OE Patients

Tag: Bernard Landou

  • Bernard Landou’s Legacy of Service

    Bernard Landou’s Legacy of Service

    We pay tribute to our longtime colleague and friend, Bernie Landou, who passed away at age 90. He was a veteran of the United States Military and served in the Korean War. He spent several decades working professionally in the business of public relations and enjoyed recounting his legendary assignments and encounters with celebrities. Upon retirement he indulged his love for fine cuisine by attending the French Culinary Institute in New York. He enjoyed sharing his skills to impress friends and family and went on to teach inmates at the Rikers Island Correctional Facility, to cook. 

    Bernie was affected by age-related macular degeneration and rose to the challenges of vision loss, with the support of his partner of 50 years, Dick Leonard. He became a volunteer with the Association for Macular Diseases at Manhattan Eye & Ear Hospital. He answered phone inquiries and requests for information and contributed to the quarterly Eyes Only Newsletter. He loved helping others with useful tips for daily living and low vision friendly recipes. His volunteer service, with the Association, led him to assume the role of Editor for the newsletter in 2007, then President of our Board of Directors in 2017. 

    Bernie Landou at 85 and as a young man in the US Military.
    Bernie Landou at 85 and as a young man in the US Military.

    We applaud Bernie Landou for his years of enthusiastic service to people with macular diseases and low vision, as he found his own way with increasing vision loss. He possessed a sharp wit and a special gift for stating the obvious. He pointed out, as we were about to launch this website in partnership with Ophthalmic Edge, that “nobody knows how to spell Ophthalmic,” and he was right. We shortened our website name to “OE Patients” to resolve that conundrum. Thanks Bernie!

    Here are 6 of Bernie’s articles, originally written for Eyes Only, now published on OE.

    Choice Magazine Listening
    Choice Magazine Listening

    Choice Magazine Listening

    A precursor to audible magazines, established in 1962 for people with vision loss.

    Read Now

    Ophthalmologist examining a patient's eye.
    Ophthalmologist examining a patient’s eye

    Charles Bonet Syndrome 

    Advancing vision loss somethings causes pleasant visual hallucinations. 

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    AutoDrop is a Real Eye Opener 
    AutoDrop is a Real Eye Opener 

    AutoDrop is a Real Eye Opener 

    An easy solution for getting the drops in you eye.

    Read Now 

    A stand lamp with the light on in a dark living room.
    A stand lamp with the light on in a dark living room.

    Home Safety & Light Checkup

    Good solid advice to keep your home low vision safe.

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    Portrait of a smiling family with two children at beach in the car. Holiday and travel concept
    Portrait of a smiling family with two children at
    beach in the car. Holiday and travel concept.

    Keep the Sun Out of Your Eyes

    Protecting your eyes from the damming sun has never been more important. 

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    GATEWAVE RADIO AUDIO FOR INDEPENDENT LIVING
    GateWave Radio Audio for Independent Living

    GateWave Radio Audio for Independent Living

    Radio programming specifically for a visually impaired audience. 

    Read Now

  • Choice Magazine Listening

    Choice Magazine Listening

    Back in the day when your first response to “20/20” was not Dr. Shelling’s BIG-E Eye Chart, but ABC TV’s Barbara Walter’s news show, it was great fun to get lost in the maze of a big bookstore’s magazine section. There were CinemaScopic arrays of publications displayed on shelves and tables. Magazines that specialized in the myriad subjects that interested the reading public appealed for our attention. And some money. 

    But it came to an end. A new, different time was here. Things happened. Some big newspapers reformatted or just disappeared. Iconic magazines ceased publication. A national chain of mega-bookstores shut its doors. The trend of consolidation has continued, especially with regards to the sale of books and traditional print magazines. Many established publications such as The New Yorker have begun to offer professionally narrated versions of feature stories free for readers online. 

    What happened? What caused this upheaval? There were a number of contributing factors. Here are just two of them. Way up there on our list was the personal electronics revolution. It seemed to happen overnight. Our homes suddenly were filled with all manner of things and e-stuff. We could now download the world. This trend became more of a necessity than ever during the lockdowns of the coronavirus pandemic. 

