Do you think you could get this photo in the Woodside Herald this week?–Florence Sullivan

I first said that I didn’t think I could, but after she and her two lifelong friends left my Sunnyside office I thought I might try. These three call Sunnyside their home for at least 70 years! Florence, age 94, who is just so young in her head can’t get around that well anymore because her body doesn’t cooperate. Ray McGinn she knew before he was married. She told me the story how Mr. McGinn loved Mary McGann’s hair. The rest is history. The McGinns will be celebrating 63 years together. It was just a coincidence that these friends met up in my office because they had an ophthalmology exam with me. Now, what does this all have to do with eyes? My answer is everything. It’s the essence of what it means to me  being a physician, not just a technician. I take care of my patients’ eyes, but also take care of them as people first. Just looking at the smiles on their faces and their momentary joy is just so special. It’s about sharing life together as well making sure that I stay up to date with the latest in eye care so that I continue to deliver the best care to my patients.

Florence Sullivan(94), Ray McGinn(86), Mary McGinn(89)

@DGuthrieMD Thanks for your professionalsm and your feminine touch. I will tell all my friends about you. Love women doctors.

Linda Franklin ‏ @realcougarwoman

August 11, 2011

I’ve been her patient in Sunnyside for 20 years. Contacts, glasses, eye problems, Dr Guthrie is kind, patient, thorough, up-to-date….the best of the best.
“Christoper Whalen” October 2011

Thank you for seeing me on short notice yesterday. I continue to be impressed with the ultra professional, kind and competent manner in which you conduct your practice. As you know, I have the relative luxury of dealing with at most two or three live people a day in person, and perhaps a few others on the phone. It is amazing to me how — without becoming the least bit flustered or short with patients — you juggle four or five wildly disparate cases in the course of 20 minutes and give each patient exactly what he or she needs. You are a great doctor.
“Pat” April 2011

“Please accept my heart felt thanks for agreeing to see me. As a business traveler with a sudden eye issue, you were the only doctor who welcomed me as a new patient. I appreciate your willingness to see me and offer your consultation as it made the balance of my trip more comforting. Thanks again for your dedication to your profession…even for one-timers like myself”.
“AS” April 2011

“Thanks so much for all your time, help and care. I knew you would make a great doctor way back when. Thanks again.”
“AC” April 2011

“You picked the correct profession. Nobody could be more compassionate than you.”
“CS” April 2011

Floaters as they are commonly called are not unusual as we age. The “gelatinlike” matrix in our eyes(vitreous humor) occasionally collapses or gets some blood stuck in it causing us to see hadows seemingly dance before our eyes. Much of the time these floaters are not ominous. Occasionally the sudden onset of floaters(sometimes perceived as a spiderweb) and at times accompanied by a flash of light may indicate a retinal tear or retinal detachment. It’s impossible to know if a person is having a benign floater or a more serious retinal problem without a thorough eye exam which includes dilation. Dilation of the pupil allows for a panoramic view of the retina. I have a good analogy that I tell my patients to help them understand why it is necessary to be dilated; it is the difference between looking into a room through a keyhole vs opening the door and stepping in and really seeing all the walls of the room. The most important message is that annual ophthalmology exams are very important. Someone with long term floaters should absolutely have a comprehensive eye exam with dilation. Remember to bring your sunglasses and try to bring another driver with you as you will be a bit blurry for up to six hours. I stress to my patients all the time how important it is to take care
of your eyes and lead a healthy lifestyle.

Please email questions to dguthriemd@gmail.com
Debra S. Guthrie, MD“Eye Care to the People”
Medical & Surgical Ophthalmology
185 Madison Ave., Second Floor, New York, NY 10016
212-685-2600 (v)212-685-0002 (f)

Dennis Brooks, SWBGC
Gus Chalkias, American Heart Association
Debra Guthrie M.D., Sunnyside Chamber
Barbara McNish, American Cancer Society
Councilmen Jimmy Van Bramer, City Council District
Noberto Saldana, St. Vincent’s DePaul Society
Maria Terezsa, Boys Scouts Troop 390
Bernie Blades, Mama Mia Foundation
Joe Conley, Community Board 2
Luz Fernandez, VFW Post 2813

To Purchase tickets Call John Renda at 347-610-3707

Proceeds go to Boys and Girls Club of Sunnyside/Woodside 501 (c) (3) Organization
For more information visit us at: www.SWBGC.org

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A…Great question Mary! A little background first–There are so many “standard readers” or “cheaters” being sold without prescription these days that my patients frequently ask if they are ok since the cost is so much less than a prescription pair. The short answer is that if your right and left eye are about the same power and you don’t need them for extended periods of time then they may work.

One knows pretty fast if they are no good because a person will get headaches,eyestrain or just be blurry. They are good when we are in a “pinch”. For most of us in the work force prescription is the way to go. “Cheaters” do not correct for astigmatism and they don’t balance the eyes properly. I find that progressive addition lenses most closely simulate the natural zoom capability of our eyes that we start losing at age 40(the blended bifocals). They are not perfect, but they offer simultaneous distance, intermediate and near vision. Not everyone is able to adjust to them.

For those of my patients that work on the computer for hours a single vision glasses prescription may help alleviate some of the fatigue. Sharing glasses may not work as we tend to wear different prescriptions in our glasses. Another reason not to share too much is just good general hygiene dictates that it’s not a good idea. Do we want to chance getting sick from someone else’s glasses? It’s important to have comprehensive eye exams in addition to getting checked for glasses(refraction). Many eye diseases creep up on us…early detection helps save vision. My next Saturday office hours is May 21st!! Come by and say hi!!

A…This is a question that I am asked frequently. Our eyes get dry for a variety of reasons. They may be dry from too much computer work-the staring at the screen makes us blink less and the eyes dry out, women going through menopause get dry everything including the eyes, dry heat in the winter and cold air conditioning air in the summer all make dry eyes worse. In response to the irritation from the dry eye our tear reflex kicks in…Unfortunately we don’t always produce “good” tears..so we are rewetting our eyes with poor quality tears…so we tear too much… that causes the skin around the eyes to break down, make-up to run and vision to get blurry.

There are some simple things to do…first I must say that a good comprehensive eye exam is necessary to see if you have a mild, moderate or a severe dry eye. Treatment may be a simple as just consciously blinking (batting those lashes) while working at the computer, using some of the premium artificial tear preparations, using the new eye drop Restasis and sometimes putting punctal plugs in. If you find that you need an artificial tear more than three times a day…you are most likely a moderate dry eye. With proper diagnosis an appropriate treatment program can be started.

In time your eyes will produce a good quality tear. The goal with treatment is to have less of the excessive tearing so one can enjoy a better quality of life.