WebMD's Bill Lloyd, MD

Envisioning Recovery

Folks too often overlook eye care when thinking about their health, yet vision remains one of their most precious senses! Here are some important tips to help Katrina survivors during these challenging times:

• Broken glasses? Don't hesitate to use your old spectacles until a replacement pair can be prescribed. It will not hurt your eyes to wear an outdated or imperfect correction and you'll likely see better than no glasses at all.
• Hand washing! This cannot be overemphasized, especially if you are wearing contact lenses or have had any kind of refractive surgery such as LASIK. Personal hygiene is essential if you continue to rely on contact lenses. Your eyes are susceptible to serious infections from soil and contaminated water.
• Eyedrops -- Fortunately most bottles of prescription eyedrops hold far more medicine than you would suspect. If you are running dangerously low, consider reducing your dosage by half rather than stopping altogether. Those drops do no good if they're still in the bottle.
• Generics -- In crisis times be prepared to have your current drug prescriptions substituted by other brands. It should make no difference over a few weeks or months.
• Diabetes Patients -- You need to be extra careful to watch your nutrition and medications. Abrupt visual blurriness (near or distance vision) may be your earliest signal that your blood glucose levels are outside the normal range.
• Contagious Pinkeye -- Citizens living in relocation centers will be exposed to many germs carried by other inhabitants. Frequent hand washing is your best protection. Acute conjunctivitis can overwhelm a crowded relocation center as fast as it can a college campus or military installation.
• Eye Protection -- If someone you know is involved in recovery operations at any level, make sure they are using sturdy eyewear. The combination of power tools, dirt, wind, grinding metal, and contaminated surfaces is a genuine health threat across the region. Immediately rinse the eyes with clean water after any accidents.

Phenomenal resources are being mobilized to help the victims of Hurricane Katrina, and medical services are high on that list. Until the situation stabilizes each family has to actively participate in keeping its members in the best of health. And that includes protecting our good eyesight.

In the days ahead I will post more suggestions to help everyone get through these difficult times. In the meantime join us at the Katrina Support and Eye & Vision Disorders communities here at WebMD.

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Published September 1, 2005.