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TIDBITS® GAZES INTO YOUR
EYES
by Kathy Wolfe
In 1981, President Ronald Reagan issued Proclamation 4821, declaring March 3 – 9 as Save Your Vision Week, urging citizens to show “greater concern for preserving vision and preventing eye injury…” Follow along as Tidbits takes a peek into those organs of sight, the eyes.
• The eye is the second-most complex organ in the human body. Only the brain is more complex. Each eye has more than 2 million operational parts, and can process upwards of 36,000 bits of information every hour. We actually see with our brain, not our eyes. The eyes function like a camera, capturing images and sending them to the brain. About half of the brain is used for vision and seeing. Over the course of the average lifetime, the eyes will see about 24 million different images. • Eyes sit in a hollowed socket called the orbit for protection, with only about 1/6 of the eye exposed. The eye is about 1 inch (2.54 cm) in diameter and weighs about 0.25 oz. (7.09 grams). Eyes begin to develop just two weeks after conception. Growth of the eye is rapid the first three years of life, and by age 13, it is full size.
• When your eyes are watering, it’s not because they have excess moisture. Actually, it’s the opposite! Your eyes are producing tears to compensate for dry eyes. turn the page for more!
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Vol 2 Issue 6
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Vol. 2 Issue 6
EYES (continued): • You’ve heard it said that life passes by in a blink of an eye. Did you know that we spend about 10% of our waking hours with our eyes closed, blinking. Each blink lasts about 1/10th of a second, and takes place about 25,000 times a day, about every 12 to 15 seconds. A person blinks more when talking, but less when reading or staring at a computer screen. Because we blink less often during screen time, that’s what makes our eyes tired. Blinking keeps our eyes lubricated as well as protecting the eye from foreign particles. • Each fingerprint has 40 distinctive characteristics. The colored part of your eye, the iris, has 256, which is why eye scans are gaining widespread use for security purposes. • One of the most common eye injuries is poking the eyeball with a mascara wand! But the good news is that it takes only about 48 hours to repair a minor scratch on the cornea. • The iris, that colored part of the eye, has an important function – controlling the size of the pupil and the amount of light reaching the retina. The color of your eyes is due to the amount of the pigment melanin. A high concentration of melanin in the front layer of the iris results in brown eyes, while blue eyes have a lower amount. Although brown is the world’s most common eye color, 86% of the population of Ireland and Scotland have either blue or green eyes. • Most newborn babies with European ancestry have blue eyes at birth. But as the child grows, cells within the iris of the eyes begin to produce melanin, and by 3 to 6 months of age, the adult eye color is established. (cont. next page) Tidbits Laughs: Q: What did one eye say to the other eye? A: "Between you and me, something smells!"
Vegetarian Bean Burritos Serve these bold, assertive-flavored burritos with Carrot Salad and oranges. While tortillas heat, toss carrots in serving bowl with lime dressing. Then, slice and saute zucchini, and heat beans. 4 flour tortillas (10 inches each) 2 teaspoons vegetable oil 4 medium zucchini (about 5 ounces each), each cut lengthwise in half, then sliced crosswise 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1 can (15 ounces) Spanish-style red kidney beans 1 can (15 to 19 ounces) black beans, rinsed and drained 1/2 (8-ounce) package shredded Monterey Jack cheese (1 cup) 1/2 cup loosely packed fresh cilantro leaves 1 jar (16 ounces) chunky-style salsa 1. Warm tortillas as label directs; keep warm. 2. In nonstick 12-inch skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add zucchini, salt and cinnamon, and cook until zucchini is tender-crisp, about 5 minutes. 3. Meanwhile, in 2-quart saucepan, heat kidney beans with their sauce and black beans just to simmering over medium heat; keep warm. 4. To serve, allow each person to assemble burrito as desired, using a warm flour tortilla, zucchini, bean mixture, cheese and cilantro leaves. Pass salsa to serve with burritos. Makes 4 servings. • Each serving: About 550 calories, 17g total fat (1g saturated), 25 mg cholesterol, 1,943 mg sodium, 77g carbohydrates, 29g protein. For thousands of triple-tested recipes, visit our Web site at www. goodhousekeeping.com/recipes/. (c) 2019 Hearst Communications, Inc. All rights reserved
Week of March 3, 2019
