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As people begin to go back to work and offices as well as venture out of the house more frequently, their pets might experience some separation anxiety after all this extra time at home. Experts offer advice on how to best prepare your pets for more time alone.

As the state reopens and more people return to their jobs, offices and some pre-coronavirus routines, local veterinarians expect their phone lines to get a bit busier.

And not just because pet owners feel more comfortable bringing in their furry friends for minor or preventative procedures.

Separation anxiety is an issue many pet owners will deal with the next few months as people begin to leave their homes more frequently and for longer periods, said Dr. Robert Knapp, of Knapp Veterinary Hospital in Clintonville.

There are a whole bunch of animals out there that will be learning a new normal, Knapp said.

From getting walked every few hours to snuggling on the couch during Netflix binges to showing off during Zoom meetings, pets received a huge boost in quality time during the early stages of the pandemic. That will undoubtedly change, now, no matter what a familys new normal is.

While people who recently added a pet to their families stay-at-home orders produced an uptick in dog adoptions might have more difficulties, those who had pets before COVID-19 could still see problems, especially if those animals have a history of anxiety.

If your dog has historically been crated, youve got to get him back in the crate, Knapp said. He probably hasnt been in a crate for six or eight weeks.

Knapp and other animal experts said there are a number of things pet owners, whether new or seasoned, can do to ease their pets transition.

To help, Dr. M. Leanne Lilly and her office at the Ohio State University Veterinary Medical Center, where she works as an instructor and practitioner in behavioral medicine, created a flier when the pandemic first hit Ohio titled Mitigating separation-related behaviors when youre home now, but wont always be.

Roughly half of all dogs experience separation-related behaviors, Lilly said. Some are predisposed to it because of breed or have an increased risk if they came from a shelter.

Behaviors, such as a dog always following its owner to the bathroom or whining when alone in a room, might signal that the pet will experience separation anxiety. But its always best to prepare for the possibility during a transition like this, Lilly said.

The first step is to start leaving the house around a typical time for short periods get the dog used to hearing the garage door open or keys jingle. Then pay close attention to how the dog acts.

Spending time separated from your dog is really important for you and your dog so they can learn that being home alone is normal, Lilly said. If you leave really delicious food out for them and they wont eat it until you come home, then you know theyre in distress. Or if they have excessive panting or whining when you leave or come home.

Most dogs exhibit excited behavior when their owners return, but the intensity (knocking over furniture) and duration (cant calm down for 35 minutes) can be concerning.

They were really worried you werent ever coming home, Lilly said.

More obvious signs of anxiety include urination, defecation, piles of drool or destruction.

However, Knapp said to not hesitate to reach out to veterinarians at the earliest signs before your favorite shoes get chewed up.

Knapp recommends going through morning routines several weeks in advance. Instead of leaving, though, sit on the couch.

All the things that wind a dog up to say, Oh youre leaving me, and then you do things like sit down and give them a treat and they think, Oh, theyre not leaving me, Knapp said.

Walking the dog predeparture can release any pent-up energy, but ensure theres enough time for the pooch to calm down before leaving.

Now is the best time to reach out to veterinarians for advice on whether medications, supplements or calming pheromones might be necessary, Knapp said. They can make other individualized recommendations, too, such as playing classical music.

This is on our radar, Knapp said. All veterinarians are aware that as we go back to work, getting pets acclimated is something were going to have to help with.

New dog owner Carol Schwiebert knows there will be an adjustment period as she and her husband, Adam, both head back to work in the next month, leaving their 1-year-old Labrador mix, Austin, at home. The Hilliard couple adopted him in March.

Its such a big shock as hes used to being around us 24/7, Schwiebert said.

She feels better knowing she can watch Austin on the pet camera they were gifted (cameras can be a beneficial in diagnosis and treatment, experts said) and will be able to spot any early signs of distress. Theyre ready to put him in a crate hes trained if necessary.

Plus, she plans to walk Austin on lunch breaks.

We probably should avoid doing communal lunches (at work), she said, citing coronavirus concerns. A quick bite and walk outside the office seems like a good idea.

Other experts think the workplace could actually continue to evolve to the benefit of pets.

Steven Feldman, executive director of the Human Animal Bond Research Institute in Washington, D.C., said he believes more people will have the flexibility to work from home and more businesses might welcome pets as the workplace continues to morph.

Weve had this wonderful experience with our pets being with us, why not take them to work with you? Feldman said. Weve seen a real trend toward a pet-friendly workplace and I think well continue to see a trend to more work-life balance where we work and that will be a lasting effect of the pandemic.

award@dispatch.com

@AllisonAWard

Read this article:
Animal experts offer tips to ward off pet stress as owners head back to work - The Columbus Dispatch

People whove encountered swimmer Raena Eldridge, the 2020 Arthur Ashe Jr. Female Sports Scholar of the Year, say she is thoughtful, compassionate, goal-driven and interested in making a positive impact in the world.

From the first time she arrived at Texas A&M University after graduating from Rockwall High School in 2015, Eldridge wanted to exceed expectations. Whether it was engaging in community service beyond what was asked of her or picking demanding courses and adding a second major, she never backed down.

The daughter of Eric and Wendy Eldridge was an eight-time state medalist for Rockwall High School in swimming and was the 2012 state champion in the 50-meter freestyle. She was also a National Merit Scholar and graduated seventh in her class.

It helped that I was very interested in the subjects, and when youre interested in something its so much easier to do, says Eldridge, 23. Also, A&M athletics brings resources to us. They have study halls, computer lab study rooms and tutors available all the resources you need to succeed.

My teammates were also pursuing pretty intense majors, like engineering or other STEM majors, and when youre surrounded by a team thats pursuing excellence in everything that they do, its pretty easy to hop on board and do the same. My teammates were my best study buddies.

Chris Barttelbort, assistant athletic director, academic services, says Eldridge made it clear early on that she wanted to pursue graduate school after earning her bachelors degree. Barttelbort also serves as Eldridges scholastic supervisor. Having spent five years at Texas A&M because of a torn ACL her freshman year, Eldridge had the time to focus on what science-related field that would be, ultimately deciding on veterinary school.

With only 33 veterinary schools in the country, admissions are highly competitive, but Eldridge received five acceptances and will be attending North Carolina State University College of Veterinary Medicine (ranked fourth in the nation).

She recognized that she was going to need other things beside grades and test scores on her resume to differentiate herself from other candidates, Barttelbort says. We have a lot of community service you can do through the athletic department, but she also brought things outside of that.

Eldridge started her own non-profit organization, SPLASH, Inc., which gives free swimming lessons to low income kids, and she also participates in a faith-based organization, Save Our Streets Ministry, where she mentors elementary schoolgirls. Shes taken on leadership roles within the athletic department, including being a team captain for the swim team the last two years.

In the pool, Eldridge hit her stride these past two years, qualifying for the NCAA championships in individual events for the first time this year. She received multiple Southeastern Conference and all-America honors.

She received Texas A&Ms Bill Erwin Scholar Athlete of the Year Award in 2019, given for the highest level of academics and athletics balanced by any female athlete on campus.

Shes very driven, very determined and very loyal, says Tanica Jamison, associate head coach of swimming and diving. Shes always been someone that her teammates could count on.

If there was anything the head coach or I challenged her with, she always welcomed those challenges and was open to our suggestions on how to improve, she adds. Shes someone that will listen, someone whos confident in who she is, someone whos willing to help others.

Humble, Eldridge thanks the coaching staff for seeing her potential, when she was concerned whether she could measure up to Texas A&Ms fast times. I improved every year because of [head coach] Steve Bultmans training and his ability to see in me more than I was able to see in myself, she says.

Her results in the 50-meter and 100-meter freestyle at the 2019 Phillips 66 National Championships earned her a spot in the Olympic trials, but with the Olympics postponed to 2021, she has announced her retirement from swimming.

Growing up participating in club swimming, Eldridge saw the sport as individualistic. The universitys swim program emphasized teamwork and that gave her not only best friends, but a sense of unity. Representing her university also pushed Eldridge to excel.

