Japanese eyeball licking is a health risk and can lead to blindness

Japanese school-aged children and teens have developed a gross but trendy practice: licking a friend or lover's eyeballs.  There is a video at the end of this post.  

What are the risks?

Eyeball-licking will transport moth-based bacteria into the eye causing bacterial infections such as conjunctivitis to styes as well as abscesses involving the lids and eye socket. 

According to CBSnews.com:

Eyeball licking, which is also known as "worming" or oculolinctus, has existed for quite some time, and there are numerous clips of people engaging in the act on YouTube. Japanese blog Naver Matome interviewed one concerned teacher who said that he ran into two sixth grade students licking each others' eyeballs in an equipment room. After he confronted them, they admitted it was popular in their class. His independent survey of students confirmed his fears: One-third of the children admitted to eyeball licking.

Corneal abrasions (scratches or cuts on the surface of the eye) are another risk.  There's also the chance that licking the eyeball could accidentally scratch it. Abrasions can trap bacteria and cause blindness if not treated.  They can also lead to scarring and permanent blurred vision.

Mouth bacteria normally does not find its way to the eye.  If it gets into the eye, it is an eye health concern. 

Diabetic retinopathy

Are you having sudden blurred/double vision, trouble reading or focusing on near-work, eye pains/pressures, dark rings around lights, or visible dark spots in images of light? If so, make sure you visit the eye doctor as these may all be initial signs of diabetic eye and vision disorders. Click ont he link below to read more. http://bit.ly/UZTnwW

Vision loss from glaucoma - preventable if caught early - is on the rise in Canada: Canadians are not taking easy steps to protect themselves

Research published in the June issue of the Journal of Ophthalmology shows that Canadians are not taking easy steps to protect themselves against glaucoma.  The study found that 50% of those who are newly diagnosed with the disease are already in the moderate to advanced stages of the disease.  By this time they have suffered irreversible and often devastating vision loss.

Early detection is key because if caught early glaucoma can be managed and its progress halted.  But there are virtually no symptoms in the early stages of the disease.  That is why early detection is only possible through a complete eye exam by an optometrist or ophthalmologist. 

The obvious implication of the study is that Canadians are not doing enough to protect themselves against glaucoma.  Everyone should have an annual eye exam.

An article in the Toronto Star presented the following story that puts a human face on the tragedy that can occur if one ignores the need for eye exams as well as how fortunate you can be if you see your optometrist:

Keith Henderson, 62, a retired millwright in Alvinston, Ont., is fortunate. Ten years ago his brother was diagnosed with advanced glaucoma, which prompted Henderson to see an optometrist and request extra vigilance. Extra tests — which he had to pay for — showed he had high pressure. He eventually had prophylactic laser treatment to relieve the pressure.
“I won’t lose my eyesight to glaucoma because of what has been done,” says Henderson.

Henderson’s brother, Larry, now 65, is just about completely blind now, he says. The factory worker, was 55 when diagnosed, didn’t know to get regular exams.
“He didn’t get checked because he didn’t have coverage and then it started to get severe,” Henderson says. “They’ve got him as good as they could get him, but he’s lost a terrific amount of his vision.”

Diagnoses before there is vision loss is key. For patients, who catch it early and are diligent with treatment, vision can be preserved, Buys says.

Too many are doing it too late. “In a country that boasts of universal health care, our patients are coming in with already serious and significant loss of vision,” Hutnik says.

While we have a health care systems that calls itself "universal", eye exams are not covered.  Yet, as the story above demonstrates, they are critical.  The rationale for not insuring critical health services is often founded on the principle that people must have personal responsibility for their own health.  For whatever reason - lack of knowledge, lack of resources, lack of awareness of what can go wrong with their health - too many people are not doing the right things.  I hope some of them will read this blog post and make an appointment with their optometrist. 

The unseen danger of diabetes

More than 20 Canadians are diagnosed with diabetes every hour of every day. I encourage anyone who has, or may be at risk for, diabetes to have an annual eye examination.

Diabetes affects 3 million Canadians, many of whom may not know they have the disease. One of the health problems associated with diabetes is diabetic retinopathy, a disease of the eye which can cause blindness.

Diabetic retinopathy can weaken and cause changes in the blood vessels that nourish the retina. Symptoms may include blurred vision, cloudiness and/or “floaters”.

Diabetes also increases a person’s risk for developing other eye diseases. Persons living with diabetes are 40% more likely to develop glaucoma and 60% more likely to develop cataracts.

The most worrying aspect of diabetes may be the fact that in the early stages diabetic retinopathy may produce no visual symptoms at all. That is why it is so important for anyone who has diabetes or a family history of diabetes to have a yearly comprehensive eye health examination.  Early detection and treatment are essentialbecause once damage has occurred, the effects are usually permanent.

An added benefit of eye exams, is that they are often the medical test that is the first to detect a variety of diseases - not just diabetes.

Woman gets eye color surgery in Panama and goes blind

The "Ask a Doctor of Optometry" facebook page has unearthed another news item concerning the dangers of the risky methods that some people in the globalized Internet age use to access medical care and medical products.  The first was a story of a Toronto man who purchased contact lenses online only to have them peel off a chunk of his cornea.

Now comes the story of Toronto artist, Beatriz Murillo, 36, who went to Panama for medical tourism.  She went to get an iris implant to change the color of her eyes. The surgery is not available in Canada or the United States.  Now she is legally blind and has undergone three followup surgeries including a corneal transplant.  "I'm an artist and I'm afraid I'm never going to be able to paint again," the woman was quoted as saying.

Anyone considering surgery in a foreign country, especially for cosmetic reasons, needs to get the advice of a doctor in their home country before they make a decision.  Obviously, medical tourism can turn out very badly. 

Another issue is the drain on the Canadian medical system caused by this medical tourism tragedy.  This patient had three surgeries one of which was a corneal transplant.  Some other patient could have used that cornea and other patients could have occupied the hospital beds and surgeon's time. This waste of taxpayer money could have been avoided if this patient talked to her eye doctor first.  It seems quite ill-advised to go to a foreign country for a medically unnecessary cosmetic procedure that is not available at home.  Presumably it is not available at home for a good reason.

As for changing the color of your eyes, color contact lenses are the only safe way.  There is a doctor in California who claims to have come up with a 20 second laser surgery that can turn brown eyes blue but I don't think that the procedure's safety and long term effects have been evaluated.  I identified some potential risks and drawbacks to such a surgery in a previous post.

Image courtesy of marin / FreeDigitalPhotos.net