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LIFESTYLES / The Charlotte Post
Thursday, April 3, 1997
HEALTHY BOD Y/ HEALTHY MIND
Glaucoma treatable is caught early
William
Lucas
For years, I've been a big fan
of Kirby Puckett, the Minnesota
Twins center fielder. But as
much as I admired his perfor
mance on the baseball diamond,
I believe he's doing a much more
heroic job now: helping people
avoid the blindness that forced
Kirby to retire from baseball.
Last year during spring train
ing, Kirby woke up seeing a
black dot in his right eye.
"Initially, I wasn’t concerned,"
he recalls. "But the doctors were
more concerned. My vision
quickly deteriorated from 20/20
to 20/200. They told me I had
early stage glaucoma, which put
pressure on the blood vessels in
my right eye and interfered
with the circulation to my reti
na. After several surgeries to try
to improve blood flow to my
right retina, my doctors told me
the damage was permanent. My
career as a professional baseball
player was over.”
Kirby, who is now blind in his
right eye, is one of nearly
120,000 Americans who lose all
or part of their sight each year
due to glaucoma. African
Americans, people with diabetes
or high blood pressure, people
over 40 and people with a family
history of glaucoma are most at
risk.
Glaucoma is a disease that
has no symptoms but is easily
detected with a quick, painless
test by an eye doctor. The good
news is that if the disease is
diagnosed early enough, treat
ment with prescription eye
drops can help patients avoid
blindness. There are different
kinds of these medicines avail
able. Some reduce the produc
tion of fluid that creates pres
sure on the optic nerve. Others
help drain the fluid. Kirby
Puckett now uses these eye
drops to prevent blindness in
his left eye.
Although he is off the field,
Kirby is still very much a team
player. Working with
Pharmacia & Upjohn, the
American Academy of
Ophthalmology, The Glaucoma
Foundation, the Glaucoma
Research Foundation and
Prevent Blindness America,
Kirby is spearheading a pro
gram to encourage all
Americans over 40 to be
screened for glaucoma.
“Glaucoma is a disease that
people don’t think about until
they or a family member are
diagnosed,” he says. “It is esti
mated that 50 percent of glauco
ma cases go undiagnosed each
year. Many people, like me, may
not have any symptoms until
they have already lost some
sight. All of us, particularly
those in high risk groups, have
to see a doctor to be tested for
glaucoma. It only takes about 10
minutes, and it’s painless.
Perhaps if I had been tested on
a routine basis, all of this could
have been prevented.”
Despite his loss of vision,
Kirby finds much to be thankful
for: “my wife, two children and
the satisfaction of enjoying a
successful baseball career.
Glaucoma cannot change that.
In fact, I’m going to use this
change in my Ufe to help others
learn more about how to fight
glaucoma. If only one person out
of one hundred I speak to is able
to start treating this disease
before it costs them their vision,
I win consider it a victory—as
sweet as winning the World
Series.”
So follow Kirby’s advice and
step up to the plate. Ask your
doctor about glaucoma screen
ing.
If you believe you are at risk
and you have no health insur
ance, call Glaucoma 2001 at
800-391 EYES. This public ser
vice organization may be able to
provide a free glaucoma test.
Larry Lucas is Associate Vice
President of the Pharmaceutical
Research and Manufacturers of
America.
For a free booklet about glau
coma, call Prevent Blindness
America at 800-331-2020.
CWWilliams
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Cut down on teen television time for health
By Alex Sherman, M.D.
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Most teenagers spend too
much time watching television
and playing video games and
not enough time being active.
Television and video games can
be fun, but to be fit your body
needs to run, jump, stretch and
do work. Mounting evidence
shows that heart disease and
many other serious illnesses
can begin as early as age 10. To
get fit you need to do both aero
bic exercises as will as toning
and strengthening exercises
along with meeting all your
nutritional needs.
Aerobic exercise primarily
works the heart, lungs and cir
culatory system. Aerobic work
outs will also help you burn
body fat if you do 30 minutes or
more of continuous movement.