To know that everything I do is going to represent the school as a whole, gave me purpose, drive and the sense of doing something bigger than just me and my own accomplishments, she says. If I was doing everything for myself to improve my chances for [vet school] it would have been a lot less meaningful. Having this team, having the training and the competitions, it gave me the meaning that I needed. Through that, Ive learned so much that prepares me for vet school: discipline, work ethic, leadership, compassion. It taught me things I needed that I dont think I would have gotten elsewhere.

The Arthur Ashe Jr. award is named for the tennis champion, who was known for his love of tennis and commitment to education. He died in 1993.

See the rest here:
RHS graduate named Ashe Jr. Female Sports Scholar of the Year - Rockwall County Herald Banner

To the UC Davis Community:

Our Community Moment of Silence three days ago was just the beginning. Renetta Garrison Tull asked us to take a stand against racism. Kayton Carter implored us to go beyond the moment. I encouraged us to work together to effect change. And we are.

Renetta Garrison Tull is our vice chancellor of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, which organized Tuesday afternoons moment of silence for George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Californias own Stephon Clark, Floridas Tony McDade and many others. Kayton Carter is the executive director of Student Affairs Retention Initiatives and the director of the Center for African Diaspora Student Success.

We livestreamed the program (see the video recording at the top of this page) and kept it small, by necessity, with just three people speaking from Mrak Hall: Vice Chancellor Tull, Director Carter and me. As Vice Chancellor Tull noted: We are not hiding the fact that were African Americans standing here, coming in during a pandemic the people around us all have masks but we needed to say something.

We are not the only ones speaking out about the killing of black men and women, including George Floyd, who died May 25 while in the custody of Minneapolis police. Over the last two weeks, we have seen statements of outrage from all corners of the university, including heartfelt messages from deans, coaches and the police chief.

See ally letters and links here.

Vice Chancellor Tull recounted a conversation with her mother and brother and other family members over Zoom last Friday. We talked about the times when weve been stopped by police for no reason, she said. I remember this happening as a child, sitting in the car with my father, so this is not new.

Director Carter offered a list of incidents dating back almost 100 years to the Black Wall Street Massacre in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where a black shoemaker was accused of assaulting a woman, and it led to the deaths of some 300 people and the destruction of an entire black community. (A state commission in 2001 concluded the shoemaker had most likely tripped and accidentally stepped on the womans foot.)

Director Carter also noted the deaths of Abner Louima and Amadou Diallo, while Vice Chancellor Tull added the names of Freddie Gray, Sandra Bland, Eric Garner, Philando Castile, Tamir Rice, Trayvon Martin. Too many to name, she said. We are in the midst of a pandemic, where more than 100,000 people have died of COVID-19, and even in the midst of that, we must take some time to acknowledge the reality of racism and unjust deaths of black lives, which is centuries old.

I read parts of the statement I put out last week, with some additions. I work in the ivory tower of academia, but I live in the real world. Im constantly reminded of that fact: driving while black, shopping while black, cooking out while black, exercising while black. It is exhausting. And Im tired.

George Floyd could have been any African American man, including me. At a traffic stop, no one knows I am a chancellor. No one knows I have a Ph.D.

I am a lifelong educator, a black man whose parents endured segregation personally. Ive spent much of my career working to increase diversity on college campuses and in the workforce. I think a lot about how America has not made as much progress as we often claim. Recent events have only reaffirmed the need to build an inclusive society that recognizes and respects people of all backgrounds and experiences.

But inclusion like social justice doesnt come easily. It requires collective effort. It requires each one of us working to make a difference, whether thats through getting involved in your community, peaceful protesting or doing what you can to change procedures that reflect bias. And dont forget to vote.

As Director Carter said, we must go beyond the moment. He challenged the UC Davis community: In the spaces where there are no African diaspora people, if you experience and witness racism, take a stand.

Vice Chancellor Tull agreed: This doesnt stop here. Just because we had this moment this afternoon and weve taken time to affirm black lives, to address and call out injustice, we have to keep going and we have to make sure that we do more.

The School of Law wasted no time holding a forum the day after the Community Moment of Silence, drawing almost 170 people for an online discussion of next steps. Among them, as announced by Dean Kevin Johnson: a King Hall speakers series on racial justice. This is an issue we should address day in and day out, not just [when something happens], he said.

In closing Tuesdays program of remembrance, Vice Chancellor Tull said: It may take us to stand up, to be an upstander, to actually intervene, and well have workshops for that. In the meanwhile, we also know that we have to take time to heal. And, so, we thank you, and again we ask you to remember, to think, to read, to listen, reflect, learn, plan and act, recognizing that black lives do indeed matter and that we are all going to go forward together.

See Resources for Racial Trauma, compiled by the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. This page will be updated with programs and other events, as well as new resources and other information.

On top of the pandemic, the killing of George Floyd and the ensuing national protests have only added to students stress and anxiety as the quarter comes to an end. In response, the Academic Senate this week authorized faculty to offer students the alternative of receiving spring quarter grades based on work completed by the last day of instruction (June 4), provided that instructors also administer their scheduled final exams to the students who want the tests. Many students rely on finals to improve their course grades.

As we informed students in a letter yesterday, it is the instructors decision whether they want to make their final optional. If the instructor determines that a final is required, we encouraged them to consider accommodations on a case-by-case basis and let students know how to make such requests, because some students may not feel empowered to initiate these conversations. We also asked faculty to consider approving requests for incompletes, giving students additional time to complete coursework or to achieve research or project milestones.

This change in final exam policy expanded the senates earlier actions to provide flexibilities for students around choosing the grading options Passed/Not Passed (for undergraduates) and Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory (for graduate students). The senate also extended the deadline for students to select the course grading mode to the last day of instruction. Although this deadline has now passed, students can later petition the Grade Change Committee to modify their grading mode for a course retroactively (for example, change a passing letter grade to a P after the term is over). Although we cannot guarantee that the committee will approve all petitions, we fully anticipate that they will take the present circumstances into account when evaluating future requests.

Academic Senate and university leaders this week also communicated with faculty about their role in serving students as part of a community: We must recognize that while we have pledged to be their teachers, we, as professors, cannot forget that we are also together in journey of lifelong learning that calls for embracing these profound moments of disruption and discomfort as opportunities for individual and collective growth.

Get ready for Tuesdays launch of Campus Ready, the Finance, Operations and Administration website to help ensure UC Davis is campus ready for you as we gradually resume administrative and office work in step with the gradual return of research and students over the coming months.

Weve already posted our guidelines for this process. They include a requirement for every work site (e.g., building, department, program, school) to establish a written COVID-19 prevention plan addressing such key prevention practices as staying home if you are sick and encouraging others to do the same, physical (social) distancing, use of face coverings (Yolo Countys face-covering order is still in effect), frequent practicing of hand hygiene (i.e., hand-washing, sanitizer use); regular cleaning and disinfection of workspace and personal items; and minimizing the use of shared or communal property or equipment.

The website coming next week will provide a toolbox (including templates) to help create and implement the work site plans. The site is intended to serve as a dynamic guide for what you can expect as campus operations evolve, and what will be expected of you.

In my Thursday Thoughts video, Ive got a message for students about their finals next week, and some advice for our graduates.

Today, in my Friday Thoughts, let me congratulate the Class of 2020. To our baccalaureate degree recipients, I will be addressing you in your remote ceremony a week from today. To our advanced-degree recipients, most of you I have already addressed in remote celebrations that began in mid-May, and we have two more to go: for the School of Education and the Graduate School of Management.

I know all of you expected to be walking across the commencement stage, and I want you to know how desperately we wanted to make that happen. But nothing can take away your achievement and the extra credit you all deserve for persevering in the face of a pandemic and, more recently, the tragic killing in Minneapolis that has a nation once again outraged over the senseless death of another person of color.

Yet here you are, graduates in STEM and agriculture, the social sciences and the arts and humanities, the law and business administration, and medicine and veterinary medicine going out into the world at a time when your knowledge and skills and ideas and creativity are needed more than ever.

Our world is under siege by a virus, our nation under siege by racism. We have incredible faith in our newest Aggie graduates to take on these tremendous challenges and help build and innovate a healthier, safer and more equitable future for everyone.

Sincerely,

Gary S. MayChancellor

See more here:
Checking In With Chancellor May: Beyond the Moment - UC Davis

TRI-CITIES, WA - As students continue learning from home and using technology, increased screen time can have a negative impact on eyesight.

