On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me…
A #RyderCup globe injury
An unfortunate spectator was hit in the eye by a wayward golf ball during the Ryder Cup, and suffered, as she called it, “a fracture of the right eye socket and an explosion of the eyeball” [1]. She alleges that no warning was given, and she intends to pursue legal action. The Ryder Cup spokesperson, however, has confirmed that the marshalls had indeed called “fore” several times, but appreciated that accidents could still happen [1].
On the second day of Christmas…
#RobertoFirmino
Liverpool striker Roberto Firmino was accidentally poked in the eye by Tottenham player Jan Vertonghen. The picture is quite dramatic, appearing as though Vertonghen’s finger is gouging Fermino’s left eye out of the socket [2]. Luckily Firmino only suffered from superficial injuries [3].
On the third day of Christmas…
#Transitionscontactlenses
Transitions Light Intelligent Technology allows for adjustable lens tinting, as per ambient lighting. Now, they have teamed up with Acuvue Oasys to create two weekly spherical contact lenses with the same light adaptive technology. They are due to be launched in 2019 [4]. Note that since they will only cover the cornea to just beyond the limbus, they are not an exact replacement for sunglasses.
On the fourth day of Christmas…
#ZoggsFogbuster
Zoggs had issued a recall of their Fogbuster anti-fog gel for goggles. However, it was not widely publicised, nor was it clear about the extent of potential damage use of the product could cause. Queensland swimmer Darren Lydeamore went for a routine morning swim, and applied the gel to his goggles. He was unaware of the product recall. His treating doctor described his ocular injuries similar to those seen with acid injuries. Zoggs has since then said they will permanently discontinue the product [5].
On the fifth day of Christmas…
#Bemyeyes
The Be My Eyes app is a free app that connects visually impaired people to sighted volunteers [6]. Volunteers get a notification on the app when a visually impaired person requests help, and can choose to accept. The average response time is 30 seconds. It can be anything from helping to locate a lost item, read a phone number, or narrating major life events. The idea from the app came from Hans Jorgen Wiberg, who has retinitis pigmentosa, and says that one day he himself will need the app.
On the sixth day of Christmas…
#glaucomadrugs for #weightloss
Scientists accidentally created a mouse which could gorge itself on a high fat diet but gain no weight. They discovered that inactivation of two endothelial cell receptors (neurolipin-1 and vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 1) induced zippering of lacteal junctions, thereby inhibiting chylomicron absorption. It turns out that Rho kinase (ROCK) inhibitors induce this same lacteal zippering, and these are a new class of anti-glaucoma medication currently available in Japan, China and the USA. However, some would caution that zippering up the lacteals may have the unwanted side-effects of impairing immune cell trafficking, compromising fluid drainage, and malabsorption of essential fat soluble vitamins [7,8].
On the seventh day of Christmas…
#Siberianhuskyblueeyes
Siberian huskies were the subject of the first non-human consumer genomics study, to determine why they have such piercing blue eyes. It seems the answer is due to a duplication upstream of Homeobox gene ALX4 on chromosome 18 [9,10].
On the eighth day of Christmas…
#bluelightkillsretina
Scientists from the University of Toledo discovered that when blue light interacts with retinal (11-cis and all-trans), cytotoxicity in any body cells, including retinal photoreceptors, is induced [11]. This implies that modern living, with increasing dependence on LED screens, may increase the prevalence of macular degeneration. Perhaps in the future we will all be wearing blue light filtering sunglasses when we work on our computers.
On the ninth day of Christmas…
#gentlesteameyemask
MegRhythm Gentle Steam Eye Masks are Japanese self-heating eye masks producing a warm gentle steam to “soothe hard-working eyes” (as per the box). An allergy sufferer writing for Elite Daily claimed the masks cured her allergy face [12]. Beauty editors and aficionados can’t get enough of them, with rave reviews in Allure, InStyle, and Women’s Health magazines [13-15].
On the tenth day of Christmas…
#AirNewZealandbirdmask
If you fly business class with Air New Zealand, you’ll get a funky ‘bird mask’ to help you fight jet lag. It is a luxurious re-usable sleeping eye mask made of sustainable New Zealand merino wool and a castor bean oil-based foam. The design features a birdlike beak, hence the name, however, this feature seals the mask to the face, thereby completely blocking out the light [16].
