You rely on them from the moment you wake up to when you turn off the lights at night. But are you really giving your eyes the care they deserve?  

Here's what not to do to make sure your vision stays healthy well into your golden years.

There are two types of contacts that are FDA-approved for overnight wear, but even those can be risky. In fact, an American Academy of Ophthalmology study revealed that the risk of developing a corneal ulcer is 10 to 15 times greater in extended-wear contact lens users than those who only wear their contacts during the day. And don't even think about sleeping in any other type of contact lens. "

It's fine to take a 20-minute nap in your contacts, but it's safer to take them out beforehand-just in case you oversleep! If you do wake up to realize you're still sporting your lenses, don't try to take them out right away; if your eyes are dried out, you could actually pull the top layer of your cornea away with them. Instead, wait 20 to 30 minutes and lubricate with artificial tears before you remove the contacts. Then stick to glasses for the rest of the day.

Whether you wear contacts or not, you're asking for trouble by unnecessary poking and rubbing your eyes.  Rubbing too hard can also lead to broken blood vessels and inflammation.

Another reason to keep your hands off? Your eyes are protected by mucous membranes-moist tissue that can easily collect dirt and germs-so they're a great place for bacteria to grow. If you shake someone's hand and then you rub your eyes, you're transmitting those germs and there's a good chance you can catch whatever cold he's got.

Vision changes aren't even the most important reason you should still see an eye doc every year.  There are no pain receptors behind the eye, so if you have a broken blood vessel or a tumor back there, you would otherwise not know it until it starts to interfere with your vision, or worse."

Electronic screens, like those on our computers, tablets, and smartphones, emit blue light, which some eye doctors believe to be as harmful as the sun's ultraviolet rays. Plus, focusing on anything for hours on end can cause eye strain and headaches. For every 20 minutes you look at a screen, take a 20-second break to look into the distance, refocus your eyes on something else, and make a conscious effort to blink-you may not have been doing enough of it before!

Even though makeup artists often swear by putting liner on the inside of your lower lashes, it's actually quite risky.  If you're wearing contacts, your lenses then get coated in tiny makeup particles, which can deprive your eyes of oxygen. And even if you're not wearing contacts, those makeup particles can also be carrying germs that can cause infection.

Liquid liners are especially dangerous, she adds, since the applicator tip sits in a tube that can harbor bacteria. Soft pencils are safer since they are continuously being worn down and a new "tip" is exposed.

Hitting the sack without washing your face can do more than leave mascara stains on your pillow; it can also clog the glands around your peepers and lead to irritated skin, pimples, and even styes-painful, raised bumps that can appear on or around the eyelids.

False lashes are a no-no too.  

There's nothing wrong with saving a slightly-past-its-prime bottle of contact lens solution, right? Actually, there could be. These solutions have cleansers that kill bacteria on your lenses, so you want to make sure all of those ingredients are still doing their job.

The same thing goes for the lenses themselves, which sit in a sterile solution that can break down over time. Artificial tears and prescription eye drops also have expiration dates that you should pay close attention to, as well. And definitely don't rinse your contact case or store contacts in any liquid that's not sterile, like tap or distilled water; both have been associated with Acanthamoeba keratitis, a drug-resistant corneal infection.

The kinds you buy in the drugstore contain vasoconstrictors, which shrink blood vessels and temporarily make your eyes appear less red. But they also contain preservatives and other chemicals that can make your problem even worse in the long run, and it's only a matter of time before you experience a rebound effect.

If your eyes are constantly red or irritated, it's important to see an eye doctor who can get to the root of your problem.  He or she can recommend an over-the-counter product (like a moisturizing "artificial tears" drop) or suggest other forms of treatment.

A lot of people think sunglasses are only for the summer, or that they're only for fashion purposes.  But wearing them in the winter can be even more important because the sun reflects off the snow.

Failing to wear proper UV protection can result in corneal burns, skin cancer on the eyelids, and visible spots on the whites of the eyes. Make sure your glasses provide protection against UVA and UVB rays, and wear them whenever you're out in the sun.