Madeline Carter talked with Dr. Elizabeth Heaston Thompson from the Heaston Thompson Vision Clinic to find out what parents can do to protect kids from vision problems related to online learning.

Dr. Liz says there are several things parents can do right now to protect their kids. She recommends:

Skipping lines of text when reading or re-reading lines

Headaches

Poor reading comprehension

Rubbing eyes

Short attention span with reading

Covering one eye when looking at something up close or in the distance

If local optometrists are not currently open for regular vision screenings, Dr. Liz suggests scheduling eye exams for the near future.

Read the original post:
Protecting kids from vision problems related to online learning - NBC Right Now

Specsavers has announced it is now taking appointments for customers who have experienced changes to their vision since their last eye test.

From 1 June, customers have been able to book in-store appointments, welcome news as research revealed a third of people in the UK have noticed a deterioration in their eyesight during lockdown.

Customers booking an appointment online will be contacted by their local store by phone to discuss their sight concerns, and to make sure that coming in to store is the best option.

The chain is currently unable to see customers who have not experienced changes to their vision.

The announcement of Specsavers taking appointments applies to England only; for the rest of the UK, appointments are for urgent and essential care only.

Here's everything you need to know:

Will social distancing be in place?

While lockdown measures may be easing slowly, it's still incredibly important that social distancing is adhered to.

As such, Specsavers is introducing a number of changes to the way it works in an effort to make sure its always as safe as possible for colleagues and customers.

The number of people in store will be limited, with one member of a household permitted inside at a time - unless they're with a child or vulnerable adult.

You'll also be asked to keep at least two metres from other customers.

Store teams will be wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) for their protection as well as yours.

Youll be welcome to try on as many glasses as youd like, but when you're finished you'll be asked to give them back to staff so they can be cleaned thoroughly.

Test rooms will also be thoroughly disinfected following consultations, as well as all testing equipment used during the eye test, ready for the next appointment.

Specsavers is also avoiding the use of cash, and any new pairs of glasses you buy can be delivered to your home, eliminating the need to come back to the store.

What if I can't make it to a store?

If you're unable to make it to a store, there are still ways in which Specsavers can help.

The chain's new RemoteCare service allows you to speak to an expert by video or over the phone about any sight or hearing questions you have.

Its free to use and you dont need to be a Specsavers customer to use it.

Contact lens top-ups, hearing aid batteries and even new specs can also be bought online.

Specsavers say: "If youve got an appointment booked, but youre not feeling well or you have any COVID-19 symptoms, wed ask that you dont come in until youre feeling better.

"Well make sure to arrange for a later date."

Originally posted here:
Essential eye tests open up in England to deal with lockdown sight deterioration - here's how to book - Lancashire Post

One of the main causes of the condition is atherosclerosis, a disease in which fatty deposits known as plaques build up on the interior of the artery walls. These plaques can rupture and send debris into the bloodstream, which can potentially cause a full or partial blockage in another vessel.

It makes sense, then, that the risk factors for atherosclerosis and for retinal vessel occlusion overlap. These include obesity, smoking, high cholesterol, high blood pressure and diabetes. Age is also a risk factor, with the majority of retinal vessel occlusions occurring in people who are 65 years of age and older. People living with a blood clotting disorder and those with glaucoma, which is chronically high pressure within the eye, are also at increased risk.

The same lifestyle changes that reduce the risk of atherosclerosis will also reduce the risk of retinal vessel occlusion, as well as diabetes, cardiovascular disease and stroke. A very important step is for smokers to quit. We know how difficult this is, so please ask your health care provider for help with crafting and sticking to a plan.

Limit alcohol consumption and get regular exercise. Eat a diet that is high in fresh vegetables, leafy greens, fruits and lean meats and low in added salt, sugar and unhealthy fats. You dont have to go for a halo here. We suggest our patients aim for 80% healthful eating. For those with health issues such as diabetes or hypertension, we tighten it up to 90% healthful eating.

More here:
ASK THE DOCTORS: Retinal artery occlusion related to atherosclerosis - Journal Times

The government has been urged to renew its guidance for supermarkets and address the pressing medical needs of people with eye conditions, as those living with sight loss warn they are being denied access to vital treatments and ignored as social distancing measures are implemented.

In a survey conducted by charity Fight for Sight, some four in 10 people said they feared their sight would further deteriorate during the pandemic, with some saying they had not been able to access regular injections and necessary surgeries to preserve their vision.

Meanwhile, 73 per cent of respondents to the poll of 325 adults with eye conditions said they had experienced reduced access to treatments during the outbreak. Two in five said they found it difficult to follow social distancing rules during the lockdown, with more than half saying they had seen their access to food and goods diminished during measures to stop the spread of the coronavirus.

Sharing the full story, not just the headlines

Angharad Paget-Jones, 27, who is registered blind and uses a guide dog, said she had been shouted at by members of the public after finding herself too close to them while out shopping while large supermarkets have not been able to make staff available to help her find the things she needs.

Meanwhile her guide dog, Tudor, is more likely to be confused than aided by yellow warning tape used to mark 2m distances which outside the context of the virus are often used to identify steps and trip hazards.

She told the Independent: Im told there are arrows and spacing on the floor, but as someone who cant see the ground and as somebody who cannot see the floor thats not very much good and my dog isnt trained [for this] ... hes not trained to know what they are. Its like the queueing outside supermarkets hes trained to find the door hes not trained to find the end of the queue.

She added that government messaging throughout the pandemic has frequently forgotten the needs of disabled people. They arent even putting audio descriptions on their feeds, theyre not putting out large print for us, they didnt even have sign language on the broadcasts so theyve forgotten disabled people and thats not good enough especially as everyone is one slip away from being disabled.

Meanwhile Elaine Young, 68, from South Lanarkshire in Scotland has had her local hospital cancel an appointment to treat her age-related macular degeneration and fears her eyesight may suffer as a consequence.

Im worried that by not having my injection, my eyesight is getting worse, she said. Ive noticed that there are more wavy lines in my vision.

Its frustrating because I have no idea when my next appointment will be or even when theyll start up the clinic again.

No hype, just the advice and analysis you need

The concern from disabled people comes a month after a cross-party letter signed by 97 MPs and peers urged the government to re-evaluate its current strategy to ensure social distancing does not lead to exclusion for those with disabilities.

Chief Executive of Fight for Sight, Sherine Krause said: The government must develop a plan that addresses the immediate need of people with eye conditions, so they dont become blind because of lockdown and social distancing measures.

Additionally, were calling on the government to urgently update its advice to retailers on social distancing measures to ensure the needs of people with poor vision are not excluded. In the longer term, we must continue to fund research for new, more efficient treatments and cures for the leading causes of blindness and sight loss, to help ease the pressure on our NHS.

Follow this link:
Theyve forgotten disabled people: Government urged to protect those with sight loss during outbreak - The Independent

It is feared that children spend too much time in front of the screen Image Credit: Supplied. For illustrative purpose only

Dubai: Over-exposure to screen time in recent weeks has resulted in a significant rise in complaints of eye issues such as redness and tired eyes, especially among children and young adults, claim eye specialists.

As per the World Economic Forum, globally around 1.2 billion children are out of classrooms, raising concerns over constant exposure to devices and their impact on eye health. Across the UAE, nearly 1.1 million students have been studying from home since March 2020.

According to Dr Mohit Jain, Specialist Ophthalmologist at RAK Hospital, students may be suffering from Computer Vision Syndrome and there is a need to minimise damage to the eyes.

Dr Jain said: Using digital devices has become unavoidable. However, when we focus on a screen, the muscles in the eyes contract. If the muscles stay contracted for too long, they get tired and lead to strain and may affect eyesight, especially in the growing age. This excessive use of devices not only puts a strain on the eyes but is also a risk factor for eye weakness and myopia. In other words, students staring at screens for prolonged periods may end up wearing glasses, and if they are wearing glasses already, the power may increase rapidly, warned Dr Jain.

More severe consequences of prolonged screen-time can be blurred vision, neck pain, irritated eyes, dizziness, double vision and difficulty in refocusing eyes.