EYES (continued): • Speaking of newborns, although they do a whole lot of crying, they don’t produce any tears until they are between 4 and 13 weeks of age. • The eye’s cornea is the only tissue in the human body that does not contain any blood vessels. • Vision is measured in fractions, known as Snellen fractions, named for the Dutch ophthalmologist who developed the system in 1862. If a person has 20/20 vision, he or she is able to clearly see an object at a distance of 20 feet (6.1 m). The distance from the person to the eyechart is 20 feet, and the letters on the chart are a certain size, getting larger as the fractions increase. If a person can only see the big single “E” at the top of the chart, vision is 20/200. The smallest letters on the Snellen chart correspond to 20/10 vision. If you’re fortunate enough to have 20/10 vision, your eyesight is twice as sharp as a person with 20/20. • Cells in the eyes come in different shapes. Rod-shaped cells are very sensitive to light and allow us to see shapes. There are 100 million of these rods, which also enable us to see better in the dark. The cone-shaped cells are responsible for the eyes seeing color. The 7 million cone cells can differentiate between about 10 million colors. • Folks whose cones don’t have all the necessary pigments – red, green, and blue -- have trouble seeing certain colors. Deuteranomoly is the most common form of color blindness, affecting 5% of all males. The green cone pigment doesn’t work properly, making yellow and green look redder, and making it difficult to distinguish blue from violet.
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• When the red cone is deficient, known as protanomaly, orange, red, and yellow look greener. Tritanomaly is the result of missing or limited blue cones. Blue looks greener, and it’s hard to tell pink from yellow and red. Some rare individuals have no pigments in any of the eyes’ cones, and see no color at all. This condition is known as monochromacy or achromatopsia. • One in 12 men of European descent is colorblind, while just one in 200 women are affected. This is because the condition is located on the X chromosome, of which men have only one. Women have two X chromosomes, so that if a female has the colorblind gene, she has a normal gene as a “backup.” • Each of your eyes has about 100 eyelashes on the top eyelid, and 50 on the lower lid, each with a lifespan of about five months. Over the course of your lifetime, you will shed eyelashes amounting to a length of over 98 feet (29.9 m). • When you hit about age 45, you may have to don reading glasses due to an increasingly worsening ability to focus clearly on small print and close objects. This condition, simply due to the aging of the eye, is known as presbyopia. • The number 80 is an important one when it comes to eyes. Our eyes account for 80% of what we learn, 80% of our memories are determined by what we see, and 80% of vision problems around the world are avoidable or curable.
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TeleHealth Visits Surge
In 2018 the Department of Veterans Affairs increased the use of TeleHealth medical visits by 19 percent, bringing the total to over 1 million. If you have an opportunity to use Telehealth, do. Half of the veterans who use TeleHealth live in rural areas, far from any facility, or are unable to travel. Using a computer or mobile device, medical problems such as PTSD, diabetes and chronic heart failure can be monitored from the comfort of your own home. A care coordinator takes charge of the details, working with the care providers to change treatment, set up clinic appointments and more. Half of the TeleHealth visits don't involve a specific appointment. Instead, staff monitors, screens and assesses the data sent in by the veteran or another VA facility, taking vitals or sending images that are stored until staff examines them. Telehealth lets you to talk to specialists who might be a thousand miles away for any of 50 different medical categories, making contact from a nearby clinic through Clinical Video TeleHealth. TeleMental health, TeleRehab, TeleSurgery (consultation and diagnosis, not the actual surgery) and over a dozen other medical categories are available from the nearest clinic, even if the clinic itself cannot provide those levels of care. You'll have medical staff there should you have questions or need help. To learn more about TeleHealth, go online to www.telehealth.va.gov or www.ruralhealth.va.gov. To learn more about the app that makes all this possible, download the VA Video Connect app from mobile.va.gov/app/va-video-connect. It works with Android, iOS and Windows, and you'll need internet access and a web camera. There's a test link to ensure your device is compatible. One big stumbling block has been removed by a new federal rule: the legality of an out-of-state physician consulting with a veteran in another state. Veterans can now contact specialists no matter (c) 2019 King Features Synd., Inc. where they are.
