Volume 27| January 2019

Greetings!

A New Year Message

Am I the only one who wants a clerk to check out my items at a big box department or hardware store? Unfortunately, large corporations continue to find ways to reduce costs and one way is with self checking stations which reduce the need for paid employees. The corporate bottom line improves at the expense of customer service. While we call our customers “patients”, it’s still customer service and it’s very important to us. Uncompromising high quality care and a positive patient experience are what’s most important to us. Maybe someday you’ll be able to walk in to 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. 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. David C. Momnie, O.D. Camille Guzek-Latka, O.D. Julianne M. Rapalus, O.D.

Why do Dogs Have Good Night Vision?

It’s probably no surprise to most people who own a dog that they see better at night than their owners. Several adaptations explain their better vision in low light. One is a larger pupil, the opening in the iris that regulates the amount of light that enters the eyes. Although pupil size can be as small as 1 millimeter in humans, dogs typically have a much larger pupil, allowing more light to enter the eye. A second reason is that dogs have more light sensitive rods in their central vision whereas humans have more cones which are used for daytime vision and color vision. But the biggest advantage dogs have is a structure in the eye called the tapetum, a mirror like membrane which reflects light back to the retina, giving it a second exposure. However, the tapetum does cause more scatter in normal daylight, degrading their vision from our normal 20/20, to about 20/80. So despite a dog’s improved night vision, during the day they have a RUFF time seeing!

The Eyes Have It - Diabetes and Vision

Dr. Camille Guzek-Latka and Dr. David Momnie were featured in the December 24 issue of Business West and the article will be repeated in an upcoming issue of its sister publication, Healthcare News. The two were interviewed during a lunch break last week by staff writer Joseph Bednar. They discussed the challenges, successes and frustrations they face trying to manage diabetic eye disease in their mostly middle-aged and older population. More on the interview and a link to the article will be in the next edition of this newsletter.

Vision, the Key to Aging Gracefully?

A study published in the September 2018 Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) confirmed what eye doctors suspected, that having healthy eyes and good vision can play an important role in maintaining quality of life in the aging population. According to the Population Reference Bureau, the number of Americans ages 65 and over is projected to more than double from 46 million to over 98 million by 2060. The study found that keeping good vision by preventing visually impairing conditions reduced the amount of isolation and lack of stimulation and the inability to take part in many activities of daily life. Dr. Rebecca Wartman, optometrist and contributor to “The Optometric Care of Nursing Home Residents” manual said that optometrist need to take the above findings seriously and ensure, to the best of our ability, that we attend to all the visual needs of seniors.”

Viewing Nature's Splendor

A recent issue of Nature Communications reports on findings by researchers at Yale University on how we view natural scenes. Understanding how the human visual system scans various scenes may help scientists use artificial intelligence to design technology like driverless cars. The researchers are trying to understand how the brain rapidly computes where to look and can predict with some reliability where a person’s attention will be directed.  However, they haven’t yet figured out how the complex human brain operates to achieve its scanning ability. Scientists are continuing to analyze the brain data hoping to someday understand how it performs complex calculations.  I can remember the cartoon series the Jetsons with their Stone Age era comical futuristic inventions. Who would have guessed back in the 1960s that we’d someday have FaceTime and Skype and possibly driverless cars!

Case of the Month "Aristotle Onassis disease"

An article in a December, 2018 issue of New York Times Magazine was titled “Why Was the Woman Having Trouble Seeing if Her Eyes Were Fine?” A middle-aged Canadian woman complained to her eye doctor about trouble reading and mentioned that the right side of her face had become slightly droopy. The doctor diagnosed her with Bell’s palsy and reassured her that it would heal on its own in time. A few months later, the eyelid remained droopy and she experienced double vision and a visit to the neurologist resulted in a CT scan and an MRI. Both tests were normal but after further testing she was diagnosed with Myasthenia Gravi s (MG), a rare autoimmune disorder resulting in weakened muscles. Often the eyelid muscles are the first muscles to be involved, resulting in a droopy eyelid and sometimes the extraocular muscles of the eye, the muscles that control movement of the eyes, are affected, resulting in double vision. At Chicopee Eyecare, we have patients periodically present with the sudden onset of double vision and we need to rule out MG. With the proper medication and better pacing of physical activity, most people with Myasthenia Gravis lead a normal life. Aristotle Onassis was the Greek shipping tycoon who married Jackie Kennedy and it was well known that he suffered with Myasthenia Gravis.

Thank You for Google Reviews

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

Optometry Humor

Catch up on our newsletters

Click here t o view our archived newsletters.

In Case Of Emergency

I 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 and Rapalus 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!

Office Hours We are available when you need us

Our office and optical department are open during the following hours:

Monday         9:00 am - 5:30 pm Tuesday        9:00 am - 5:30pm Wednesday   9:00 am - 5:30pm Thursday       9:00 am - 6:30pm 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. "

If you would like to share any feedback or comments please email us at  info@chicopeeeyecare.com

©2019 Chicopee Eyecare - All Rights Reserved Chicopee Eyecare · 113 Center Street · Chicopee, MA 01013 · (413) 592-7777 info@chicopeeeyecare.com "  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.  "  ‌ ‌

Visit our website