Blink more often

Discussing tips on ways to moderate the excessive use of devices, Dr Jain advised that parents as a first step need to restrict the use of devices when it comes to entertainment and amusement. More importantly, children need to follow the 20-20-20 rule to give their eyes a much-needed break from watching the screen that is, after every 20 minutes of screen time; they should look away and stare at a distance of approximately 20 feet for 20 seconds before looking back at the device. This helps to relax the eye muscles, he said.

Dr Jain said the visual impact of screen learning prompt children to stare at screens for longer periods. Children tend to blink far less than they would usually do causing the eyes to dry out. Blinking keeps the eyes moist and clean. Therefore, parents should encourage their children to blink at regular intervals, even if it requires constant repeated reminders. A simple tip to do that is to stick a reminder note to the device itself, added Dr Jain. He also advised parents to ensure that children and young adults should keep their devices at a safe distance of 18 to 26 inches to avoid over-contracting the eye muscles.

Tips for eye protection

Make sure there is ample natural light in yur childs room when he or she is in a digital class.

Students need to follow the 20-20-20 rule ie take a break from the computer every 20 minutes and stay at a distance of 20 feet for 20 seconds to relax the eye muscle

Ask your child to blink more often when working on the computer

If there is redness, rashness , take care to provide medical attention

Go for eye check-ups regularly and get your childs vision assessed regularly so that he does not strain the eyes when he needs to correct his vision or when he needs an updraged number

Continued here:
Over-exposure to screen time leading to eye complaints among kids in the UAE - Gulf News

If you ever suddenly lose sight in one or both eyes, seek help immediately.

Q: A friend of our family suddenly lost the vision in his left eye because of something called retinal artery occlusion. What is that? How do you protect against it?

A: To answer your question, we should begin with a bit of anatomy. The retina is a layer of light-sensitive tissue that lines the back of the eye. Its job is to receive the incoming rays of light that pass through the lens and translate them into signals. These signals, or impulses, then travel along the optic nerve to the brain, which interprets them as the images we see. As with all tissues within the body, the retina needs a steady supply of blood to function properly. In the case of the retina, this comes primarily from an artery and a vein. If either of these vessels, or any of their smaller branches, become blocked, which is known as an occlusion, the retina sustains damage.

When a blockage occurs in the vein that serves the retina, the blood can't drain away. Instead, it backs up and raises pressure within the eye, which can cause serious damage that affects sight. When the blockage occurs in the artery, as with your family friend, the retina is starved of oxygen and nutrients. Unless blood flow is restored quickly, the blockage will cause the cells of the retina to die. The result is a loss of vision. Unfortunately, there is no way to reverse the damage that arises as a result of retinal vessel occlusion.

One of the main causes of the condition is atherosclerosis, a disease in which fatty deposits known as plaques build up on the interior of the artery walls. These plaques can rupture and send debris into the bloodstream, which can potentially cause a full or partial blockage in another vessel. It makes sense, then, that the risk factors for atherosclerosis and for retinal vessel occlusion overlap. These include obesity, smoking, high cholesterol, high blood pressure and diabetes. Age is also a risk factor, with the majority of retinal vessel occlusions occurring in people who are 65 and older. People living with a blood clotting disorder and those with glaucoma, which is chronically high pressure within the eye, are also at increased risk.

The same lifestyle changes that reduce the risk of atherosclerosis will also reduce the risk of retinal vessel occlusion, as well as diabetes, cardiovascular disease and stroke. A very important step is for smokers to quit. We know how difficult this is, so please ask your health care provider for help with crafting and sticking to a plan. Limit alcohol consumption and get regular exercise. Eat a diet that is high in fresh vegetables, leafy greens, fruits and lean meats and low in added salt, sugar and unhealthy fats. You don't have to go for a halo here. We suggest our patients aim for 80% healthful eating. For those with health issues such as diabetes or hypertension, we tighten it up to 90% healthful eating.

Retinal vessel occlusion is a medical emergency. If you ever suddenly lose sight in one or both eyes, seek help immediately.

Send your questions to askthedoctors@mednet.ucla.edu, or write: Ask the Doctors, c/o UCLA Health Sciences Media Relations, 10880 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 1450, Los Angeles, CA, 90024.

See the original post:
Retinal artery blockage can lead to lost vision: Ask the Doctors - GoErie.com

DEAR DOCTOR: A friend of our family suddenly lost the vision in his left eye because of something called retinal artery occlusion. What is that? How do you protect against it?

DEAR READER: To answer your question, we should begin with a bit of anatomy. The retina is a layer of light-sensitive tissue that lines the back of the eye. Its job is to receive the incoming rays of light that pass through the lens and translate them into signals. These signals, or impulses, then travel along the optic nerve to the brain, which interprets them as the images we see. As with all tissues within the body, the retina needs a steady supply of blood to function properly. In the case of the retina, this comes primarily from an artery and a vein. If either of these vessels, or any of their smaller branches, become blocked, which is known as an occlusion, the retina sustains damage.

When a blockage occurs in the vein that serves the retina, the blood cant drain away. Instead, it backs up and raises pressure within the eye, which can cause serious damage that affects sight. When the blockage occurs in the artery, as with your family friend, the retina is starved of oxygen and nutrients. Unless blood flow is restored quickly, the blockage will cause the cells of the retina to die. The result is a loss of vision. Unfortunately, there is no way to reverse the damage that arises as a result of retinal vessel occlusion.

One of the main causes of the condition is atherosclerosis, a disease in which fatty deposits known as plaques build up on the interior of the artery walls. These plaques can rupture and send debris into the bloodstream, which can potentially cause a full or partial blockage in another vessel. It makes sense, then, that the risk factors for atherosclerosis and for retinal vessel occlusion overlap. These include obesity, smoking, high cholesterol, high blood pressure and diabetes. Age is also a risk factor, with the majority of retinal vessel occlusions occurring in people who are 65 years of age and older. People living with a blood clotting disorder and those with glaucoma, which is chronically high pressure within the eye, are also at increased risk.

The same lifestyle changes that reduce the risk of atherosclerosis will also reduce the risk of retinal vessel occlusion, as well as diabetes, cardiovascular disease and stroke. A very important step is for smokers to quit. We know how difficult this is, so please ask your health care provider for help with crafting and sticking to a plan. Limit alcohol consumption and get regular exercise. Eat a diet that is high in fresh vegetables, leafy greens, fruits and lean meats and low in added salt, sugar and unhealthy fats. You dont have to go for a halo here. We suggest our patients aim for 80% healthful eating. For those with health issues such as diabetes or hypertension, we tighten it up to 90% healthful eating.

Retinal vessel occlusion is a medical emergency. If you ever suddenly lose sight in one or both eyes, seek help immediately.

Eve Glazier, M.D., MBA, is an internist and associate professor of medicine at UCLA Health. Elizabeth Ko, M.D., is an internist and assistant professor of medicine at UCLA Health. Send your questions to askthedoctors@mednet.ucla.edu, or write: Ask the Doctors, c/o UCLA Health Sciences Media Relations, 10880 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 1450, Los Angeles, CA, 90024. Owing to the volume of mail, personal replies cannot be provided.

We are making critical coverage of the coronavirus available for free. Please consider subscribing so we can continue to bring you the latest news and information on this developing story.

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Eye problem related to atherosclerosis | Community | times-news.com - Cumberland Times-News

BRITISH Prime Minister Boris Johnson's chief adviser Dominic Cummings last week claimed he had travelled with his family to Barnard Castle in County Durham "to see if I could drive safely". His explanation was that he had thought his vision might have been affected by coronavirus.

Eye symptoms are recognised as a possible symptom of the disease conjunctivitis, sticky eyes and red eyes have been reported in around a third of patients according to a small study in Wuhan, China, published in March.

Conjunctivitis is also included as a less common symptom in the World Health Organisation's official list. But could Covid-19 affect vision? Robert MacLaren, a professor of ophthalmology at Oxford University, says: "You would be expected to make a full recovery from the eye problems reported so far, although it may cause temporary difficulties such as blurred vision."

The Royal National Institute Of Blind People says: "There is no evidence of sight loss caused directly by the virus," but noted "research is being carried out into some very rare cases that appear to be secondary to other complications such as blood clots caused by the virus".