 

The new rules mean that drugs like Vicodin, Lortab, Norco and their generic equivalents will be subject to the same prescribing rules as painkillers like Oxycodone.

Effective October 6, 2014, all medications with Hydrocodone will be considered a schedule II drug and will require a written prescription.

If you take these medications, how will it affect you?

• Hydrocodone prescriptions cannot be called into the pharmacy any more. You will need to present a written prescription to your pharmacist. These prescriptions cannot be mailed and will be picked up at our office during office hours, from 7 - 12 am and from 1 - 5 pm Monday through Thursday.

• No Rx will be written on Fridays or on the weekends.
  
  
  
• Doctors can only write prescriptions for a 30-day supply, with post-dated scripts for no more than 90 days if necessary.

• You need to keep track of your medications and give the office 48 hours to have the prescriptions ready for you.

• By Law you must follow up with Dr Lakin every three months to be able to continue on your prescription for the controlled medication.

Please note that there are no exceptions to these rules.

Old Faithful Snow Lodge and Cabins - Yellowstone National Park, Wyo.
There is no better place for a winter vacation than Yellowstone, and no better place in the park to stay than Old Faithful Snow Lodge. Actually, even though Yellowstone has 9 lodging facilities, only two - Snow Lodge and Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel - are open during the winter. The three-story Snow Lodge has 100 guest rooms plus a grill, restaurant, cocktail lounge, gift shop, and a nice two-story lobby with a large gas fireplace. Two classes of nearby cabins are also open during winter. Winter sports equipment rentals are available. Access to Snow Lodge is available via scheduled snowcoach from Headwaters Lodge at Flagg Ranch through the park's south entrance or Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel at the north end of the park. The lodge is open during winter from mid-December through March 1. Rates range from $104 for the small cabins to $250 for rooms in the lodge.

National Park Inn - Mt. Rainier National Park, Wash.
The smaller of this park's two lodges is open year-round. Surrounded by old-growth forest, National Park Inn has 25 rooms, all but 7 of which have a private bathroom. The cozy lodge has a nice guest lounge with a large stone fireplace, sofas, tables, chairs, and a closet full of games and puzzles. Winter sports equipment is available for rent. Located in the Longmire National Historic District that once served as the location for park headquarters, the inn is near the Longmire Museum. Only the Nisqually Entrance in the southwestern section of the park is open for private vehicles during winter. Rates for rooms with a private bath range from $165 to $205. Rooms without a private bath are about $50 less per night.

Wuksachi Village and Lodge - Sequoia/Kings Canyon National Park, Calif.
Wuksachi Lodge opened in 1999 with a rustic cedar registration/dining building plus three nearby cedar lodge structures with 102 guest rooms. The facility sits on a hillside amid large cedar, sugar pine, and fir trees. The registration building boasts an attractive lobby where guests can read, talk, or just relax near a wood-burning stove. The dining room on the back side of the building has a stone fireplace and features large windows providing great views. Snowshoeing and cross-country skiing are popular and during the winter months the gift shop is converted into a rental office for snowshoes, skies, and other equipment. Ranger-guided snowshoeing walks are offered on most weekends. Wuksachi is open all year and winter rates range from $110 to $150. John Muir Lodge in neighboring Kings Canyon National Park is also open during winter.

Bright Angel Lodge - Grand Canyon National Park, Ariz.
Bright Angel is a lodging complex consisting of a rustic registration building, 18 cabins, and several dormitory-style buildings on the Grand Canyon's South Rim. The location is at the center of South Rim activity and guest rooms are handy to eating facilities, gift shops, and other lodging on this side of the canyon. The rim is a short walk from any of Bright Angel's lodging. The Rim Cabins situated beside a paved walking trail along the rim are our favorites in this lodging complex. Other winter lodging options on the South Rim include Maswik, Thunderbird, Kachina, and the El Tovar. Bright Angel Lodge is open year-round and rates range from $84 for lodge rooms with a shared bathroom to $185 for a Rim Cabin with a fireplace (our favorite).