    Way down the list of problems is one that is disproportionately important because it is so sensitively personal. 

    With the passage of time, more and more, people are having more and more macular diseases and no longer can read magazines. 

    Enter Choice Magazine Listening.

    Actually, Choice Magazine Listening (or CML) made its debut back in 1962. With its goal of providing recordings of periodical literary works for the visually disabled or handicapped in formats usable by them, CML began to reopen the pages of magazines for low vision readers.  While at first they subscribed to only a handful of periodicals, and drew heavily from New York City-based publications, their reading list has expanded over the years to include over 100 of the best English-language magazines, literary journals, and small press publications from around the world.

    Sometimes it’s hard to navigate tricky waters. But 60 years of experience has helped CML to carry out and improve the quality of its mission: To provide people with any print disability, whether it’s visual, physical, or perceptual, access to the best writing found in the pages of America’s (and Canada’s, and the UK’s) top magazines. At no charge.

    To carry out its mission, an editorial board reads over 100 magazines to get a glimpse of their quality and range. Here are just some of the group: 

    • The New Yorker
    • National Geographic
    • Sports Illustrated 
    • Harper’s
    • The Atlantic
    • Scientific American
    • Natural History
    • Smithsonian
    • Horticulture 
    • Vanity Fair
    • Rolling Stone
    • Audubon
    • Esquire
    • Oxford American
    • Texas Monthly
    • London Review of Books
    • Brick
    • Crazyhorse

    CML releases four 12-hour recordings per year. Each cartridge or download contains a varied assortment of professionally read and recorded segments — articles, poetry, fiction, essays, or letters of recommendation — all from the extensive CML print and digital library.

    CML feels it’s important to underscore the value it places on good writing. That seems a worthy position these days when “fast” seems more valued than “good.” And — very much worth repeating about a subscription to Choice Magazine Listing — it is entirely free. 

    CML digital cartridges can be played on a Talking Books Player from the National Library Service (NLS) or downloaded to the BARD Mobile App (available on the App Store, Google Play, and the Amazon Appstore).

    Contact Choice Magazine Listening with questions or to subscribe:
    Phone: 888-724-6423 (M-F 9-4 EST)
    Online: choicemagazinelistening.org/
    Facebook: facebook.com/ChoiceMagazineListening
    Twitter: twitter.com/choicemaglisten

    Sign up for their newsletter to be notified when new issues become available for download—it’s quicker than waiting for a talking book cartridge, and there’s nothing to return. Just go to choicemagazinelistening.org/content/newsletters and enter your preferred email address.

    This article was previously published Feb 23, 2017 and updated Dec 7, 2021.

  • Charles Bonnet Syndrome: Visual Hallucinations

    Charles Bonnet Syndrome: Visual Hallucinations

    About a year ago, Marjorie Louer began having hallucinations. In a letter sent to the Association for Macular Diseases, OE Patients’ parent organization, Ms. Louer detailed her startling, mysterious experience:

    “The most regular hallucination was a miniature of a woman’s round face, surrounded by bushy gray hair that extended onto the chin. She appeared as a bearded lady. Sometimes three or four images of my bearded lady would appear at the same time. These hallucinations would come and go. Other images were of varying patterns and colors of textile designs and of a New York City subway map.”

    The constant hallucinations distressed Ms. Louer to the point she went to the Emergency Room of a prominent NYC hospital. She spent a night there and completed a series of brain scans and interviews. She also informed the doctors of her diagnosis of macular degeneration.

    The next morning, she left the hospital with no better understanding of the hallucinations. But the reassurance that nothing was wrong with her brain came as a huge relief.

    Solving the Mystery

    Still, Ms. Louer was determined to find out why she continued to hallucinate often enough to puzzle and distract her. She enlisted the aid of her daughter who set out to research the problem on the internet.

    Ms. Louer’s daughter’s work online not only uncovered some important information for her mother but also identified pathways to explore the subject further. She learned that her mother’s condition was known as “Charles Bonnet Syndrome”.

    Bonnet was a late 18th-century Swiss scholar who was trying to cope with the hallucinatory problems of his 87-year-old grandfather who had vision problems.