Tidbits Quote: “The face is a picture of the mind with the eyes as its interpreter.” ― Marcus Tullius Cicero
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should take any symptom. Age, family history of heart disease, high blood pressure and cholesterol, lack of regular physical exercise and diabetes are among the most important risk factors.
To Your Good Health
The second thing I would say is to take new symptoms seriously. If you never get heartburn, for example, then heartburn at age 63 should prompt concern.
Confusion Over Women's Heart Attack Symptoms
Third, context matters. Symptoms such as nausea or jaw pain that occur with exercise -- even carrying a bag of groceries or walking up stairs -- is definitely a reason to talk to your doctor.
DEAR DR. ROACH: My question is about symptoms for women's heart attacks. I have always heard that symptoms for women can be much different from men's. Instead of the chest-clutching, sharp pain that men can have, I have read that women's symptoms can be any of these: heartburn or indigestion; pain in the jaw, neck, shoulders, back, one or both arms; fatigue and troubled sleep; dizziness and nausea; or extreme anxiety.
Most women don't know that heart disease remains their No. 1 killer, far outstripping breast cancer (or any cancer). Both women and men need to take even vague symptoms seriously, especially if the symptoms are new, exertional or if the person has several risk factors. As a primary-care doctor, I'd rather see my patient for her concerns that symptoms may be heart disease than see her in the ICU with a heart attack.
Are you KIDDING me? I am a healthy, active 63-year-old woman. I have had all of these symptoms at one time or another. If I acted every time I had one of these symptoms, I would be at the doctor's office every day. How is one to know which symptoms to take seriously and act on immediately, and which to wait a few days to see if it is temporary? -- J.
DEAR DR. ROACH: I have diverticulosis. At one time I was told not to eat nuts. I have since read that eating nuts is OK. What is your take? Also, are chia seeds safe? -- E.M.
By Keith Roach, M.D.
ANSWER: I have seen many letters similar to yours. The confusing problem is that it's true: In women, heart attack symptoms and the symptoms of angina before a heart attack can include all of those vague symptoms. The same is true of men as well, although it's more likely for women than for men to have symptoms other than the classic left-sided chest discomfort (people are much more likely to describe angina as "discomfort" or "pressure" than "pain"). So your question is entirely valid: How do you know when to take common symptoms seriously? The first thing I would say is that the greater your risk for heart disease, the more seriously you
ANSWER: There are two answers to this question. The first comes from clinical research, and a very large trial showed that nut and popcorn consumption tended to protect against diverticulitis and diverticular bleeding. This may be due to the high fiber content, recommended in people with diverticula. So most experts allow their patients with diverticulosis to eat nuts and seeds, including chia seeds. The second is practical experience. If someone has had clinical diverticulitis after eating nuts and seeds, especially if it happens repeatedly, it makes sense not to do so. Dr. Roach regrets that he is unable to answer individual letters, but will incorporate them in the column whenever possible. Readers may email questions to ToYourGoodHealth@ med.cornell.edu.
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3.3 x 2
From there I went to the food bank where they loaded up two bags of food once I told them what I was doing. With a little subterfuge, the groceries were delivered anonymously to my neighbor.
You Don't Have to Go Hungry
Some things just break your heart ...