Solo dmg media

Link:
Can the coronavirus really affect sufferers' eyes, as Dominic Cummings claimed? - The Irish News

Dear Doctor: A friend of our family suddenly lost the vision in his left eye because of something called retinal artery occlusion. What is that? How do you protect against it?

Dear Reader: To answer your question, we should begin with a bit of anatomy. The retina is a layer of light-sensitive tissue that lines the back of the eye. Its job is to receive the incoming rays of light that pass through the lens and translate them into signals. These signals, or impulses, then travel along the optic nerve to the brain, which interprets them as the images we see. As with all tissues within the body, the retina needs a steady supply of blood to function properly. In the case of the retina, this comes primarily from an artery and a vein. If either of these vessels, or any of their smaller branches, become blocked, which is known as an occlusion, the retina sustains damage.

When a blockage occurs in the vein that serves the retina, the blood can't drain away. Instead, it backs up and raises pressure within the eye, which can cause serious damage that affects sight. When the blockage occurs in the artery, as with your family friend, the retina is starved of oxygen and nutrients. Unless blood flow is restored quickly, the blockage will cause the cells of the retina to die. The result is a loss of vision. Unfortunately, there is no way to reverse the damage that arises as a result of retinal vessel occlusion.

Originally posted here:
Retinal artery occlusion related to atherosclerosis | | thetandd.com - The Times and Democrat

A GRANDDAD has had his sight saved thanks to opticians and surgeons.

Robert Scott, from Paddington, woke up one morning last month with a shadow on the bottom of his right eye.

At the urging of his wife Anne, the 63-year-old made an appointment at Specsavers on Sankey Street in the town centre where he was examined by optometrist Andrea Eaton.

She said: "I spoke to Robert initially on the phone to assess the situation and invited him into the store for a thorough examination later that day.

"Although closed for routine appointments, we have remained open for those requiring immediate attention while following government advice on social distancing and hygiene.

"It was clear upon close inspection that Roberts retina had detached from its position, becoming separated from the blood supply that provides it with essential nutrients and oxygen.

"I referred him immediately to the St Pauls Eye Unit at the Royal Liverpool University Hospital."

Retired company director Robert underwent surgery to reattach the retina the next day in order to save his sight.

The dad-of-two and granddad-of-four is now recovering at home after a successful operation.

He said: "When the shadow in my vision first appeared, I went to bed and thought nothing of it.

"It was only when I mentioned it to my wife the next day that I was compelled to get it looked at.

I had no idea it could be so serious.

"Id encourage anyone else experiencing unusual symptoms to get checked out straight away.

"Thanks to Andreas quick action in-store at Specsavers and the talented surgeons that worked on me, my sight will eventually return.

"For that Im very grateful."

Continue reading here:
Granddad has sight saved by opticians at Specsavers - Warrington Guardian

Ive been watching a lot of NASCAR lately, primarily because its the only sport that has gotten everything up and running again with any sort of regularity. That isnt to say things are back to normal, because with no fans and everyone at the track wearing masks, its clear we still have a while to go.

However, during a recent race, something unusual and completely unrelated to safety measures caught my eye (a pun, as youll soon see, could not have been more intended).

While looking at Joey Loganos in-car camera, I noticed he was wearing what appeared to be a pair of run-of-the-mill prescription glasses beneath his helmet. This stuck with me for two reasons because A) I would have thought driving a racecar would be more of a contact lens situation and B) it was an inspiring example of an athlete with less-than-great eyesight making it work.

I grew up with lousy eyes. If I had a pair of billiard balls in my eye sockets, my vision would only be marginally worse than it is now. At a certain point, I was forced to don a pair of glasses and endure the common barrage of childhood taunts that come with them, like four eyes and Look at this guy with his glasses! What do you do? Read books or something? Ha!

Fortunately for me and other people with vision issues, there have been heroic athletes who broke barriers by wearing glasses where no glasses had been worn before (or where its at least fairly inconvenient).

Lets take a look at some of the sports worlds bespectacled heroes.

When I was playing Little League and swinging at every ball that came my way (and several other flying objects I thought were baseballs but turned out not to be), I thought my hopes of making it to The Show were dashed. Damn you, feeble eyes. Damn you!

However, proof that poor eyesight was not a baseball career death sentence would come by way of the Great White North. Enter: Eric Gagne.

Best remembered as a closer for the Los Angeles Dodgers (where he was an absolute save machine), Gagne also brought some serious specs to the mound. They looked like theyd be at home at the shooting range just as much as they did on the mound.

Imagine having to come to the plate in the ninth down by two. The entire game rests on your shoulders. Youre shaking in your cleats as it is, and now, youre getting the stare down from those glasses. Youd swing at anything just to retreat into the clubhouse and drink a beer.

While pitching ability is probably the main reason Gagne was able to become the fastest pitcher to reach 100 saves, I like to think the glasses helped a little bit.

Folks, its important to remember that there are other eye maladies than just not seeing clearly. Thats why Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, the NBAs all-time leading scorer, opted to throw on his iconic goggles in the first place. Due in part to his height, Kareem got poked in the eyes a lot, and back in his college days, he even missed two games with a cornea injury.

Everyone knows you cant rack up copious amounts of points if youre sitting on the bench or missing an eye thanks to a defenders rogue finger. Youve got to protect those peepers, and if that means goggles, you wear goggles.

Abdul-Jabbar was a member of the Milwaukee Bucks and the Los Angeles Lakers during his career, but yknow what? He was also a Trailblazer.for eye protection.

Even the gridiron has seen some glasses and (with apologies to Rodrigo Blankenship) there is perhaps no case more notable thanLos Angeles Rams running back Eric Dickerson.

Dickerson sported a pair of rec specs during his time in the league, even if it was a less than desirable necessity. In a 2016 interview on the NFL Network, Dickerson was asked if his trademark frames were prescription or all style, to which he responded:

I am blind as a bat. I hated them goggles. I hated wearing those goggles.

I tried to go without them a couple times. Id go through practice and put contacts in. They worked. Id get into the game. I said, Keep my goggles on the sideline. First hit, contacts pop out.

Whether he was a fan of his eyewear or not, they helped Dickerson become a Pro Football Hall of Famer, and if there was an Athletic Eyewear Hall of Fame (which Im now realizing should be in Los Angles because that seems to be where everyone with glasses played at some point) hed be a first-ballot inductee there too.

No, notthoseHanson Brothers. Were talking about another group of long-haired siblings who played together 20 years before MMMBop dominated the charts: Jack, Steve, and Jeff Hanson, who were scoffed at for their numerous eccentricities from the moment they arrived in Charleston, West Virginia in Slap Shot.

They were mocked for beating up a soda machine that had the audacity to take their quarter, playing slot cars in their hotel room on a road trip, and, of course, for all wearing thick-rimmed, Buddy Holly-esque glasses.

But the second the three got the nod from Chiefs player-coach Reggie Dunlop in a game against the Broome County Blades, the trio took the entire Federal League by storm, dismantling the opposition and even squaring up against the likes of Tim Dr. Hook McCracken and the fearsome Ogie Oglethorpe.

The Hansons are some of the greatest inspirations in the history of corrective athletic optometry. It could be even be argued by some that their presence helped to keep the Chiefs from relocating to Florida.

The Hanson Brothers: absolute legends of both the rink and the optometrists office.

Read more here:
Lets Appreciate The Athletes Who Managed To Make Rec Specs Look Cooler Than They Have Any Right To Be - BroBible

The Verify team looked into online rumors that toxic fumes like tear gas can cause blindness if people wear contacts. Our experts say this is false.

Can toxic fumes like tear gas cause blindness if people are wearing contacts?

No. Contacts could soak in the fumes, or act as a reservoir for these fumes, which could cause increased pain and possible damage if kept on the eye for a long period of time. However, there is no evidence that it could cause blindness.

Dr. Lyndon Jones, Centre For Ocular Research and Education at the University of Waterloo.

Dr. Ravi Goel, American Academy of Ophthalmology

After a week of protests, over the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, there have been a number of social media rumors popping up as a result. Some on social media have started to make a pretty dramatic claim about the effects of tear gas.

"Do not wear contacts to any protest," wrote one person on Twitter. "When exposed with tear gas, your contacts will burn and glue to your eye, causing you to become permanently blind."

