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No matter what I try, I can't get my screen background to be a black background. I'm 74 years old with cataracts and the white background just washes out the foreground text. Is there any way to make a dark background? No matter how I change my computer settings, Freerepublic still has a white background.

I am 88 and need Cataract Surgery. I am very active and want to continue to wear glasses for eye protection for my varies hobbies (Carpentry, auto repair, etc). I am nearsighted and have always worn glasses. I prefer single focus Lenses - should go for "Near" new Lens them adjust with new glasses or "Far" then adjust with new glasses. ...or give your best recommendations that you have from your own experience!

Ophthalmologists may be able to safely cut back on having anesthesiologists or nurse anesthetists routinely at bedside during cataract surgery. Researchers examined Medicare claims for 36,652 patients who had cataract surgery and found the use of anesthesia care was substantially higher for cataract surgery when compared to patients undergoing other elective, low-risk outpatient procedures—such as cardiac catheterization or screening colonoscopy. However, they found that these patients experienced fewer systemic complications—such as myocardial infarction or stroke—than did patients undergoing the other low-risk procedures. These results held true even in cases where anesthesia experts were not present for the cataract surgery, suggesting...

Cataract surgery was also associated with lower risk of Alzheimer’s disease dementia specifically. Results reported in JAMA Internal Medicine associate cataract surgery with 30% lower risk of dementia in aging population. Cataracts affect most older adults at risk for dementia, and now researchers are finding strong evidence that cataract surgery is associated with a lower risk of developing dementia. The Adult Changes in Thought (ACT) study is a long-standing, Seattle-based observational study at Kaiser Permanente Washington of more than 5,000 participants older than 65. Based on the longitudinal data of over 3,000 ACT study participants, researchers have now found that...

So, I am finally going to have cataracts removed as th blurry vision has become too annoying. What has been your experience with this operation? Did you get the hard or the vision correcting lenses? Was it painful?

Hey FReoples! I'm too young for cataracts, but so is my sister so apparently it's a genetic condition. Went to the Ophthalmologist earlier today on a referral from my Optometrist who discovered them a month ago. Was expecting "Oh, yeah, but you can wait a few years" but got "Oh, the right eye is pretty bad, you should do this now". Then I got the impression this was a production line deal, the Doc wanted me to file for insurance approval and make all appointments on the spot more or less, and THEN went into his sales pitch about lasers...

I'm getting cataract surgery soon, can anyone share their experience as to how the surgery turned out, what kind of IOL you received, etc.. Any info will be appreciated!

A one-eyed copper rockfish at the Vancouver Aquarium is now sporting a glass eye to prevent it from being bullied by other fish. Dr. Lesanna Lahner of the Seattle Aquarium fitted the aging rockfish with a bright yellow taxidermy eye to help protect it from being “picked on” by other fish that viewed its empty eye socket as a sign of weakness. “It’s doing well,” Lahner told Metro. “Since it’s had the prosthetic eye, it’s been out and about and acting more like a normal rock fish.” Lahner, who has been fine-tuning the procedure for the past few years, lent...

Just back from the doctors office, got the wrapper off of my left eye. When everything settles down I'm gonna have close to 20/20 in both eyes!It's a different world and it sure is pretty!

Lat Tuesday I had the cataracts in my right eye removed and a new lens implanted. I checked in yesterday to get the wrappings removed.It was one of the most amazing experiences of my life. I had no clue just how nearly blind I was. I can close my "new" right eye and the view I get from the cloudy left is dismal, before surgery my left eye was the best. I napped a lot yesterday, at first I couldn't quite get my vision right, but every time I woke up things were a little bit clearer. This morning is...

Scientists are reporting a scientific basis for the long-standing belief that a widely used non-prescription drug in China and certain other countries can prevent and treat cataracts, a clouding of the lens of the eye that is a leading cause of vision loss worldwide. Their study appears in Inorganic Chemistry, an ACS journal. In the study, Tzu-Hua Wu, Fu-Yung Huang, Shih-Hsiung Wu and colleagues note that eye drops containing pirenoxine, or PRX, have been reputed as a cataract remedy for almost 60 years. Currently, the only treatment for cataracts in Western medicine is surgical replacement of the lens, the clear...

