Some supplements can damage eyes

[Naveed Yaseen]

ISLAMABAD: Many herbal remedies and nutritional supplements can damage the eyes, including some alternative therapies that are used by people trying to correct eye problems, new research reports.

According to a review of reported cases and medical literature, commonly used supplements including chamomile, ginkgo biloba, licorice, vitamin A and echinacea can cause a myriad of eye problems.

Study author Dr. Frederick Fraunfelder explained that supplements become dangerous to the eyes when people take them in large doses. They can cause problems including severe conjunctivitis, eye irritation, retinal bleeding and temporary loss of vision, the study found. “Tell your physician what you take, as these products interact with other drugs,” Fraunfelder advises. “Recognize even herbal products and nutritional supplements have adverse reactions.”

People who choose to take supplements that can damage eyes should schedule an eye exam before beginning the treatment, then visit an eye doctor every year to monitor their eyes, he told.

Fraunfelder, who is based at the Casey Eye Institute in Portland, Oregon, explained that most people are unaware of how damaging supplements can be to the eyes. “Most consumers assume because a product is naturally occurring it is safe,” he said.

As a result, about forty percent of people who use alternative therapies do not discuss them with their doctors.

To investigate which supplements can cause the most eye damage, Fraunfelder reviewed all eye-related case reports submitted to the World Health Organization, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the National Registry of Drug-Induced Ocular Side Effects, which contains data from as far back as 1976. He also combed the medical literature for additional reports of eye problems caused by supplements.

Fraunfelder, who presented his findings in the American Journal of Ophthalmology, found 30 instances in which canthaxanthine, a carotenoid that produces an artificial suntan when taken orally, caused changes to users’ retinas, including crystal deposits.

The researcher uncovered seven cases in which people rinsed their eyes with chamomile tea to treat styes and irritation, and instead developed severe conjunctivitis.

Echinacea is widely touted as useful for treating the common cold and flu, but Fraunfelder found seven cases in which users developed irritation and conjunctivitis after using it topically.

The researcher also discovered five cases of temporary vision loss apparently caused by licorice consumption, and 71 cases of niacin causing eye problems.

Fraunfelder noted that vitamin A is a particularly big threat to the eyes at high doses, and ginkgo biloba, a blood thinner, can cause retinal bleeding when combined with other blood thinners.

Most people were using the supplements for reasons unrelated to their eyes, including arthritis, inflammation and digestive problems.

Handling Burns: Would you know what to do if a family member got a thermal burn?

That’s the term for a burn caused by contact with open flame, hot liquid, a hot surface, or other source of high heat.

The Shriners Hospitals for Children suggests these steps:

* Get the victim away from the heat source as quickly and safely as possible.

* Cool the burn with cold water.

* Cover the area with a sterile pad or clean sheet.

* Maintain the person’s body temperature and take the victim to the nearest medical facility.

* Do not apply oils, sprays or ointments to a serious burn.

Study Backs Link Between Father’s Age, Schizophrenia: Children born to older fathers have a higher than normal risk of developing schizophrenia later in life, Swedish scientists said on Friday.

They suspect that accumulating mutations in the sperm of older men add to the risk of their children suffering from the psychotic disorder.

“There is an association between paternal age and the risk of schizophrenia in the offspring,” Professor Finn Rasmussen, of the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, told.

Other researchers have suggested such a link before but Rasmussen said his study of 700,000 people in Sweden is the largest and most significant.

“On a population level this is important because of the increasing paternal age of the population,” he added.

Career demands and other factors have resulted in couples postponing having children. In England and Wales the average paternal age has increased from 29.2 in 1980 to 32.1 in 2002.

Rasmussen and his team, who reported their research in the British Medical Journal, estimated that the three-year age increase in the last 20 years could result in 12-15 percent more cases of schizophrenia.

The causes of schizophrenia are unknown. Scientists believe it affects chemicals in the brain and that there is a biological link which can predispose a person to the disease.

It affects about 24 million people worldwide, mostly in the 15-35 age group. Although it is a treatable illness, more than 50 percent of sufferers do not receive appropriate care, according to the World Health Organization.

Schizophrenia usually begins in the late teens and early 20s and is characterized by hallucinations, delusions, hearing voices and changes in behavior.

In their study of people born between 1973 and 1980, Rasmussen and his colleagues analyzed hospital admissions for schizophrenia and other disorders between 1989 and 2001.

They calculated that, overall, 15.5 percent of schizophrenia cases in the study group may have been due to the patient having a father who was over 30 years at the birth.

The risk increases with age, so a child born to a man of 50 could have a higher risk than one whose father was 30. “The occurrence of mutation in sperm increases with age,” Rasmussen added.

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