BLUE LIGHT + DIGITAL EYE STRAIN

PATIENTS Got the BLUES?

What you need to know about blue light exposure and digital eye strain, the much-affected millennial market + ECP-tested tips for prescribing high-tech lens solutions

BY SUSAN TARRANT

“It’s 10 p.m. Do you know where your children are?”

Remember that old TV spot? In today’s digital device culture, that phrase would aptly be reworded as, “It’s 10 p.m. Do you know how many hours your child has stared at a digital screen today?”

The answer may surprise you. It may also surprise you to learn how many hours adults stare at digital screens, from tablets and smartphones to computers.

We are, some may say, an over-teched culture. One thing is for certain—we are overexposed to digital screens and their harmful blue light. According to the recently released 2016 Digital Eye Strain Report from The Vision Council, “Eyes Overexposed: The Digital Device Dilemma,” 90% of Americans spend at least two hours looking at digital devices each day. One in 10 spends at least 75% of their waking hours staring at a screen, and nearly 70% of Americans use two or more devices simultaneously. Children aren’t much better, with 33% of them using a digital device three or more hours each day.

The ubiquitous millennials, with their trend-setting influence and behemoth buying power, may well be the biggest digital users today—67% of people in their 30s spend five or more hours a day on digital devices. According to The Vision Council, a full 93% of them are at risk for digital eye strain.

The bigger story, however, is that all this digital screen use is starting to take a toll on our eyes—and our health.

What’s the Damage?
A PRIMER ON THE RESEARCH

According to The Vision Council report, 65% of Americans now suffer from digital eye strain, which is characterized by dry and irritated eyes, blurred vision, headache, and neck and back pain. Furthermore, recent research indicates that prolonged exposure to the blue light emanating from digital screens may result in serious eye health issues, such as retinal and macular degeneration and even cataracts.

Blue light is found naturally in the sun’s light. But it’s also found—in high doses—in LED lighting, digital screens (computers, TVs, smartphones, and tablets), and energy-efficient compact fluorescent lights (CFLs).

Blue light (aka high-energy visible light, or HEV) comprises the shortest wavelengths of visible light at the blue end of the spectrum. While the cornea and lens will absorb the UV wavelengths (causing its own problems in those areas), visible light enters the eye and goes directly to the retina, with its shortest wavelengths—blue light—contributing to macular degeneration.

What is blue light?

Blue light occurs at around 380-500nm, the shortest wavelength of rays in the visible spectrum. It travels unimpeded to the retina without being absorbed by the cornea or crystalline lens. The harmful rays are considered to be those around 415-480nm.

“There are new papers coming out every year that indicate it’s NOT the UV, but the visible light that’s causing the macular degeneration. Why? The visible light is reaching all the way to the retina,” says Kazuo Tsubota, M.D., professor of Ophthalmology at Keio University in Tokyo, and senior representative of the International Blue Light Society.

It’s not just the eye that’s at risk.

Blue light also plays a pivotal role in the suppression of melatonin, which helps regulate our circadian rhythm. Too much blue light, especially at night (when there is supposed to be none) leads to what Richard Stevens, Ph.D, a cancer epidemiologist and professor at the University of Connecticut, calls “circadian disruption.”

“If you have an iPad, or some kind of digital device that is blue, bright, and close to your face, it’s going to prevent that transition to nighttime physiology,” he says. “Melatonin should start going up, and if it doesn’t, you’re not going to start the transition. And in a study of [digital device] users, their melatonin did not start going up.”

According to Dr. Stevens and a host of other researchers, circadian disruption is being linked to breast cancer, prostate cancer, obesity, and affective disorders. It can all be tied back to melatonin—and the fact that blue light can interfere with it.

Dispensing Strategies:
TALES OF SUCCESS

Astonishingly, even though the majority of the population suffers from digital eye strain, only 10% of these people talk to their ECP about it, according to The Vision Council report. And eyecare practitioners tell EB that even though their patients are likely staring at digital screens for several hours a day—and may be slightly aware of something called blue light—they aren’t aware that there are products available to help. Thus, it’s up to the ECP to start the conversation.

90% of patients do NOT talk to their eyecare professional about their digital eye strain discomfort.

ECPs must start the conversation.

source: The Vision Council 2016 Digital Eye Strain Report

Solutions vary, with ECPs having the choice of blue-light-filtering lens coatings, or lenses with filtering material embedded in the lens material itself.