The claim is certainly enough to scare those who might be heading to a protest.

To find the truth, the Verify team reached out to Dr. Lyndon Jones, The Director of the Centre for Ocular Research and Education at the University of Waterloo.

He addressed the rumor head-on.

"Contact lenses dont get glued to your eye," he said. "Thats actually physically impossible. Theres always a layer of tears behind the lens. It might feel thats the case because its so excruciatingly painful."

Jones explained that there are different types of gas that might be used at a protest. Tear gas, which is man-made, is likely the most well-known of the substances, but it's not the only one being used.

During Washington, D.C. protests, reporter Nathan Baca found a canister, labeled as "Oleoresins Capiscum," or OC for short. Johnson said that this is a scientific name for pepper spray, which is a natural substance.

"Pepper Spray, the oil-based one, could potentially be soaked up by the contact lens and then be held against the eye," Johnson said. "So that might make a difference."

Dr. Ravi Goel, the Spokesperson for the American Academy of Ophthalmology, agreed, saying that these lenses could act as a "reservoir," holding in the fumes. He said that contact lenses can cause serious damage, if left in for a long period of time, after tear gas is released.

"It can be a liability," he said. "If there's a gas or physical trauma."

So we can verify, wearing contacts when hit with tear bad will not cause blindness. However, it could keep the fumes in your eye longer and cause more irritation.

For that reason, it might be a good idea to bring goggles to cover your eyes, or simply wear glasses, if there's a chance of facing these fumes.

See original here:
VERIFY: Is it safe to wear contacts to a protest or can tear gas cause blindness? - WUSA9.com

NewsHealthGold 'nanobars' absorb heat of near-infrared light helping to repair damaged retina cells

Thursday, 4th June 2020, 7:00 pm

They are hopeful that their technique could be available on the health service within a decade although they caution that much more work is needed to determine the process is safe and effective first.

Experiments on mice showed the new technique effectively restored sight in mice with macular degeneration, a leading cause of blindness.

It will now be tested on humans in a huge clinical trial.

Golden Eye

We are very excited indeed by our findings, said Daniel Hillier, of the German Primate Center in Gttingen.

"We believe that near-infrared stimulation is an important step towards providing useful vision to blind patients so that they can regain their ability to read or see faces", said Dr Hillier.

The technique involves implanting billions of gold miniscule nanobars into the retina. These capture near-infrared light rays, absorbing their heat and slowly releasing it into the eye.

The heat makes the damaged photoreceptors vibrate and that movement helps them bind with functional genes delivered to the retina at the same time through a separate injection - and sight is restored.

Hope for blind people

"We want to give hope to blind people with these findings and will further intensify our research activities in this area. We have also demonstrated this method in cultured human retinas [in the lab], so the next step is clinical trials, said Dr Hillier.

The good thing is that the core component [the delivery system for the functional genes] is already approved for clinical use. Therefore I expect the human trials to be relatively straightforward, he said.

Macular degeneration is one of the major reasons for visual impairment, with nearly 200 million people affected worldwide. Photoreceptors in the retina are responsible for capturing the light. Diseased photoreceptors lose their sensitivity to light, which can lead to impaired vision or even complete blindness.

The study is published in the journal Science.

Original post:
How billions of tiny gold flecks could help restore vision and treat blindness - inews

By JENERALI ULIMWENGUMore by this Author

A motorist suddenly stops in the midst of a rush-hour traffic jam and starts flailing his arms before his face in obvious panic. Then another driver, then another, then another.

The traffic jam is building behind the first commuter, until somebody from the long line behind the first character moves over to the car causing all the blockage, and discovers in horror that the man they have all been hooting at is blind as an owl, and is totally helpless.

This is the beginning of Blindness, a superb novel by Portuguese winner of the Nobel award for literature, Jose Saramago, now sadly passed, a novel that frequently reminds me of how a sudden affliction can change the way we behave with ourselves and with each other.

In Blindness it soon becomes clear that nearly everyone in that town (no name places, no country, no people names, no dates, no season) is going blind, and in a short time a new order is established where practically everyone is blind, and a new hierarchy and social order establishes itself along the lines of the limitations imposed by the mass blindness.

But this is society, and it shall, perforce, be social; this means it has to adapt to the new realities of sightlessness. Some members of the society are apparently able to see a little better than others, and this gives them a slight advantage, although they pretend to be as blind as any other member; and others develop alternative faculties that set them apart from their peers.

Everyone who has some advantage or other, though blind, finds a way to pull a fast one over the others and to maximise their gains, especially when it comes to accessing goods and services whose supply is becoming strained by the affliction that has struck the whole town. (Instructively, at the very beginning, the person who helps to drive the first blind man home steals the blind mans car).

Government responses are understandably confused, seeing as it is a mighty unusual situation and no one knows how to handle it. Patients are herded into quarantines centres, and the conditions there are unbearable, with excrements and dead bodies clogging the corridors.

Rations are erratic and fought over, and those who can cheat to have extra portions have a field day. Soon there are organised gangs grabbing anything they can loot that is destined for those in the detention centres, who cannot get out because troops have been stationed outside the gate with orders to shoot any escapees.

As conditions worsen, all sorts of systems for the exploitation of the weakest members of the cohort come to the fore, with quarantine inmates forced to trade whatever earthly belongings they have, just to stay alive, until they run out of anything they can trade for a little food. Soon, the age-old sexual exploitation of women shows its ugly head.

Its this last act of abuse perpetrated against the women of the community that spurs an uprising led by the females who throw themselves against the hoodlums who have dominated them using the scourge of blindness that has afflicted their community as cover. The women thus become the spearhead of a popular uprising that overthrows the oppressive system.

Saramagos is a frightening story, but one that is easy to recognise in our present realities imposed by the Covid-19 pandemic. The fact that even the most distinguished virologists and epidemiologists have so little knowledge as to how this pandemic will eventually play out, makes us all blind.

As devastating as the pandemic will prove to a great many people around the globe, the smart alecks will try to take advantage of this calamitous situation, and the masses, with their usual credulity, will fall victim to all sorts of schemes and stratagems.

A short while ago I was contemplating the messaging put out to the people in Tanzania. Shall we now all come out and celebrate because we have vanquished the virus? Or, shall we continue taking all the precautionary measures to halt its spread?

In Dar es Salaam, I have witnessed people do the two at the same time, and I have wondered what the double messaging could be in aid of.

The blindness in Saramagos novel need not be the physical unseeing such as our gallant ophthalmologists have to deal with.

Blindness can be bestowed on a peopleor, rather, a people can bestow blindness on itselfwith fully functional biological eyes that have been made to see nothing.

Jenerali Ulimwengu is chairman of Raia Mwema newspaper and an advocate of the High Court in Dar es Salaam. E-mail: [emailprotected]

Read more:
Profiteers on the prowl as mass blindness is loosed upon us all - The East African

Molly Burke turned to YouTube when she lost her sight, and subsequently all her friends, at 14 years old.

Early teenage years are tough for anyone, but getting bullied and going blind on top of the hormones, puberty, and general unease sent Burke to a really dark place where she even considered suicide. It was delving deep into the world of YouTube that helped pull her out and find a new path.

"I somehow ended up stumbling upon the beauty lifestyle community and that kind of became my home on YouTube," she told Insider. "Because I found these girls who were all around my age, either 13, 14, or 15, and they were talking about all the things that I've always loved: makeup, fashion, dating all of these things that at 14 felt so important to me. And honestly, at 26, still feel important to me."

She said it was like having friends again, because these were things teenage girls talk to their friends about when they're going shopping or having sleepovers, which Burke was no longer invited to. Her former friends stopped talking to her when bullies started seeing her as an easy target.

"It kind of filled that gap in my life," she said. "I could no longer look in store windows, read magazines, or swatch lipsticks on the back of my own hand at Sephora. But I could listen to them describe the colors of the lipsticks. I could listen to them talk about what clothes were trendy."

These videos were a way for Burke to get into the world of fashion and makeup again, through listening to her new-found best friends and big sisters.

Burke knew she one day wanted to set up her own channel, but she didn't actually do it until she was 20. She said she always wanted to wait until she was at the tail end of her journey through recovery and self-acceptance rather than the beginning.