    According to the Canadian Medical Association Journal, the reported incidence of Charles Bonnet Syndrome in people with vision impairment is 10% to 38%. This wide range is attributed to differences in definition, history-taking, and unwillingness by patients to disclose the symptoms because of concern that it implies mental incompetence.

    “My grandfather is a respectable man,” Bonnet wrote in 1760, “full of health, of ingenuousness, judgement, and memory, who completely and independent from all outside influences, sees from time to time, in front of him, figures of men, of women, of birds, of carriages, of buildings. All of this appears to have a seat in that part of the brain involved with sight”.

    The condition resulted from various signals sent by components of the eye to the brain.

    Historically, not all authors cited loss of vision as a component of the diagnosis. However, the association with vision loss is now widely thought to be a required part of the diagnosis. Hallucinations as part of this Syndrome can occur in patients of any age with any type or degree of visual loss.

    Takeaways

      • Patients with loss of vision may experience vivid recurring visual hallucinations, such as formed images of people or animals.
      • If you should experience the hallucinations, discuss it with your eye specialist. There are a number of things that might help the situation.
    • If you consult doctors other than eye specialists about these hallucinations, inform them of your vision impairment.

    We are very grateful to Marjorie Louer and her very helpful daughter for raising awareness about an important, common problem for people diagnosed with vision loss.

    Originally published on December 15, 2016 and updated on September 25, 2018.

  • AutoDrop Is A Real Eye Opener

    AutoDrop Is A Real Eye Opener

    An eye drop prescription for newly-diagnosed glaucoma was accompanied by a simple, stunning little gizmo that totally resolved the issues that commonly occur when trying to deliver the drops into the eye, and not onto the face.

    This clever invention takes the mess and the aggravation out of the self-administration of medication directly into the eye. And it has a companion device that controls the dose. Both the AutoDrop and the AutoSqueeze are products developed in England by Owen Mumford in collaboration with the Royal National Institute for the Blind.

    An eye drop guide is something you may have never heard of before today. It is a fascinating solution to a problem that can be annoying and even detrimental. This is one of those discoveries you’ll be sharing with friends.

    It’s really not unusual at all to have difficulty self-administering eye drops. The eye naturally blinks as the drop approaches, and it winds up on your eyelid instead of your eyeball. This eye drop guide is designed to override that reflex by holding still the lower lid and drawing the focal point away from the drop as it positions the bottle and steadies the hand for accurate delivery, without waste.

    The bottle of drops clips into AutoDrop and can be used with its companion AutoSqueeze to further enhance stability for patients with dexterity issues. The accurate delivery of medicine is essential for successful treatment.

    This is not the only eye drop guide on the market, but it does seem to be a favorite. Consult your doctor or pharmacist for advice on these products. AutoDrop can be found online at Amazon, Walmart, and Walgreens for a retail price in the vicinity of $5. It is easily cleaned and can be used on multiple bottles, or you can give each dropper you use its own guide.

    Autodrop Eye Drop Guide (Video)

     

    Please note that this article was not paid for, affiliated with, or endorsed by any third-party companies. The views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author’s.

     

  • Home Safety & Light Checkup

    Home Safety & Light Checkup

    It’s always a good idea to take stock of things every so often. This certainly includes how your home ranks in terms of safety and comfort.

    You may or may not be noticing changes in your eyesight, caused by aging and progressive disease. Taking a good look around, periodically, can prevent an annoyance from becoming a hazard.   

    Take someone with you for a studious stroll around your environment. An extra pair of good eyes can be quite discerning.

    Here are some things to consider as you assess your home.

    • Are you having any new problems navigating around your home space? Any old problems still posing threats to your safety?
    • Is there anything impeding your pathways? Extraneous furniture? Unsecured rugs? Clutter?
    • Are the rooms in your home well illuminated? Is there enough available light (day and night) for you to enter a room and get around it with ease?
    • Do you have good task lighting for a specific activity? Reading in your favorite chair? Writing at your desk? Gooseneck lamps allow you to move the light closer to the object, which can be very helpful to reading, writing, and handiwork.
    • Are you experiencing glare in any area? It may help to adjust window coverings during daylight hours.  Repositioning lamps may resolve issues with glare and shadows.
    • Is there enough light in your halls and stairways? If you feel light is not adequate in any area of your home try changing the bulbs wattage and color. 
    • Do you feel confident going up and down your steps? Consider highlighting the edge of each step with a contrasting trim color or texture, to improve clarity.   
    • Address the safety issues you identify — and ensure your well being at home. 

