DO CONTACT LENSES REDUCE INDOOR GLARE?

Hey everyone.  Welcome to Optometrist Driving in a Car Summarizing journals.  It is very short because it’s a very short ride to my work.  Good optometry morning!

Today’s article is in the April 2020 issue of the Journal of Optometry

The effects of light scatter when using a photochromic vs. non-photochromic contact lens.

If you don’t already know, shame on you because it’s been out for a year, there is a photochromic contact lens.    If you don’t know it’s the Acuvue Oasys Transition contact lens.

https://www.acuvue.ca/acuvue-oasys-transition-contact-lenses

If you have used this lens you may know that anecdotally some say this lens helps them with glare even indoors.

This study looks at three types of glare:  light scatter, haloes and starburst while wearing 3 lens scenarios:   1.  A Control non-photochromic lens. 2. A Photochromic lens that is in the clear state and 3. A photochromic lens that is in the darkened state.

The results and this is not surprising showed that when you compared the darkened photochromic lens to the control clear non-photochromic lenses.  There was a significant reduction in all three types of glare…about 30-40%..but you would have guessed that.

Here is the surprising info:    compared to a non-photochromic lens the non-darkening photochromic lens also showed a significant reduction in light scatter, haloes and starburst.

So you here is you take away.  If you suffer from glare symptoms indoors…..you might want to try this lens.  So if have experienced this or anything else with this lens below I’d love to hear them.

And since are at work…have a great optometry day.

J Optom  2020 Apr 21;S1888-4296(20)30029-7.

doi: 10.1016/j.optom.2020.03.006.Online ahead of print.

The Effects of Light Scatter When Using a Photochromic vs. Non-Photochromic Contact Lens

Billy R Hammond Jr ¹, John Buch ², Lauren Hacker ³, Jessica Cannon ², Youssef Toubouti ², Lisa M Renzi-Hammond ⁴

PMID: 32331922

DOI: 10.1016/j.optom.2020.03.006