Even at 16 she had the wisdom to understand she wasn't ready, because if she set up her channel and received unkind comments they would destroy her. She knew she had to be in a place where she was fully secure with who she was.

To this day Burke gets comments saying she's faking her blindness, or suggesting she's been cured and is just continuing the facade for attention all of which are things people would say to her back when she first lost her sight.

"It's something I faced at 14 and it crushed me because it felt so invalidating to the very real pain I was living with," she said. "But because I started at 20 when I worked so hard to get through that period in my life and get to the other side, by the time I was receiving those comments, I just laughed. It didn't bother me at all. I'm like, 'Oh, look at you with your cute little ignorance.'"

Molly Burke uses criticism to fuel her. Molly Burke / YouTube

One Reddit post Burke finds particularly hilarious is dedicated to a conspiracy about how she used to be blind, but she found the cure and is keeping it to herself.

"It was like, 'She knows too much about blindness to have not at one point been blind, but I think she either found a cure or got better,'" she said. "Like blindness is the common cold that you just recover from, or like I'm harboring the cure in my two-bedroom LA apartment. Like I know the cure for blindness but I'm not going to share it."

Comments doubting Burke's disability have inspired her to highlight topics that the online world needs to know more about, such as why her eyes shake, how she can look at the camera, and why the eyes of blind people don't all look the same.

Burke uses the criticism whether it's made in good faith or is blatant trolling to energize her to make more content to educate people. This was a lesson she learned through going to five different schools and getting bullied each time.

"By the time I was in grade 11 and 12, it was just like, 'Instead of letting it tear me down, I'm gonna let it fuel me up,'" she said. "Let it fuel my fire, raise me up, push me forward."

Once Burke had been on YouTube for a while, she received a comment that has stuck with her until today. The fan said they didn't just want to hear her talk about blindness, they wanted to hear about her life, too.

For Burke it was a relief, because before YouTube she already had a successful career as a motivational speaker. She loved educating people, but for over two years she was booked solid speaking about being blind, being bullied, and mental illness.

"I was starting to feel like things were defining me again," she said. "I wanted to have another creative outlet, another way to continue to entertain and educate like I did as a motivational speaker, but about the things that also make up Molly. The other facets of who I am: the girl who loves fashion and makeup, and dogs, and funny dating stories, and yoga, and tea, and bubble baths, and all of these other things. And so that's why I started the channel."

Burke, and her trusty guide dog Gallop, now have a huge following of nearly two million subscribers. She has collaborated with some of YouTube's biggest stars, including Shane Dawson, Colleen Ballinger, and James Charles. To maximize clickbait in the titles and thumbnails, creators often refer to her as a "blind girl," which Burke has no issue with because it helps her spread awareness.

In one recent video, Burke emotionally told a story that she and Gallop face all too often. She'd reached a breaking point and had to talk about how Uber and Lyft drivers often cancel her rides when they see she has a dog with her.

"It was just a boiling point for me where I was noticing how much it was truly affecting me emotionally and how much it was weighing on me," she said. "I really needed to talk about it because at the end of the day, I do what I do in the hopes of creating change."

Burke explained in the video how one experience was a stark reminder that she isn't always treated equally because of her disability. After starring in a commercial and celebrating with her friends, her day was ruined when the ride she had ordered to get her home drove off upon seeing Gallop.

"My guide dog for me isn't a choice," she said in the video. "Gallop isn't a choice. Gallop is my mobility, he is my freedom, he is my independence. The best way I can explain it is Gallop to me is what a wheelchair is to someone who is paralyzed. It is a need, it is not a want."

Burke told Insider she believes people won't care about a cause until they are given a reason to, because there are so many issues in our world to be passionate about. That usually comes with having a family member or close friend who has a disability.

"I want to be that reason," she said. "I want people to feel connected to me enough to be that real human in their lives that makes them care about this community more and helps them understand that more."

Burke loves what she does because it combines her two passions: performing and educating. But she never intended to become the "blind girl of YouTube."

"I wanted to be one of many blind people, one of many disabled people, because their success doesn't take away from my success," she said. "Their success builds the success of our community, gaining representation and breaking barriers to the rest of society. And that's ultimately what I've always wanted."

Burke said if the blind community had more voices on YouTube, it would take a lot of pressure off her. Being a prominent blind person on YouTube means people often mistakenly think she represents the whole blind community.

"That has come with blind people being my biggest supporters and blind people being my biggest haters," she said. "Because the blind people who feel like I'm representing them love me. But the blind people who don't feel like I represent them dislike me because they don't feel like my content is authentic to them."

Burke's experience is just hers, and it shouldn't be taken as the one and only story there is. That's why she always wants to make it clear in her videos and public speaking that she is not all blind people.

"I'm Molly and Molly is blind," she said. "Don't take my experience as the experience of blindness."

Molly Burke doesn't speak for the entire blind community. Chris Sanders

In one example, Burke decided she was going to get laser hair removal on her legs, but she had never shaved before (which is a requirement before the procedure). Her mother, being an "Irish mama who grew up in the sixties," had never been that bothered about hair removal, so when the time came for Burke to ask her about it, she simply took her daughter to get waxed instead.

Burke thought it would be a fun video to film herself shaving her legs for the first time. She didn't expect the backlash she received.

"All these blind girls were like, 'You are making it seem like blind girls don't know how to take care of themselves, this is ridiculous,'" she said. "I was like, I'm sorry, did you ever hear me say that once in a video? Did you ever hear me say I'm the first blind girl ever to shave? Nope. Never said it."

The expectation to represent all blind people is not one Burke asked for, or something she thinks is fair. It's too much pressure for one person.

"I cannot bear that weight because no matter how hard I try, I can never represent every blind experience," she said, "And that's why I always encourage other blind people to make content and to share their perspective."

Another thing that divides the blind community is wheter or not they want to be cured. Burke grew up in the world of the medical model of disability, which is the belief that a cure for your disease or condition is paramount. Essentially it means seeing disability through the lens of an able-bodied person, and assuming that it must be depressing, inconvenient, and terrible.

She was literally the face of a charity whose sole goal was to find a cure for her disease a breakdown and loss of cells in the retina called Retinitis pigmentosa.

She does not think organizations and charities should stop searching for a cure, but she does want to change the way the world sees and talks about it. She's tired of the fundraisers that describe disabilities like blindness as a devastating, life-ending thing with a young girl who will "never pick her own wedding dress" or "see her family smile" because she "lives in darkness."

"If I'm being told that my whole life and then I go blind and there is no cure for me, how the hell am I supposed to feel about myself?" she said. "Depressed, broken, less than, incomplete? Like I need to be fixed or change in order to be whole, in order to be successful, in order to find love and success in life?"

#wef20

A post shared by Molly Burke (@mollyburkeofficial) on Jan 27, 2020 at 12:37pm PSTJan 27, 2020 at 12:37pm PST

Burke now believes in the social model of disability, which means tackling the misconception that the only option to be successful, happy, and whole as a disabled person is through finding a cure.

"That is absolute garbage," she said. "We as disabled people shouldn't be told that inherently we are less than or our life won't be as good because we are disabled."

The way we talk about a cure has a great impact on how we will live our lives, she said.

"It breaks my heart how many disabled people don't live life, they sit and wait for a cure," she said. "That is no way to live."

Burke went through a long journey of feeling angry, broken, and hopeless to reach where she is now: She does not want to be cured. It took around four years of discussions with her disability mentor, with whom she is still very close, to be open to hearing that her life was enough as it is, and how she would be able to live happily without a cure to her blindness.

Part of that journey was accepting that a cure for Retinitis pigmentosa will probably never be found in her lifetime. Even if there is progress, it will probably a very expensive surgery that results in a slight improvement in shadow and light perception, which Burke has decided she does not want to put herself through. Returning someone's full vision is unlikely to ever be on the cards.

She has accepted that and she feels comfortable, happy, successful, and whole knowing that blindness is just one challenge she faces. If she was cured, all her problems wouldn't be gone. Her focus would just be on a different one.

For example, blind people are less likely to get divorced, which is a statistic Burke loves.

"My friend might get divorced and I might get to live my whole life in a happy marriage," she said. "Divorce is a challenge that they have to cope with. I've learned to deal with my challenges to live with them, to accept them, and to make the most of them. And so I'm not going to change my life in the hopes that I won't have challenges anymore, because that's unrealistic."