     

    *Article edited by Dorrie Rush*

  • Keep The Sun Out Of Your Eyes

    Keep The Sun Out Of Your Eyes

    Experts in vision care urge us to be diligent in taking steps to protect our eyes from the sun. By now we should all take this advice very seriously.

    Concerns about the summer sun are a thing of the past. Ultraviolet rays are dangerous year round and they are not confined to the bright sunny days — they sneak through the clouds and the haze too. Protecting your eyes is a full-time job, 365 days a year.

    This important advice must be taken very seriously. No one should be negligent. Get into the good habit of putting on your sunglasses every time you go out the door. Adding a brimmed hat is another good habit. Try walking in the shade whenever possible.

    Protecting and preserving the sight we have is a high priority not just to the aging eye. Significant damage occurs early in life — that means everyone should protect their eyes from the sun at every age. Children are by no means exempt from this rule, in fact, their young eyes are the most vulnerable.

    Here are 10 tips that can keep your eyes healthier this year.

    • Protect your eyes from the sun’s harmful invisible ultraviolet rays. Exposure to UV radiation without protection can lead to a range of very serious problems, including cataracts and cancer. It can also accelerate the degenerative effects of progressive eye disease.
    • Select and WEAR sunglasses that block 99-100% UV-A and UV-B rays.
    • With sunglasses, you typically get what you pay for. Bargain sunglasses from a street vendor or dollar store may be of questionable quality and not worth the risk.
    • Avoid blue lenses — they can emit some ultraviolet rays instead of blocking.
    • Be aware — between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. UV radiation is strongest — take every precaution to protect your eyes and your skin during these hours.
    • Wear your sunglasses on hazy days and on cloudy days.
    • Close fitting wraparound styles provide maximum protection.
    • The sun reflecting off water, sand, snow, ice, and even pavement, is more intense and warrants extra caution. It also can create vision-impairing glare.
    • Ask your ophthalmologist or optometrist about UV coating for your regular eyeglasses.
    • Don’t play with fire.

     

    *Article edited by Dorrie Rush*

  • Gatewave Radio Audio for Independent Living

    Gatewave Radio Audio for Independent Living

    Gatewave Radio is the free audio news and features service, based in New York, designed for visually impaired audiences.  For eligible listeners, it can be accessed online, on smartphone apps, on special radios in the New York City area (purchased or borrowed from Gatewave), or by phone on NFB Newsline.

    Gatewave serves the Greater New York Metropolitan Area. This area, with a population of 20.3 million, is the largest radio make in the United States.

    Gatewave’s principal and guiding objective is to broaden and deepen the content of material it broadcasts. To that end, Gatewave’s board now includes men and women with solid backgrounds in public service, education, and communications.

    In addition, Gatewave has expanded and enriched the content of its service by including new, original programming of practical value to its audience. Gatewave is located at Helen Keller Services in Brooklyn, a direct connection to, and source of, programming for people with vision loss.

    All of this will be added to the current round-the-clock, rich and varied Gatewave broadcast schedule featuring programs on:

    • Book reviews
    • Sports
    • Film, theater, dance
    • Food and cooking
    • Economics
    • Science
    • Pets
    • Entertainment
    • Health

    And that is just a sampling of the range of topics regularly addressed on air. The material can take the form of analysis, satire, commentary, reporting, criticism, and instruction.

    The sources of information for Gatewave’s presentations comes from a roster of universally respected newspapers and magazines. The list includes:

    • The New York Times
    • Wall Street Journal
    • Christian Science Monitor
    • The Economist
    • Rolling Stone
    • Time
    • The New Yorker
    • O Magazine
    • Businessweek
    • Dogster
    • Vanity Fair
    • People

    Contact Gatewave Radio

    646.202.1049

    Email: [email protected]

    Online: gatewave.org

     

    Please note that this article was not paid for, affiliated with, or endorsed by any third-party companies. The views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author’s.