Health
Elton John’s vision loss: How an eye infection can cause blindness
World-renowned singer-songwriter Elton John confirmed he has lost sight in his right eye after suffering from a severe infection.
On the opening night of his musical adaptation of “The Devil Wears Prada” in London, John shared, “I haven’t been able to come to many of the previews because, as you know, I have lost my eyesight.”
“So, it’s hard for me to see it, but I love to hear it and, boy, it sounded good tonight,” he said.
ELTON JOHN HAS ‘LOST MY EYESIGHT’ FOLLOWING SEVERE INFECTION
John first posted to his Instagram account in September that he had been dealing with a “severe eye infection” over the summer that has “unfortunately left me with only limited vision in one eye.”
“Since Sir Elton John did not state what type of eye infection he has, it is unclear whether he has complete blindness in his right eye or if there is still some partial vision,” Dr. Thuy Tran, optometrist and founder of Oculist in New York City, told Fox News Digital.
“It is possible that he may still be able to perceive light and motion, but is unable to discern enough details to read letters or musical notes,” added Tran, who did not treat the singer.
“He may also be experiencing other signs and symptoms, such as thick mucous discharge, pain, irritation, excessive tearing and redness.”
Types of eye infections
The most common types of eye infections are viral conjunctivitis and bacterial conjunctivitis, according to Tran.
“Viral conjunctivitis, caused by adenovirus, are like common colds and typically resolve on their own within a few weeks,” he said.
“When caused by herpes simplex virus, varicella zoster virus (same virus that is responsible for chicken pox and shingles), or cytomegalovirus (seen in immunocompromised individuals i.e. those with HIV/AIDS), more serious complications, such as corneal scarring, retinal damage and vision loss, may result.”
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Bacterial eye infections usually resolve within a week with proper antibiotic treatment, usually eyedrops or ointment, the doctor noted.
“A hyperacute bacterial eye infection, however, can be severe and rapidly progressive,” Tran warned. “If not treated immediately, it can lead to corneal ulcers, scarring and blindness.”
“This condition is most commonly caused by Neisseria gonorrhoeae, a type of bacteria that can be transmitted through sexual contact.”
Fungal eye infections are often caused by fungi that are naturally present in our environment, according to Tran.
“Common risk factors include trauma to the eye with plant material, extended contact lens wear and diabetes,” he said.
Fungal infections are usually treated with topical or oral antifungal therapies.
“Rarely, they can lead to a medically-urgent condition known as endophthalmitis, which often requires hospitalization for administration of intravenous medications.”
Potential for permanent damage
Dr. Derek Cunningham, eye doctor and director of Dell Laser Consultants in Austin, Texas, also spoke with Fox News Digital about the dangers of both internal and external infections in the eyes.
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An internal infection can be caused by a virus, said Cunningham, who also did not treat Elton John. If it reaches the retina, or the back of the eye, permanent vision loss can occur.
More commonly, eye infections are the result of external triggers and trauma to the front of the eye, like scratches, chemical splashes or the misuse of contact lenses, he noted.
These incidents then allow bacteria and other foreign organisms to “colonize in the eye,” Cunningham said.
“Because [the eye] is specifically designed to transmit light, the cellular structure of all the tissues is very precise, and it cannot be altered.”
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“So, any amount of immune response or even bacterial or viral infection is going to cause not only a disruption in the cells, but it could potentially cause scarring – and that is going to reduce vision, very often on a permanent level,” he went on.
While the eye is sensitive and may have a harder time warding off infection since it’s a “compartmentalized” system, Cunningham said, the cornea is also the “fastest-healing tissue in the human body.”
But as people age, the body heals more slowly – so someone like John, who is 77 years old, will be at a higher risk of elongated infection compared to those who are younger.
“A little kid can scratch their eye and within hours be completely healed,” Cunningham said. “In an elderly person, [injury] can last for days, and that’s where the chance of infection builds up – every minute that the tissue is still compromised.”
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Some eye complications can be spotted and addressed early on during routine eye exams.
Cunningham recommends paying attention to visual function – and if vision is compromised, symptoms should be evaluated by a doctor.
“If there is … anything really infectious in the eye, the potential for vision loss is extremely high — and it’s permanent. It very often doesn’t ever come back.”
Representatives for John did not return Fox News Digital’s immediate request for comment.
Fox News Digital’s Elizabeth Stanton contributed to this report.