Yosemite Lodge at the Falls - Yosemite National Park, Calif.
Yosemite Lodge offers a two-story motel unit plus over two dozen buildings with lodge rooms in the heart of beautiful Yosemite Valley. The facility is in a convenient location with nearby stores and restaurants. Cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, and ice skating are popular winter activities in the valley. A free shuttle offers transportation to Badger Pass, a full-service ski resort with downhill skiing, snowboarding, and snow tubing are available. While the valley can be frustratingly congested during the busy summer months, winter tends to be quiet and peaceful. Room rates range from $110 to $170 per night depending upon the dates chosen. The Ahwahnee and Curry Village also offer winter lodging in Yosemite Valley.

                             - By David and Kay Scott, Special for USA TODAY

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Wear layers. Wool and other rough fabrics, can irritate skin, but even more so when it's dry. Slip a cotton or silk T-shirt under scratchy clothing.

Protect hands and lips. They're often exposed to outdoor air, which can leave them raw and chapped. Wear gloves and apply a lip balm containing petrolatum.   

                                                           - By The Doctors, USA Weekend  

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Just like olive oil and nuts, avocados have plaque-busting monounsaturated fatty acids, and the effects seem similar to all the benefits from a Mediterranean diet, the researchers said.

And it's one more piece of evidence in favor of adding good fats to the diet.

"In the past, we used to substitute carbohydrate for saturated fat, and that would result in a low-fat diet," said Penny Kris-Etherton, chair of the American Heart Association's Nutrition Committee and distinguished professor of nutrition at Pennsylvania State University.

"Now we're seeing that it's better for people to have good fats in their diet at the expense of saturated fat. And so the current message is to replace saturated fat with unsaturated fat, and in so doing, consume a moderate-fat diet, not too much, and also not too little," Kris-Etherton told NBC News.

Kris-Etherton and colleagues did an intensive study with 45 typical Americans - all overweight or obese, but with healthy cholesterol and blood pressure levels.

It's tough to test diets in real life, because people eat so many different things, but the team controlled what everyone ate, feeding them carefully calibrated diets. One was a lower-fat diet without avocado, another was a moderate-fat diet without avocado, and the third added one avocado per day to the moderate-fat diet.

The two moderate-fat diets looked a lot like the average American diet, with about a third of calories coming from fat. The lower fat diet provided 24 percent of calories from fat.

"All diets decreased LDL cholesterol, the main lipid risk factor for cardiovascular disease. But the diet with the avocado decreased LDL cholesterol the most," Kris-Etherton said.

Americans are advised to keep total cholesterol below 200 and preferably below 180. LDL should be below 100. 

While they were eating the avocado-a-day diet, the volunteers saw their LDL go down by more than 13 points compared to their usual levels, Kris-Etherton's team reported in the Journal of the American Heart Association.

LDL was 8.3 points lower on the moderate-fat diet without the avocado and 7.4 points less on the lower-fat diet.

The volunteers all ate Hass avocados, which have bumpy green skin. The Hass Avocado Board helped pay for the research, which was also funded by the U.S. government.

In addition to monounsaturated fats, the avocados contain fiber, phytosterols and polyphenols - all of which can help lower cholesterol. Avocados also contain natural sugars that may help regulate blood sugar.

"We need to focus on getting people to eat a heart-healthy diet that includes avocados and other nutrient-rich food sources of better fats," Kris-Etherton said.

"All the foods were exactly the same, except the avocado versus oils that were high in monounsaturated fat on the moderate-fat diet. So that was the only difference between the two diets, which then tells us that it's the avocado that has additional benefits which are beyond the unsaturated fat."

The findings are similar to a batch of studies that showed people who were given olive oil and nuts and told to add them to their diets ended up healthier. They were less likely to have strokes or heart attacks, and they were less likely to die over a period of years than people who didn't get the extra oils.

Saturated fat - the kind found in meat and butter - has a different chemical structure from the unsaturated fats found in plant products. Repeated studies have shown it raises the risk of heart disease. 

"We studied avocados but maybe a lot of other fruits and vegetables have these bioactive components which have additional cholesterol-lowering effects," Kris-Etherton said. "And certainly there's an emerging research base showing that some of these bioactive components may affect another lipoprotein particle favorably, like high-density lipoprotein. I think we need to stay tuned for that. "

Americans may not be used to eating avocado but Kris-Etherton says it's easy to add.