I've been noticing some long distance vision problems for several months. I had an exam today, cataracts in both eyes. The doc says new specs will keep me going for a while but plan on surgery within 2 years or so.The good news is that there are no signs of glaucoma, and my optic nerves and arteries look good.I've probably been missing a lot, when your eyes just gradually start having problems you don't always notice how bad they are.

Broad new TAU study finds statins cut cataract risk in men almost in halfStatins, a class of drugs used to lower cholesterol levels, have been successfully fighting heart disease for years. A new study from Tel Aviv University has now found that the same drugs cut the risks of cataracts in men by almost 40%. "Doctors have known for some time that there is some sort of preventative effect that statins have against cataracts," says Dr. Gabriel Chodick of the Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine at the Sackler Faculty of Medicine at Tel Aviv University, who led the study....

Patients are having their eyes fitted with an artificial lens that allows them to see in high definition. Surgeons begin the process by implanting the lens into the eye using the standard procedure for cataracts. Then, for the first time in Britain, they can fine-tune the focus of the lens several days later. The technique gives patients vision so sharp that it is even better than 20/20 - the best an adult can usually hope for. Bobby Qureshi, the first ophthalmic surgeon in the UK to use the lens, described it as "a hugely significant development". It can correct both...

The blue-masked man bends forward in his rolling chair, back stiff, eyes pressed to microscope. On his surgical table lies a woman wrapped in blue like a package, except for naked right eye, lid peeled back, pupil widely dilated, bathed in light. He is busy with two slender instruments. One obliterates a lens, opaque as butter. The other suctions out milky debris. He slips a tube into the same incision and deposits a folded thing that spreads like the wing of a moth. The folded thing becomes a clear lens. It all takes five minutes. The woman sees again. The...

Overweight and obese people should be aware that their unhealthy lifestyle could put their eyesight at risk, scientists say. It is common knowledge that expanding waistlines are linked to conditions such as diabetes, heart disease and cancer. But research shows that obesity is also linked to eye problems, which could lead to loss of eyesight. Two Israeli ophthalmologists are now warning that the prospect of eye disease should also be a powerful incentive to lose weight. Professor Michael Belkin and Dr Zohar Habot-Wilner, from the Goldschleger Eye Institute at the Sheba Medical Centre, reviewed more than 20 studies involving thousands...

AP MEDICAL WRITER CHICAGO -- Statins, the cholesterol-lowering drugs taken by millions of Americans, might also reduce the risk of cataracts, a preliminary study suggests. Adults who took statins were found to be 45 percent less likely to develop the most common type of age-related cataracts. Other researchers warned that something other than statins might explain the results and that the study does not prove cause-and-effect. The results were a surprise because of earlier concerns that some cholesterol medication might increase the risk of cataracts, a common clouding-over of the lens of the eye that can lead to poor vision...

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - New research provides further evidence that substances in kale, spinach and other green vegetables help protect aging eyes from cataracts. In an experiment, investigators found that human eye cells treated with antioxidants called lutein and zeaxanthin showed less damage after being exposed to ultraviolet rays, the sunlight ingredient considered a major contributor to cataracts. Cataracts occur when proteins in the eye's lens begin to clump together, forming a milky cloud that obscures vision. Currently, around 20 million Americans have cataracts, and research suggests that the more sunlight you are exposed to in life, the greater...

With a stylish exterior of metallic blue and gray, the device looks like a personal digital assistant but slightly larger. Julius Mendalis, 84, a lawyer for the company that makes Arizona Iced Tea, paid $795 for this gadget, and he loves it, though he is not a man of technology, rarely uses computers and does not surf the Web. It is helping him read again. The Quicklook, an amalgamation of a tiny digital video camera and a four-inch liquid-crystal display screen, acts as an electronic magnifying glass, enlarging the text of a newspaper or a legal brief to an inch...

SHANGHAI, China (AP) - It's time for the communist cadres' Red Flag limos to pull over. Cadillacs are on the way. General Motors Corp. said Tuesday it plans to boost its manufacturing capacity in Shanghai by 50 percent to build Cadillacs, expanding its push into the luxury end of the world's fastest growing auto market. GM, which already markets Buicks and Chevrolets here, said it would sell both imported and domestically assembled Cadillacs. To meet rising demand, it plans to expand production capacity at its factories in Shanghai and in southern China. Producing Cadillacs inside China would allow customers to...