Health
Red food dye could soon be banned as FDA reviews petition: ‘Scary stuff’
A widely used artificial food dye could soon be outlawed.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is moving to ban an artificial food coloring called Red No. 3, also known as Erythrosine.
The synthetic dye, which is made from petroleum, is used as a color additive in food and ingested drugs to give them a “bright cherry-red color,” according to an online statement from the FDA.
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“With Red 3, we have a petition in front of us to revoke the authorization board, and we’re hopeful that in the next few weeks we’ll be acting on that petition,” Jim Jones, the FDA’s deputy commissioner for human foods, told a U.S. Senate health committee on Thursday.
The petition the FDA is reviewing cites the Delaney Clause, which states that the agency cannot classify a color additive as safe if it has been found to induce cancer in humans or animals, per the FDA’s statement.
Dr. Marc Siegel, clinical professor of medicine at NYU Langone Health and Fox News’ senior medical analyst, joined “Fox and Friends” to discuss the potential ban of the food dye, which he calls “scary stuff.”
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“It’s been banned from skin products since the 1990s,” Siegel pointed out. “So I wonder why is it not allowed in skin products? You know, something you can’t put on your face — yet a kid can eat it.”
Red No. 3 has been banned in the European Union, the U.K., and most of Asia and Australia, the doctor pointed out.
“They’re going to get it out of the food, finally.”
“Why are we so late and why now?” he asked, attributing the move to the fact that “there’s a new marshal in town” — namely, President-elect Donald Trump and Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
“And Jimmy Jones, who’s the head of FDA food division, is now responding to petitions from the public, from consumers and from the House of Representatives,” Siegel continued.
“And they’re going to get it out of the food, finally.”
The FDA is making this move now, according to Siegel, because “they know it’s going to happen one way or the other. So they want to do it now.”
Potential health effects of Red No. 3
Previous research has raised concerns about potential health risks associated with all nine of the food dyes that are approved in the U.S.
Red No. 3, in particular, has been shown to cause cancer in animal studies.
It has also been linked to an increase in childhood behavioral issues.
“It’s a disgrace that we have nine synthetic dyes in our food in the United States.”
“They’ve studied it in high doses with cancer, but also for ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder),” Siegel said.
“All of these food dyes can be related to this — 26 studies seem to have shown it,” he went on.
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“It’s a disgrace that we have nine synthetic dyes in our food in the United States.”
Siegel said the FDA has previously stated “they can’t prove” it causes these conditions.
“They don’t do enough post-market analysis where it’s already on the market,” he said. “They’re not studying it enough.”
Nearly 3,000 foods are shown to contain Red No. 3, according to Food Scores, a database of foods compiled by the Environmental Working Group.
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The petition to remove Red No. 3 from foods, supplements and medications was presented by the Center for Science in the Public Interest and 23 other organizations and scientists.
Fox News Digital reached out to the FDA requesting comment.
Health
Little-known eating disorder nearly starved a 9-year-old: 'It was tormenting her'
Of the list of eating disorders, ARFID might not be one that you recognize – but it can be just as dangerous as the better-known conditions.
ARFID, or Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder, is defined by the Cleveland Clinic as a condition that limits a person’s food intake. It is recognized in the DSM-5 (the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Illnesses by the American Psychiatric Association).
The disorder is marked by intense fear and anxiety about food and its specific qualities – like smell, taste and texture – or the consequences of eating, such as choking.
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Limiting food intake at an extreme level can lead to malnutrition and nutrient deficiencies, which 9-year-old Hannah of Los Angeles has experienced.
Hannah and her mom, Michelle, (who chose not to disclose their last name) sat down for an interview with Fox News Digital to discuss their journey with ARFID, which has included a prominent social media presence.
On Instagram, the duo has 1.5 million followers. Their TikTok account (@myarfidlife), features videos of Hannah bravely trying new foods, which have reached millions of views among nearly 460,000 followers.
Long before Hannah began sharing her journey on camera, Michelle struggled with what she thought was just a “picky eater.”
“I realized this was way more than just picky eating. This was obviously tormenting her.”
Michelle explained that Hannah, who is the youngest of three, was a “great eater” as a baby — until she was introduced to solid foods.
“She would protest, and she would spit the food out, or she would swat it out of my hand, or she would turn her head in the other direction,” she said — all “pretty common” behaviors among kids.
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But by the time Hannah turned 3, Michelle said she had started refusing even the select foods she once ate.
“It was very frustrating for us because she was already so limited as to what she was willing to eat,” she said.