When Burke told her parents she no longer wanted her sight back, her mom breathed a sigh of relief and said: "Oh thank God."

"She was so relieved because, as a parent, she had felt so much pressure to help me be my best self," Burke said. "And she had always been taught to think that was through a cure."

She wants more able-bodied parents of disabled children to be open to the idea of the social model of disability because it takes away the pressure of needing to "fix" their child.

"It empowers everyone to just say, 'You know what? We can make damn best of this,'" she said. "We can live our best lives, be happy with the beautiful, wonderful child we do have and empower them to feel beautiful and confident the way they are."

Burke doesn't necessarily think anyone alive right now will live to see the world completely shift to this frame of mind, but she hopes to be at least 0.01% of helping bring that change.

Guide dogs cost between $40,000 and $60,000. Chris Sanders

Burke is currently raising money for the MIRA Foundation through merch sales, which is a charity that provides guide dogs to blind people. The organization is having a really tough time right now, she said, because they are not able to train the dogs (which cost between $40,000 and $60,000) during the coronavirus pandemic and they receive no government funding.

"I'm trying to do my part right now to help my community," she said.

Her job is incredibly stressful and overwhelming at times, but she wouldn't change it for the world. She said even when she's feeling the pressure the most, she refuses to stop or slow down.

"I don't want to because I love this so much," she said. "I can be stressed and overwhelmed and overworked in a job that I hate or I can be stressed, overwhelmed and overworked in a job that I'm so passionate about."

That passion certainly comes through because her followers, both blind and sighted, can always find something to relate to. She said a lot of her content, be it swimwear hauls, hair dye attempts, or storytime videos about first dates, ultimately show her viewers "how normal I am."

"I think if you boil my experiences and story down to one thing that is relatable for everybody is that I've overcome challenges again, and again, and again," she said. "And I will continue to, and I encourage everybody else to do the same."

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Why Molly Burke, who accidentally became 'the blind girl of YouTube,' doesn't want her sight back - Insider - INSIDER

Is it legal for police officers to use tear gas on protesters? We break down when the chemical irritant can and can't be used.

For days, people across the nation have marched to protest the killing of George Floyd, a black man who died after a Minneapolis police officer held his knee on Floyds neck.

Police forces have responded to these protests with tear gas and other anti-riot measures. Protesters have posted countless photos and videos to social media showing police firing the chemical gas during the demonstrations.

The most common types of chemicals used in these agents today are chloroacetophenone and 2-chlorobenzalmalononitrile, according to the CDC. Usually, these chemical compounds cause a burning sensation in the eyes, nose and on the skin. Long-lasting exposure or large doses could cause blindness, respiratory failure or death, the CDC says.

Some posts claim tear gas is illegal to use in warfare - so why can police use it against civilians?

So the VERIFY team researched the rules behind tear gas.

THE QUESTION

Is the usage of tear gas a war crime?

THE ANSWER

But law enforcement can still legally use it for riot control purposes. In fact, the same agreement that banned and criminalized tear gas in warfare also specifically allowed for its use by law enforcement.

WHAT WE FOUND

The general use of asphyxiating, poisonous or other gases was prohibited by the Geneva Protocol of 1925, shortly after WWI. The text of the protocol was short and did not specify beyond that what gases were banned.

The United States Senate, according to the State Department, did not ratify the treaty at the time. In fact, the United States continued to use tear gas and chemical herbicides in the Vietnam War, arguing that such chemicals were not covered by the Geneva Protocol. But other countries, especially those in the Soviet bloc, argued that the use of tear gas was prohibited by the Geneva Protocol.

A Swedish ambassador at the time argued there was a danger of escalation if nonlethal chemical agents were permitted but also pointed out that the military use of tear gases should be distinguished from their use for riot control, the State Department says.

A broader interpretation of the Geneva Protocol was then adopted and the United States eventually ratified it -- with a few riot-control exceptions -- in 1975.

In 1992, the United Nations held a convention on chemical weaponscalled the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on Their Destruction.

During this meeting, the organization developed a second treaty that was similar to the first, but more explicit in its guidance. The updated agreement prohibited members from using "riot control agents as a method of warfare."

That convention explicitly defined riot control gases as chemicals "which can produce rapidly in humans sensory irritation or disabling physical effects which disappear within a short time following termination of exposure," to avoid the debate that occurred following the Geneva Protocol.

But the issue provoked debate among member states. Jamil Dakwar, a representative from the ACLU, said in an interview with PRI said there was pressure to ban chemical weapons in the leadup to the Chemical Weapons Convention. He said many countries argued they would resort to more lethal methods to control their own citizens if law enforcement could not use these chemicals.

So as a compromise, the agreement again allowed an exception for the use of these chemicals for domestic riot control purposes.

Our expert also explained some of the risks involved when using these chemicals during wartime.

Richard Price, a political science professor at the University of British Columbia and the author of The Chemical Weapons Taboo, told VERIFY in an email that soldiers dont have the luxury of determining if gasses shot at them are tear gases or much more lethal chemical weapons like chlorine, mustard or what have you."

He said any gases on the frontlines could expose a country to false accusations of using illegal chemicals. Such claims could escalate the conflict further.

"The best thing to avoid potentially false accusations of prohibited lethal chemical use (that then spirals to more general use in retaliation) was to just ban them all in the context of battle.

He also explained that the Chemical Weapons Convention decided on the term "riot control" gases rather than non-lethal gases because they can kill, if in sufficient dosage and concentration, such as in a confined area, but that is very rare since they are usually used outdoors, but thats one reason why the CWC doesnt differentiate these as lethal/non-lethal gases, but rather define according to the purpose (riot control).

BOTTOM LINE

Yes, tear gas is banned for use in war. However, the same international provisions that ban it also allow law enforcement to use it domestically.

Its also incorrect to say tear gas is non-lethal. It can be lethal in confined areas, which is one reason its banned in war. Its very rarely lethal when used outdoors.

Though many countries use these chemicals for riot control purposes, their use remains controversial.

See more here:
VERIFY: Tear gas is banned from war, but not banned for use by law enforcement internationally - WUSA9.com

A Maasai man in the Kibera slum of Nairobi, Kenya, prays next to a mural of George Floyd, painted by the artist Allan Mwangi on June 3. Gordwin Odhiambo/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

A Maasai man in the Kibera slum of Nairobi, Kenya, prays next to a mural of George Floyd, painted by the artist Allan Mwangi on June 3.

Around the world, people have held vigils, organized protests and painted murals this week to show solidarity with the Black Lives Matter protests taking place across America.

These events are also taking place in countries struggling with their own crises conflict, poverty, the pandemic. America's loud call for justice after the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery and many more black Americans has resonated.

In Nigeria, a dozen protesters gathered in front of the U.S. embassy in Abuja with signs that said "Black life matters." In Ghana, the president tweeted a drawing of George Floyd and wrote: "Black people, the world over, are distraught by the killing of an unarmed black man."

And in Syria's war-torn city of Idlib, artist Aziz Asmar says he was moved to create a mural after watching the media coverage around Floyd's death.

"I decided to paint George Floyd on the rubble of a building destroyed by aviation ... to send a message to the world that despite the international negligence and blindness of the killing of civilians in Syria over a period of 10 years, we have a humanitarian duty to sympathize with all the oppressed in the world," he wrote to NPR. "Because we are advocates of peace, we hope that racism and crime will disappear and that the world will enjoy happiness."

Here are more examples of how people around the world are honoring black lives and demanding racial equality.

Members of the All India Peace and Solidarity Organization hold placards in silent protest at the U.S. consulate in Hyderabad, India, on June 4. Noah Seelam/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

Palestinian digital artist Munes al-Salihi draws a portrait of George Floyd at his house in a refugee camp in the Gaza Strip on June 4. Mohammed Abed/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

A woman holds a sign saying "Justice for George Floyd" in Spanish in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on June 2. Ronaldo Schemidt/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

A man kneels during a protest against police brutality in Mexico City on June 4. Manuel Velasquez/Getty Images hide caption

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PHOTOS: The Global South Shows Solidarity For George Floyd : Goats and Soda - NPR