Avoid fake eclipse sunglasses; shutting down pill mills
Q: I keep hearing about the danger of looking at the eclipse. I want to protect my eyes from damage, but how do I know I've got the right eclipse sunglasses? - George F., Portland, Oregon
A: Great question, George. Solar retinopathy - the medical term for sun-caused damage to the retina - has been endangering people since, well, for all of human history. Yet, every eclipse sees folks who end up with transient or permanent burns to their retina. In 1988, scores of Italians in a cult of sun worshipers suffered solar retinopathy after a sun-staring ritual. And a study in the Journal of Optometry found that several young people who viewed a 2011 eclipse without eye protection - they told researchers they had only glanced at the sun for a few seconds or minutes - suffered damage. For three of them the visual disturbances (black spots, blurred vision, color halos, etc.) resolved after weeks or months, but for one 14-year-old they became permanent. Clearly, it's essential that you use reliable eye protection and use it correctly.
Substandard solar eyeglasses are for sale all over the internet. One investigation found that only 119 of 140 claimed to have the proper certification of safety standards. So use only ISO-rated eclipse sunglasses (or welder's glasses rated 14 or higher). ISO-approved solar-eclipse glasses must meet specific safety requirements for light transmission through lenses and lens quality. They also have to include the name of the manufacturer, instructions for safe use and warnings of the dangers of improper use, either on the glasses or in the packaging. Make sure you check.
NASA says that the American Astronomical Society has verified manufacturers of eclipse glasses and handheld solar viewers that meet ISO standards: American Paper Optics, Baader Planetarium (AstroSolar Silver/Gold film only), Rainbow Symphony, Thousand Oaks Optical and TSE 17.
Tip: You cannot ever safely remove the glasses to look at the sun if you are in an area with a partial eclipse - even 98 percent requires unwavering eye protection. Have a great and safe time viewing this remarkable phenomenon!
Q: I read that Martinsville, Virginia, is the new opioid pill capital of the U.S. How is it possible that a small town like that can be the source of so many opioid prescriptions? - Levon H., Greensboro, North Carolina
A: Here's the scoop. A recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report, Vital Signs: Changes in Opioid Prescribing in the United States, 2006-2015, shows that Martinsville, with a population of around 13,500 people, has the highest per-capita opioid prescription rates in the U.S.
The average across the country (the CDC measures it using morphine milligram equivalents, or MMEs) in 2015 was 640 MMEs per person. In Martinsville, the average was 4,090 MMEs, or about six and a half times the national average. The study also shares the characteristics of opioid-prone locales such as Martinsville: more white residents, higher unemployment rates, a greater concentration of doctors and dentists, and higher rates of disability and diabetes.
The good news? Now that the word is out, fewer prescriptions are being written. The local Martinsville police and the state of Virginia have launched overdose awareness campaigns and overdose rates also are being reduced.
Such efforts work elsewhere around the country, too. In 2011, the state of Florida enacted laws prohibiting on-site dispensing of most prescription narcotics, blocked advertising and increased criminal penalties for doctors and clinic owners involved drug "diversion" (making drugs available to someone other than for whom it was intended). And, say researchers from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, "state and local law enforcement collaborated with the Drug Enforcement Agency to enforce these new laws, arresting pill mill owners, physicians and other staff, and seizing assets." The result: A study in the American Journal of Public Health approximated 1,029 fewer people in Florida died from prescription opioid-related overdoses in 2015. Clearly, when we work together we can help stop this scourge.
Distributed by King Features Syndicate, Inc.
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