“We’ve been talking to patients about it for a year now,” says Heidi Q.T. Pham-Murphy, O.D., a VSP network optometrist at Visions Optometry and Eye Designs Optometry, both in Sacramento, CA.

She includes questions about screen use on her intake questionnaire, then has staff ask about symptoms during pre-test. In the exam room, she will discuss the risks of blue light and even demonstrate the blue-light-filtering lens products she sells.

“We are bringing a new dimension to the role of eye care that is exciting,” says Dr. Pham-Murphy. “We are getting into their lives, and how they use their eyes, and coming up with real solutions. It’s uncomfortable in the beginning, because you’re stepping into another realm, and you have to re-lay out how to structure your exam. But it’s definitely rewarding.”

Tried-and-true lens sales practices work, too: Doctor-driven dispensing, having staff wear the lens products, and using manufacturer-supplied videos and other sales drivers.

Matt Geller, O.D., who practices at Casa de Oro Eyecare and Lakeside Eyecare, both in San Diego, says, “Most of our patients already wear AR. So we talk about how there’s a newer version that’s going to block out the blue light from your computer. When it’s the same brand and the same manufacturer, it’s an easy transition.”

To deliver a one-two punch—and tackle digital eye strain as well as blue light—combine a filtering product (lens or coating) with the growing number of lens designs created specifically to relieve digital eye strain. These designs (available in single vision lenses and PALs) provide an additional boost to help alleviate accommodative strain.

Building Business:
WHY STAYING ON-TREND PAYS

Brad Schwartz, O.D., reports that his Oneota Valley Family Eye Care in Decorah, IA, has seen a 17% to 20% increase in lens sales revenue in the past year, and it’s tied directly to sales of blue light lens products.

“That’s a pretty significant increase for us,” he says. “And it is directly related to what we’ve been talking to our patients about with these coatings and lenses.”

Beyond increasing revenue, these are topics and products that will also help a practice stand out among its competition.

Dr. Geller, who as founder and president of NewGradOptometry.com is dialed in to the trends of the tech-loving millennials, believes being proactive in talking to patients about the issues related to tech use has intangible benefits.

“It’s so important for practices to keep with the technology trends,” he says. “It’s very important for the patient to come in and not feel that the practice is antiquated. It helps us to stand out in a time when it’s easy to lag behind the trends in life, in media, in everything. It’s not even about being compared to other eyecare practices; it’s about being compared to what else is happening in patients’ lives.”

For more information on blue light and digital eye strain, download The Vision Council’s extensive 2016 report, “Eyes Overexposed: The Digital Device Dilemma,” at thevisioncouncil.org.

The Millennial Market You Can’t Afford to Ignore

The much-sought-after millennial demographic is the logical bull’s-eye for targeting blue light/digital eye strain product sales. At 77 million strong in the U.S.—on par with baby boomers—the millennials make up 24% of the country’s population, according to Nielsen.

“Millennials are pretty much a slam dunk,” says Heidi Q.T. Pham-Murphy, O.D., of Sacramento-based Visions Optometry and Eye Designs Optometry. “[Digital devices are] how they socialize, how they communicate, how they learn. And they are inundated with blue light.”

Clockwise, from top: Seiko 1.74 with Surpass ECP AR and Transitions VII Gray from Seiko Optical Products of America, Sharper Image TechShield from VSP Optics Group, Essilor Crizal Prevencia, Hoya Hilux in Phoenix with Recharge, Kodak SoftWear lens from Signet Armorlite
Stat sources, this page: Global Web Index, YuMe, Verizon Digital Media Services, Nielsen, The Vision Council

Solutions Guide

There are myriad ways to help patients protect themselves from prolonged exposure to HEV light. Here is a sampling of what’s available. Check with your lab and your eyewear and lens providers to find out more.

LENSES

BluTech Lenses:

blutechlenses.com

Smart Blue Filter:

essilorusa.com

Eyezen+:

eyezenusa.com, eyezenPRO.com

TheraBlue:

Luzerneoptical.com

Vitaris:

pfoglobal.com

Nearly 80% of parents report being "very" or "somewhat" concerned about the impact of digital devices on developing eyes.

source: The Vision Council 2016 Digital Eye Strain Report

COATINGS & TREATMENTS

The following lens coatings filter a harmful range of blue light rays. Most are included in an AR treatment. For full digital protection, combine these treatments with lens designs that provide accommodative relief or provide an additional viewing zone for hand-held devices.