On the eleventh day of Christmas…
#noseblowfracturedeye
This North London woman managed to cause an orbital blowout fracture by blowing her nose too hard. She presented with nose bleed, vision loss and facial pain and swelling. Nose blowing does not typically cause this injury, but her doctors think she must have a predisposing skeletal weakness in the area, which may have been contributed by her heavy smoking habit [17].
On the twelfth day of Christmas…
#husbandlearnswife’smakeup
This story will give you all the feels. An 84-year-old man has learned to do his wife’s makeup because she’s going blind [18]. He started taking makeup lessons at his local Debenhams store after she started to struggle to apply it herself. He just wants her to “feel good” even when she’s losing her sight.
So all together now, if you use your imagination, you might just make it fit the melody!
On the twelfth day of Christmas…My true love gave to me
(12) #husbandlearnswife’smakeup
(11) #noseblowfracturedeye
(10) #AirNewZealandbirdmask
(9) #gentlesteameyemask
(8) #bluelightkillsretina
(7) #Siberianhuskyblueeyes
(6) #glaucomadrugs for #weightloss
(5) #bemyeyes
(4) #ZoggsFogbuster
(3) #Transitionscontactlenses
(2) #RobertoFirmino
(1) and a #RyderCup globe injury
References
1. Spectator loses sight in eye after being hit by Brooks Koepka shot at Ryder Cup. The Guardian
https://www.theguardian.com/
sport/2018/oct/01/
brooks-koepka-ryder-cup-spectator
2. Liverpool striker Roberto Firmino remains doubtful for Paris Saint-Germain clash with eye injury. Independent
https://www.independent.co.uk/
sport/football/european/liverpool-vs-psg
-roberto-firmino-injury-latest-
champions-league-a8541406.html
3. Roberto Firmino issues update on eye injury after scoring Liverpool’s winner against PSG. Metro
https://metro.co.uk/2018/09/19/
roberto-firmino-issues-update-on-eye-injury
-after-scoring-liverpools-winner
-against-psg-7958664/
4. "Sunglasses" Contact Lenses Now Exist, so Apparently It's 3018. Byrdie
https://www.byrdie.co.uk/
acuvue-transitions-contact-lenses
5. Zoggs fogbuster: Swimmer suffers significant eye damage from recalled anti-fog gel for goggles. ABC News
https://www.abc.net.au/news/
2018-08-14/zoggs-goggle-gel
-recall-swimmer-suffers-eye-damage/10114758
6. Be My Eyes. Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/
WeNeedThisbyattn/videos/
211599936008546/
7. Glaucoma drug stops weight gain even on a high-fat diet, study shows. Independent
https://www.independent.co.uk/
news/health/glaucoma-drug-weight-gain
-high-fat-diet-obesity-yale-university
-science-a8484541.html
8. Lacteal junction zippering protects against diet-induced obesity. Science Magazine
http://science.sciencemag.org/content/
361/6402/599hwoasp=authn%3
A1540321665%3A4130223%3
A785403920%3A0%3A0%3Au3u1h
B%2FkJLIhVq%2FxBm2HDA%3D%3D
9. The secret of Siberian huskies' piercing blue eyes: Researchers discover gene mutation is responsible in groundbreaking dog DNA study. Daily Mail
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/
article-6245149/The-secret-Siberian-huskies
-piercing-blue-eyes.html
10. Direct-to-consumer DNA testing of 6,000 dogs reveals 98.6-kb duplication associated with blue eyes and heterochromia in Siberian Huskies. PLOS Genetics
https://journals.plos.org/
plosgenetics/article?id=10.1371/
journal.pgen.1007648
11. Blue Light Is Causing The Human Eye to Attack Itself. Science Alert
https://www.sciencealert.com/
how-blue-wavelengths-light-affect
-retinal-cell-tissues-eye-disease
12. This MegRhythm Steam Eye Masks Review Shows How They Cured My Allergy Face In 10 Minutes. Elite Daily
https://www.elitedaily.com/
p/this-megrhythm-steam-eye-masks
-review-shows-how-they-cured-
my-allergy-face-in-10-minutes-9687948
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