Sight for Life Foundation
In a short series of videos, Associate Professor Alex Hunyor provides helpful information for patients about attending their medical appointments at eye clinics during the COVID-19 pandemic.
You are able to access the videos by using the following link:
https://vimeopro.com/tcsstreaming/macular-degeneration-covid-19-news-feed
The American CDC have released a helpful video explaining good hand washing technique and answering frequently asked questions such as, what do I do if I don't have access to water?
We encourage all our patients and broader community to practise good hygiene and hand washing to reduce the spread of COVID-19.
View the video at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d914EnpU4Fo&feature=youtu.be
There has been a recent focus on hygiene as a measure to protect from and reduce the spread of COVID-19. Contact lens wearers have been advised that if they are healthy, they can continue to wear their lenses provided that they continue to practise good hygiene. This includes washing hands in accordance with recommended guidelines for a minimum of 20 seconds with water and soap and drying hands before handling lenses and touching the face. Although this might be considered common knowledge, a recent survey has found that up to 44% of people do not wash their hands before inserting contact lenses (Fonn, D. and Jones, L. Hand hygiene is linked to microbial keratitis and corneal inflammatory events. Contact Lens Anterior Eye. 2019; 42: 132–135). It is also important to remember and continue practising regular lens hygiene, including wearing disposable lenses only once, disinfecting reusable contact lenses and avoiding overnight wear unless prescribed.
Where contact lens wearers have been infected with COVID-19 or are feeling unwell, they should cease wearing contact lenses. Recent studies have indicated that in a small amount of cases, COVI-19 can cause conjunctivitis (Xia, J., Tong, J., Liu, M., Shen, Y., and Guo, D. Evaluation of coronavirus in tears and conjunctival secretions of patients with SARS‐CoV‐2 infection. J Med Virol. 2020)
The teaching year has begun and is in full swing for Sydney Eye Hospital’s new registrars. The first wet lab eye school session for the year was held at the Sight Foundation Training Lab on Friday. The session was led by Dr Tasneem Ariswala and focused on introducing registrars to the basics of cataract surgery. Dr Ariswala presented on corneal wound construction before assisting registrars with hands on training. The registrars were able to explore and develop their surgical skills through the use of the Kitaro Kits, the VR Magic Cataract Simulator and phaco machines provided by the event sponsors, Johnson and Johnson Vision and Bausch & Lomb.
The Sight for Life Foundation warmly welcomes the new registrars and wishes them all the best for their four years on the training program.
The Sight for Life Foundation would also like to thank all of those who made the session such a success:
Dr Ariswala for assisting with the teaching of the session
Mr Michael Tung of Bausch & Lomb
Ms Christine Bright of Johnson and Johnson Vision
The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Ophthalmologists (RANZCO) have released an update for people in bushfire affected areas who have been exposed to smoke.
Exposure to smoke (especially carbon monoxide and aldehydes) can lead to irritation of the eye upon contact. Common symptoms following exposure to and contact with smoke include pain, discomfort, redness and watering of the eyes.
RANZCO have advised the following actions:
1. If you get any smoke in your eye:
Wash with sterile saline or cold tap water (or artificial tears)
Seek medical aid if necessary
The blink reflex usually cases the eye to close in response to heat, hence thermal injuries tend to affect the eyelid rather than the eye itself.
2. If any embers fly into your eye OR if you had a direct fire/thermal burn to your eye:
Do not rub the eye
Open your eyelid gently and wash your eye with large amounts of cold flowing water for 20 minutes
Place an eye pad or light clean dressing over injured eye only (if available)
See a doctor if the specks cannot be washed out or redness continues
See a doctor immediately if your vision has deteriorated after the burn or if pain and discomfort continues
If the burning material includes plastics or rubbers, the gases and particles are likely to be particularly irritating.
3. If you feel you have a foreign body in your eye:
Do not rub the eye
Do not try to remove the foreign object stuck in the eye
Seek immediate medical attention