Since Hannah was still growing normally, her doctors “weren’t too concerned,” and assumed she’d grow out of the picky eating.
After COVID-19 hit, Michelle said Hannah’s eating took a turn for the worse, and she eliminated even more food.
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“It was a big struggle to get her to eat anything at all,” she said. “She had no interest in food whatsoever, and her growth started to slow down.”
Hannah’s doctors ran tests to see if there was another health condition, such as IBS or celiac disease. She was referred to other specialists, from endocrinologists to nutritionists.
Hannah was also seeing a feeding therapist, which caused “a lot of stress and anxiety,” her mother noted.
The doctors instructed Michelle to continue offering Hannah food when she was hungry, but her daughter’s condition only worsened.
“She couldn’t handle being around food,” she said. “She couldn’t handle sitting at the dinner table with us. She couldn’t handle the smell when I was cooking something in the kitchen.”
As Hannah got older, she didn’t grow out of the condition, but was able to verbalize her internal struggle.
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“We were in a drive-thru and I asked [Hannah], ‘What would you like me to order?’ And she broke down at that moment and asked me, ‘Why is it that every time you talk about food, it makes me really anxious?’” Michelle recalled.
“Hearing those words … I realized that this was way more than just picky eating. This was obviously tormenting her.”
Seeking help and ‘validation’
Michelle decided to seek help from a mental health care professional and found a therapist who specialized in ARFID. She said their first conversation was “so validating.”
“I remember saying to her, ‘She has very few foods that she’s willing to eat. And one of the foods is sour cream and onion Pringles, but they have to be in a special packaging. She refuses to eat the Pringles that come in the large container. They have to come in the individual small containers.’”
“And hearing the words from her — ‘This is so classic of ARFID’ — was so validating.”
The therapist first recommended nutritional protein shakes, which were difficult for Hannah to stomach.
But Hannah, who was dangerously underweight, told her mother, “I don’t want to live like this anymore.”
“She was at risk of needing a feeding tube,” Michelle told Fox News Digital. “She fell off the growth chart and wasn’t gaining weight. She wasn’t growing in height.”
“I don’t want to live like this anymore.”
“She just wasn’t getting the nutrition she needed. She was very weak, lethargic and sleeping a lot.”
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Michelle tried fun ways to get Hannah to drink the shakes, like timing her and seeing if she could beat her previous record.
Next, Michelle suggested taking a video of Hannah drinking her shake to send to her new therapist.
Hannah was immediately interested in how her therapist would respond.
Michelle then decided to share the video online to help clue in friends and family about what Hannah was dealing with, and to help explain why she wasn’t able to attend holidays or birthday parties due to the presence of food.
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Since that first post, Hannah and Michelle’s social media following has skyrocketed, with thousands of strangers cheering on and motivating Hannah.
“Hannah’s grown so much physically and emotionally. Her confidence has soared,” Michelle said. “She’s a completely different kid.”
“There’s curiosity and motivation and excitement — definitely still a lot of anxiety, but she’s working through it.”
Now 9, Hannah is using her platform to spread ARFID awareness and share tips she learns in therapy.
“Many people since we started our page have discovered that this is what they’ve dealt with their whole life,” Michelle said.
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“It’s just really nice to meet other people who can understand each other and share stories.”
Hannah added that the encouragement she gets online helps motivate her to try new foods.
“It makes me really happy because I know I’m helping other people,” she told Fox News Digital. “And I’m also helping myself, too.”
Hannah shared that she feels proud of her continuous bravery.
“I feel good,” she said. “I’m really energetic today.”
Tips for overcoming ARFID
During her sessions, Hannah undergoes exposure therapy as well as talk therapy.
“We do breathing exercises and coping skills,” she said. “We also try different foods.”
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Taylor Rae Homesley, executive director of The Emily Program’s Atlanta-based Eating Disorder Treatment Center, works with ARFID patients.
She shared more details on the condition in an interview with Fox News Digital.
Since ARFID was coined as a “new term to describe something that’s existed for a long time,” Homesley said it has brought more awareness to the condition and how best to treat it.
There are three types of ARFID symptoms that parents should look for in their children, according to Homesley.
1. Fear of consequences
“I’m afraid I’m going to throw up, I’m afraid I’m going to get a stomachache, I’m afraid I’m going to choke,” the expert listed as examples.
2. Lack of interest in eating or food
“These are kids and adults who just aren’t motivated by food,” she said.
