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Interviewer: Today on Seven Questions, it's Seven Questions for an Eye Expert. Dr. Amy Lin is an ophthalmologist at Moran Eye Institute, and I've got seven questions for you. We're going to just do these very quickly and see what kind of answers we get, see what we can uncover and discover.
#1: What is the Best Thing that Somebody Can Do for Their Eyes to Make Sure That They Stay Healthy?
Dr. Lin: So I would recommend having a healthy diet full of antioxidants, leafy green vegetables, and fruits. I mean, it helps the rest of your body and that also keeps your eyes very healthy.
#2: What is the Worst Thing Somebody Can Do to Their Eyes?
Dr. Lin: Rubbing them.
Interviewer: Really? Rubbing them is the worst thing.
Dr. Lin: That would be bad, yeah. That could cause destabilization of your cornea and cause a disease called keratoconus.
#3: Other than Being Nearsighted or Farsighted, What's the Most Common Eye Problem That You Encounter?
Dr. Lin: The most common problem is cataracts. Everyone gets cataracts with age, but it's been found that people who lead a healthy lifestyle, no smoking, have a healthy diet, wearing sunglasses, can maybe delay the need for cataract surgery.
#4: What Do You Think is the Most Important Thing that People Need to Know When It Comes to Eyes?
Dr. Lin: One thing that everyone in Utah should know about eyes is that because we live in such a dry climate, pretty much everyone who lives here has dry eyes. So if you ever feel like your eyes are irritated or teary or red, getting blurry, it's probably dry eyes, so you have to get some over-the-counter moisturizing eye drops to help with that.
#5: Reading in Dim Light Causes Vision Loss—True or False?
Dr. Lin: No. It really doesn't cause any vision problems. I mean, just reading, in general, can cause your eye to get more dry because you're kind of staring at something and concentrating. It's been found that people blink about a third of the time when they're concentrating on something versus not, so you'd just as be careful not to let your eyes dry out too much and take a break every so often.
#6: Are there Bifocal Contacts?
Dr. Lin: There are. There are actually different zones in the bifocal, and you kind of have to look through the different zones to see. It's not for everybody. And people may have to get used to them for some time, but some people love them and they really can't live without them.
#7: Why Did You Decide to Specialize in Eyes?
Dr. Lin: So I love being able to help people see better, and sometimes it's as simple as giving a child their first pair of glasses and they're seeing the world for the first time. Nowadays, I'm doing cataract surgery and cornea transplants to really try and improve people's vision, and so it's really rewarding to see people get their vision back because then they can become independent and be able to go back to work. And it's really rewarding to see people kind of gaining independence and getting their lives back again.
updated: August 3, 2023
originally published: September 7, 2016
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SEVEN QUESTIONS FOR A SPECIALIST