I was sitting at a traffic light when I saw one of my neighbors go into a pawn shop carrying a bag. This was worrisome, and I pulled into the parking lot across the street to watch. Sure enough, she came out empty-handed ... and sure enough, she pulled out into traffic and headed for the grocery store. When I spotted her later as she headed for the checkout line, there wasn't much in her basket. I pulled into the pawn shop on my way home. The owner was hesitant to disclose any information, but yes, my neighbor had brought in three items to pawn, and yes, he knew why. She was out of money and her Social Security wasn't due for two weeks. When he told me what she'd pawned, my heart broke.
If you're ever in a position where you don't have enough food, there are ways to get help. Church pantries (even if you're not a member), a food bank and your local senior center are good places to start. For more information, contact your local Agency on Aging. Ask about the monthly food boxes, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP), Senior Farmers' Market Nutrition Program (SFMNP) and Meals on Wheels. Call the National Hunger Hotline at 1-866-3-HUNGRY (1-866-348-6479). Look online at www.feedingamerica.org and nutrition.gov (put Nutrition Programs for Seniors in the search box). Check your potential benefits at www.benefitscheckup.org. Don't wait until you're to the point of needing to pawn precious belongings before you ask for help. (c) 2019 King Features Synd., Inc.
Week of March 3, 2019
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1 Francisco Lindor set a Cleveland Indians record in 2017 for most home runs in a season 1. by a middle infielder (33). Who had held the mark? 2. Who held the major-league record for most home runs by a rookie before Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees belted 52 in 2017? 3. Pro Football Hall of Fame kicker Morten Andersen retired in 2008 as the leading scorer for two NFL franchises. Name them. 4. When was the last time before 2018 that Clemson's men's basketball team reached the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament? 5. 5 Name the first black player in the NHL.
6. 6 When was the last time before 2018 that Croatia's men's soccer team reached at least the semifinals of the World Cup?
7 When was the last time before 2018 (Desiree Linden) that an American woman won the Women's Open at the 7. Boston Marathon?
• On March 15, 44 BC, Julius Caesar, dictator of Rome, is stabbed to death in the Roman Senate house by 60 conspirators led by Brutus and Cassius, who believed that his death would lead to the restoration of the Roman Republic. • On March 16, 1751, James Madison, author of the Federalist Papers and fourth president of the United States, is born in Virginia. Madison is best remembered for his critical role in the Constitutional Convention of 1787, where he oversaw the drafting of the final Constitution. • On March 17, 1776, British forces are forced to evacuate Boston following Gen. George Washington's successful placement of fortifications and cannons on Dorchester Heights. Realizing their position was now indefensible, 11,000 British troops sailed to the safety of Halifax, Nova Scotia. • On March 14, 1919, Max Brand, perhaps the most prolific writer of Western stories, publishes his first novel, "The Untamed." Max Brand was one of 21 pen names used by author Frederick Faust. Unlike many Western authors, Faust made no pretense to historical accuracy in his works. • On March 13, 1969, "The Love Bug," a movie about the adventures of a Volkswagen Beetle named Herbie, opens in theaters. The Walt Disney film, based on the 1961 book "Car, Boy, Girl" by Gordon Buford, spawned four spinoffs. • On March 12, 1972, the last remnants of the First Australian Task Force withdraw from Vietnam. The Australian government had first sent troops to Vietnam in 1964 and by 1969, their forces totaled an estimated 6,600 personnel. • On March 11, 1990, Lithuania becomes the first Soviet republic to proclaim its independence from the USSR. The Soviet government responded by imposing an oil embargo and economic blockade against the Baltic republic, and later sent troops. Lithuania would gain its independence in September 1991. (c) 2019 Hearst Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved
1. Joe Gordon, who hit 32 home runs in 1948. (Lindor hit 38 home runs in 2018 to surpass his own mark.) 2. Mark McGwire hit 49 home runs for Oakland in 1987. 3. New Orleans and Atlanta. He is still the leading scorer for the Saints. 4. It was 1997. 5. Canadian Willie O'Ree, with the Boston Bruins in 1958. 6. It was 1998. 7. Lisa Larsen (c) 2019 King Features Syndicate, Inc. Weidenbach won it in 1985.