"Consumers can include avocados in their diet in salads. They can include avocados on top of a sandwich, or in a sandwich. They can make guacamole and use vegetables rather than chips as the dip," she said.

"I love guacamole and with my recipe, I'll use avocados, cilantro, lime juice and garlic... and then sometimes I'll put salsa in, or red pepper flakes."

But like anything, too much of a good thing can be harmful. Avocados are definitely not low-calorie food.

"One avocado has around 200 to 250 calories. So I would strongly urge people not to just add an avocado a day to their diet but they have to substitute nutrient-poor calories, which are so popular in the U.S. diet.," Kris-Etherton said.

As you all know, Dr Lakin is a strong supporter of annual physicals. This is a time we can visit and explore any unresolved medical problems and any new health issues that need to be addressed. Annual physicals are one of the best ways to safeguard your health.

The American Medical Association recommends that if you are between the ages of 40 - 49 years, physicals should be done every two years. If you are 50 years plus, it is recommend you have yearly exams, especially if you have any chronic medical conditions that need to be monitored.

• Watch a short video on how to register! 
• Watch a short video on FAQ!
• Watch a short video to access your lab results!

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Wow, this was very scary. I never go to creepy movies but the AZ Republic liked it so I gave it a try. It was really great. Jake Gyllenhyaal looked totally different. He must have lost mucho weight for the role. He was greasy looking and had a sloppy ponytail as well. His occupation was something I had never thought about. It was crime journalism. He needed to be at the scene of a crime before anyone else and zoom into the scene with his camera.(He thinks nothing about moving the evidence around.) Jake looks like the devil himself with a trademark smirk. Lou (Gyllenhaal) is LA crime journalism in action. Notice how he carefully waters a potted plant. The only thing he cares for.

Well I just wanted a good laugh. I had never seen the original Dumb and Dumber so didn't really know what to expect. I kept waiting to laugh. For almost two hours I waited.......it was just dull and duller. The hotdog I had at Fashion Square was divine though,. I recommend Five Guys Hot Dog "with everything."

WILD  

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Yes, yes, yes, this was sooooooooo good.!!!!!! Cheryl Straued (Reese Witherspoon) has a failed marriage and the death of her beloved mother to deal with. She makes a determined decision to hike the Pacific Crest Trail by herself to heal. Two hours of great scenery, terrific hiking, and super music. I loved every moment of this film. It is definitely a 5* movie. Do treat yourself to this experience. This is a true story and the author selected Reese Witherspoon to play her role. Stay for the credits at the end. Cheryl and Reese look so very much alike.

THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING 

Another riveting film re physicist Stephen Hawking who is stricken with a motor neuron disease. He is given 2 years to live at age 21 but is still alive today at 72. Although he cannot speak, he communicates via computer. He meets a fellow Cambridge student Jane Wilde and as his wife she stands by his side. This is a true story based on the book by Jane Wilde. His theories about the nature of the universe and his fight against his disease is a spell binding experience. Actors are great. A must see.

THE IMITATION GAME 

An interesting film. This is the true story of Alan Turing the British math genius who is hired to break the Enigma Code-the German cryptographic code to disguise secret messages. He assembles a group of people to help him. As one might expect, his people skills are severely lacking. Something as simple as ordering lunch is a real project. The failure and difficulty with breaking the code are well filmed. However, the movie at times was a little draggy. Turing admits that he is gay which was punishable with a jail sentence. This was automatic during this time during World War II. Benedict Cumberbatch and Keira Knightley were absolutely super - each academy award possibilities.

CAKE

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Very depressing, however Jennifer Aniston showed she is a serious actress. There was so much hype before the film even played regarding Academy Award for Jennifer. Then the film was played in the theaters and a bad review followed. She was good but it did drag on with back pain for hours. Her maid Silvana (Adriana Barrazza) stole the whole film. She was great.

AMERICAN SNIPER 

GONE GIRL

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' Enjoy the Oscars, February 22, 2015'
See you at the movies! 

Barb A.  

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