“They’re the ones who may be playing outside for hours and hours and don’t think, ‘It’s time to eat now.’”
3. Avoidance of food based on sensory characteristics
“These are the kids and adults who are super limited in what they’re eating due to those sensory things,” Homesley said.
“They may have aversions to taste, texture, smell or temperature of food.”
“A lot of our patients with ARFID are what we consider super tasters,” the therapist added. “They taste bitter flavors at a higher intensity than the rest of us.”
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Treatment is still being developed for ARFID, but methods like cognitive behavioral therapy have proven helpful, according to Homesley.
Michelle noted that ARFID needs “a lot more awareness” and community building, which led her to start the ARFID Awareness nonprofit.
“Help is not readily available, and it’s very unfortunate because ARFID is lifelong, and it’s something that does require treatment,” she said.
“I feel like bringing community together and using our voices [is important] so that people see there’s a need.”
Health
'Holiday shopping wipes me out, how can I keep up my stamina?': Ask a doctor
Black Friday is behind us, but holiday shopping season is still in full swing.
Winter holiday spending is expected to grow between 2.5% and 3.5% compared to 2023, according to the National Retail Federation.
“That equates to between $979.5 billion and $989 billion in total holiday spending in November and December, compared with $955.6 billion during the same timeframe last year,” the same source said.
In addition to having to navigate crowds, consumers can face some health challenges during the hectic retail season.
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To help ensure safety during long shopping stints, Fox News Digital asked a medical doctor for tips on shopping without dropping. Here are six.
1. Eat before you go
It’s never a good idea to go anywhere when you’re hungry, and Christmas shopping is no exception. Experts recommend packing some healthy snacks to sustain your energy.
If you don’t eat something a few hours after your last meal, energy levels and blood glucose levels could dip, according to Harvard University.
“I always recommend a combination of nuts, seeds and fruit as snacks, since they are filling and healthy for everybody,” Matthew Badgett, M.D., a primary care physician at Cleveland Clinic in Ohio, told Fox News Digital.
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“Also, plan to also eat a healthy meal before you hit the road.”
Packing healthy snacks is a better option than grabbing fast food at the food court, he said.
If you plan to take a break during shopping to grab lunch or dinner, Badgett recommends planning ahead to explore eating options and possibly making a reservation.
2. Know your physical limits
If you aren’t accustomed to being on your feet for extended periods of time, a long shopping trip could prove to be strenuous.
“If you aren’t regularly on your feet, limit how long you are walking — otherwise you could find yourself quite sore the next morning,” Badgett said.
“If you normally only walk 3,000 to 4,000 steps per day, I wouldn’t walk more than 10,000 steps in a day of shopping.”
3. Refrain from lugging packages
Carrying a few packages is OK, but lugging around several heavy packages is not advised.
“Don’t carry too much weight and injure yourself,” Badgett warned.
“If you normally only walk 3,000 to 4,000 steps per day, I wouldn’t walk more than 10,000 steps in a day of shopping.”
Some stores may have shopping carts to reduce the load.
Yet if that’s not an option, it’s worth heading back to the car or even home to drop off some of the weight, he recommended.
“Carrying too much, especially when you aren’t used to it, can place a strain on the arms, shoulders, neck and back and lead to injuries,” the doctor said.
“Try to carry manageable weights, balanced between both arms, and take breaks and drop off stuff as needed.”
4. Take proactive health measures
It’s recommended to stay up to date on vaccines and wear a mask if you are in a high-risk group.
“I recommend N-95 masks over surgical masks, as they are better at preventing germs from getting through,” Badgett told Fox News Digital.
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For those who are sick, the doctor recommends staying home or wearing a mask while out in public.
Use hand sanitizer, try to social distance and wash hands as needed, experts advise.
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Some of the germiest spots at shopping venues include elevator buttons, handrails, escalators, public water fountains, ATMs, shopping carts, door knobs and the restroom, according to WebMD.
5. Dress appropriately
Experts caution against wearing a heavy coat and accessories while shopping indoors.
Overdressing is “uncomfortable and sweaty,” Badgett told Fox News Digital. He recommends dressing in layers to stay as comfortable as possible while shopping.
6. Limit the duration of shopping trips
Breaking up shopping over multiple sessions may be better in terms of health outcomes, Badgett said.
Not only will this allow you to maintain better stamina, but you can also take your time shopping and enjoy the experience more.
Overdoing it is a bad idea, said Badgett, “since many of us are not used to this much carrying and walking around.”
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