. Momnie discussed advances in the treatment of macular degeneration, cataract and glaucoma surgery and the utilization of optical coherence tomography (OCT) by primary care eye doctors in the diagnosis and treatment of glaucoma and macular degeneration. Drs. Momnie, Guzek-Latka and Burns all agree that OCT has allowed them to better identify dry from wet macular degeneration as the two diseases often appear similar but have completely different treatments. Also, OCT helps detect glaucoma in the earliest stages while also identifying patients who don’t quite have a glaucoma diagnosis and therefore don’t need to be treated.
If you’re interested in Dr. Momnie’s predictions for the next decade, the entire article is in the December, 2019 edition of Healthcare News and can be found
here
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Thank You for Google Reviews
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Thank you if you’ve given us a nice Google Review.
If you were happy with your experience at Chicopee Eyecare, your positive review helps us spread the word and market our practice to potentially new patients.
Click Here
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Catch up on our newsletters
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N CASE OF EMERGENCY
Chicopee Eyecare provides "24/7" coverage for emergency eye care for our patients.
We recommend that you do not go to the emergency room for an eye injury or acute eye problem unless it is very serious. Drs. Momnie, Guzek-Latka, Rapalus and Burns keep slots open for urgent care visits for new and established patients during normal office hours, and provide around-the clock emergency coverage for our established patients for after-hours and weekends.
Call 592-7777 before calling your PCP or visiting a hospital ER!
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Office Hours
We are available when you need us
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Our office and optical department are open during the following hours:
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Monday 9:00 am - 5:30 pm
Tuesday 9:00 am - 5:30 pm
Wednesday 9:00 am - 5:30 pm
Thursday 9:00 am - 6:30 pm
Friday 9:00 am - 5:30 pm
Saturday 9:00 am -12:30 pm
One of our doctors is always available for emergencies on nights, weekends and holidays. Call (413) 592-7777 and our answering service will put you in touch with an on-call optometrist.
"The people in this office are committed to providing you with the highest quality of eye care and to treating you with kindness and respect.
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©2019 Chicopee Eyecare - All Rights Reserved
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Privacy is important to us at Chicopee Eyecare and we will not share your email address with anyone. At any point, you can select the link at the bottom of every email to unsubscribe.
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