by Jo Ann Derson
• There are good reasons to recaulk your baseboards from time to time. Not only will it give you a clean look, but it will help to stop drafts and block out bugs, which can creep in through the tiniest of cracks. • "Here's a tip for making a box cake taste like it was made from scratch: Add an extra egg, use melted butter instead of oil and use milk (whole) in place of water. Mix for an extra minute or two, to really aerate the batter. It'll be gorgeous." -- T.H. in New Hampshire • "Hide the cords coming from your wallmounted television by running them through a length of PVC pipe. It can be painted to match your wall, too! Measure the length you need, and your hardware store may be able to cut a piece for you if you can't find one the right size. It looks so much cleaner, and you can even use double-stick tape to attach the pipe to the wall." -- B.B. in Florida • "Donate extra throw blankets to your local animal shelters. In fact, visit the website of your local shelter and check for a 'wish list' to see if you have anything that can be donated. They are always in need, and so deserving." -- F.I. in Texas • "On weekend trips to our cabin, we pack a laundry basket for each bedroom. It includes fresh sheets, towels and the clothing for that person. At the end of the weekend, it's easy to 'pack' those items that need to be laundered. The bonus is that they stack nicely in the back of the car, and they're a snap to unpack, too!" -- A.H. in North Carolina Send your tips to Now Here's a Tip, 628 Virginia Drive, Orlando, FL 32803 (c) 2019 King Features Synd., Inc.
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Vol. 2 Issue 6
1. Is the book of Damascus in the Old or New Testament or neither? 2. What did Paul's writings say that those who refused to work should be kept from doing? Worshipping, Speaking, Eating, Marrying 3. From Matthew 27, the "potter's field" was also known as the field of ... ? Blood, Sorrows, Pagans, Idols 4. What priest of Midian was the fatherin-law of Moses? Jethro, Melchizedek, Eleazar, Nadab 5. From Jonah 1, who were afraid and threw their wares into the sea? Slaves, Mariners, Zealots, Carpenters 6. Jesus called Himself the bread of ... ? Salvation, Hope, Love, Life 1) Neither; 2) Eating; 3) Blood; 4) Jethro; 5) Mariners; 6) Life Visit Wilson Casey’s Trivia Fan Siteat www.patreon.com/triviaguy. Š 2019 King Features Synd., Inc.
Week of March 3, 2019
Tidbits of The Pass Area
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What's Behind Dog's Heavy Panting?
DEAR PAW'S CORNER: We have a large property of several acres, and I let our dog "Boomer," a big Labrador mix, run out there every day for at least an hour. Yesterday he came in panting very rapidly and drooling a bit, and looked agitated. He kept that up for over an hour before settling down. Boomer seems fine today, but what could have caused that rapid breathing? -- Dan J., Bloomington, Indiana DEAR DAN: Even though he's returned to normal, take Boomer to the veterinarian to be checked out, just to make sure there are no underlying issues. It's normal for dogs to pant heavily after lots of exertion or on a hot day, but prolonged, heavy panting should catch your attention, especially if it's accompanied by other behaviors. The causes can be many: On hot days, heat exhaustion or heat stroke are a big concern. A neurological or heart problem could be the silent culprit. Or, Boomer could have gotten into something that's poisonous to him. Write down all of the symptoms you noticed during his panting episode, and include the temperature that day, what you fed him, how much he ate and how much water he drank during the day. Take those notes to the vet with Boomer. If no underlying chronic cause is found, the vet probably will recommend that you keep a watchful eye on Boomer for a few days and make sure he gets plenty of water to drink. I also recommend that you go with him on his next couple of romps to see where he typically roams, looking for plants, chemicals left unattended or anything that he could accidentally ingest. Send your questions or pet care tips to ask@pawscorner.com. (c) 2019 King Features Synd., Inc.
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