It takes your body 20 minutes
to switch to the fat burning
stage during a workout. Try to
get in at least 30 to 45 minutes
of aerobic exercise three to four
times a week. Try to keep your
aerobic workout under 60 min
utes. This way you won’t overdo
it and you’ll decrease your risk
of injury due to repetitive
stress. Tliirty to 45 minutes is
ideal, but you may have to start
below 10 minutes and increase
your workout time gradually.
Some examples of aerobic
exercise include 30 minutes or
more of brisk walking, jogging,
bicycling, swimming, walking
in a pool, aerobic dance and
jumping rope. If you’re trying to
lose weight, aerobic workouts
with good eating habits will
help you see results within a
few weeks.
To get started with a walking
or jogging program start with
10 minutes. Add two minutes
each week imtil you reach 30 to
45 minutes. To determine how
far you should walk or jog for
your age divide your age by
three. One mile in 20 minutes
is a good pace for 5 - 8 year olds
and one mile in 12 minutes is a
pace good for a child over nine.
Riding your bike is a great
form of aerobic exercise. But,
you should follow some safety
tips. More than 2 rmllion people
under the age of 18 receive bicy
cles for gifts each year. And
each day one child dies fi'om a
bicycle injury. Most of these
injuries can be avoided.
When you ride a bicycle for
fun or exercise, remember to
start with short distances at a
steady pace. Build on your dis
tance, speed and time. To get
the most out of your cycling,
you should adjust your seat so
that your legs are fully extend
ed when the pedal is at the bot
tom of your bike. At the top, the
toes should be tilted back and
Los Amigas present blankets
Las Amigas president, Dora Johnson (left) and vice presi
dent, Joyce Waddell present blankets to residents of the
Salvation Army Shelter for Women.
the heel slightly down. You
should always pedal with the
ball of the foot and not your
toes.
You also need to do some ton
ing and strength building exer
cises for a totally fit body.
CaUsthenic, resistance training
with weights or machines will
strengthen and tone your body.
Weight training for teens is a
good way to help strengthen
and shape the body, but there
are some exercises you should
avoid.
If you’re under 18 you should
never do heavy weight bearing
exercises such as deadlifts,
behind the neck presses, bent
lateral raises, deadlifts, clean
and jerk, standing toe raises
and squats with weights on the
back. These exercises place too
much stress on the spine and
joint areas because your bones
are still growing and not com
pletely fused.
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Around Churlotte
Saturday
•The Charlotte Alumni
Chapter of Phi Beta Sigma
Fraternity will present a
Minority Business Expo at noon
at the Greenville Center, 1330
Spring St.
•Focus on Leadership will host
its annual Unsung Heroes
Awards Gala and Diamond
Celebration at 6 p.m. at the
Charlotte Marriott Executive
Park. The keynote speaker wfll
be Black Entertainment
Television commentator and
author, Tavis Smiley. Tickets
are $40.
Monday
•A nine-week free weight loss
and exercise clinic begins
Monday at 5:30 at the AME Zion
Wellness Center, 3032 Lake
Shore Drive. For more informa
tion, call 599-4630.
Tuesday
•Alzheimer’s Advocacy Day
will be held in Raleigh. A
Charlotte delegation will leave
at 7 a.m. Delegation members
vHU also meet with legislators to
discuss the disease. To volun
teer, call (800) 888-6971.
April 10
•Greater Charlotte
Professional Women will present
“Leadership 2000: Women and
the 21st Century” at University
Place Hilton, 6:30 p.m. The fea
tured speaker wiU be Tan Kirby.
Tickets are $25. for more infor
mation, call 344-3813.
April 12
• Unique Chapter No. 647
will sponsor an Oldies but
Goodies dance at Pisgah
Lodge No. 266, W 3312
Tuckaseegee Road.
Donations are $10. For
more information, call
Preston Davis at 527-9687
or Lillian Wardlaw at 394-
0639.
If you have
trouble receiving
your subscription to
the Post please contact
us at
704-376-0496
Thank you
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