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Thread: Blue light protection

  1. #1
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    Blue light protection

    Okay fellow optiborders

    I have been looking into various different blue light coatings and treatments. I am finding their is a lot out their but lens technology has yet to catch up with research. I am looking for the best product for my patients. I am curious about what others out their do for products and opinions.

    Thanks
    Dan

  2. #2
    Master Jedi King of the Lab's Avatar
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    We use a total of three different options.

    Essilors Prevencia Coating.
    VSP Unitys TechShield.
    Zeiss Duravision Blue Protect.

    Between you and me, when this technology & products started rolling out years ago, a brand ambassador for Essilor told me that it was all bs and unless you have been wearing blue light protection since birth that chances are it has already affected you.

    It works great in my demographic area, all my patients are all engineers, so besides the occasional pain in the butt patient wanting a -7.00 in a silhouette, they love the blue light tech spiel.
    Last edited by King of the Lab; 11-04-2017 at 02:01 PM.
    Erik Zuniga, ABOC.

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    One eye sees, the other feels OptiBoard Silver Supporter
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    In-mass tinting should be on the table also. See Mitzu Chemical's UV+420 cut http://uv420cut.com.

    Available from Luzerne Optical. http://www.luzerneoptical.com/pdf/th...sell-sheet.pdf

    It's the nicest looking product in this category, and the most effective.

    IMO, we shouldn't make any medical claims WRT blue light.

    Best regards,

    Robert Martellaro
    Science is a way of trying not to fool yourself. - Richard P. Feynman

    Experience is the hardest teacher. She gives the test before the lesson.



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    Shamir has a new materials called Blue Zero. It is available in poly, trivex and 1.67 no additional cost. Can just specify Blue Zero material in the order notes. I like it with the Glacier+UV a/r coat-Very Clear!

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    I was looking into the TheraBlue, I will look into the Mitzu lenses. I was never a fan of the AR an coatings treatments, they really don't do much.

  6. #6
    Ghost in the OptiMachine Quince's Avatar
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    We offer different levels of protection based on needs.

    BluTech is for those wanting the BEST protection and for the light sensitive. The color makes it less appealing for a primary pair- for those who care.
    Hoya's Recharge is great for people who have an extended amount of screen time, especially at night, but works well on an everyday pair as well.
    Transistions are another great way to protect in an everyday pair. No blue blocking AR needed with this unless you are trying to effect sleep patterns.

    BUT the ultimate protection comes from...... POLARIZED SUNWEAR. This is soooo much more important than any coating. So don't forget about sunglasses when people ask about blue light protection.

    Keep in mind, any material filter is only helping with eyestrain- no medical benefits.

    If you have patients with deteriorating eye health then any of the above options are good to talk about.



    As a side note- I do believe there are a lot of people (manufacturers) pushing these options more than necessary. I have had many people come in with Recharge listed under recommendations from the doctor when a few simple questions can easily reveal they really don't need it.

    That being said. I am a BluTech wearer. I absolutely love how relaxed it makes my eyes and I have yet to find something that is so effective for night driving for the light sensitive.
    Have I told you today how much I hate poly?

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    I know this doesn't help the OP, but someday we're going to "find out" that lack of blue light causes dental cavities, hair loss, and sterility....and we're gonna be sorry.

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    Could you expand on this, I am curious,

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    Eyes eastward... Uilleann's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by robert martellaro View Post
    ...imo, we shouldn't make any medical claims wrt blue light.

    Best regards,

    robert martellaro
    1,000 x this!

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    Proof that blue light interferes with sleep.... Have you ever laid in bed at night holding your smart phone above your head, reading some drivel click bait on Facebook?...and you start to doze off?... And you drop your phone and it crashes right into your face? Damn! Wakes me up every time.

    Gotta get me some blue tech glasses and see if it will help.

  11. #11
    Master OptiBoarder AngeHamm's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by fjpod View Post
    Proof that blue light interferes with sleep.... Have you ever laid in bed at night holding your smart phone above your head, reading some drivel click bait on Facebook?...and you start to doze off?... And you drop your phone and it crashes right into your face? Damn! Wakes me up every time.

    Gotta get me some blue tech glasses and see if it will help.
    Better get them safety thickness.

    Yeah, I second the recommendation of TheraBlue. If your patient absolutely MUST have HEV protection (which is medically, ahem, debatable), TheraBlue is the one that looks most like a normal pair of glasses.
    I'm Andrew Hamm and I approve this message.

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    Master OptiBoarder OptiBoard Gold Supporter Judy Canty's Avatar
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    Ghost in the OptiMachine Quince's Avatar
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    The first step is to figure out what reason the patient wants/ needs it. If they want a totally clear lens and are experiencing eye strain from digital devices a material filter will work.

    If they want HEV protection, you need an AR coating or a tinted filter.
    Have I told you today how much I hate poly?

  14. #14
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    How many billions do people spend on health related products that can't even be scientifically proven to help... I. E. Fish oil, ginkgo, herbs and such... The science on blue light filtering is that it does what it says... Let the pt decide if it's worth ordering. The product is really no extra charge in most cases.

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    Quote Originally Posted by golfnut View Post
    How many billions do people spend on health related products that can't even be scientifically proven to help... I. E. Fish oil, ginkgo, herbs and such... The science on blue light filtering is that it does what it says... Let the pt decide if it's worth ordering. The product is really no extra charge in most cases.
    If a consumer walks in and asks for a specific product, that's one thing. But recommending a product to a patient as a doctor or other health care professional is something completely different.

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    This is a great literature/studies review, came out about a week ago.

    http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/1...opo.12406/full

    I believe this to be the most comprehensive review on the scientific lit on blue light lenses.

  17. #17
    Master OptiBoarder AngeHamm's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Kwill212 View Post
    If a consumer walks in and asks for a specific product, that's one thing. But recommending a product to a patient as a doctor or other health care professional is something completely different.
    This. I used to work for an OD who was all in on the HEV danger, and I had to make recommendations I didn't believe in. Now I have all of the product knowledge of that environment in a workplace where I don't have to make such recommendations, so when patients bring it up I can speak intelligently about product without feeling icky.
    I'm Andrew Hamm and I approve this message.

  18. #18
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    Quote Originally Posted by AngeHamm View Post
    ... so when patients bring it up I can speak intelligently about product without feeling icky.
    Unfortunately, I don't think any of us can speak intelligently about the products or potential hazards. That is the whole point of the systemic review posted above. Of the 99 different blue light studies conducted only 3 were found to be worth reviewing. The others were rejected for incomplete testing, incomplete reporting, non RCT, etc. The three that were reviewed were still found to be limited in designed/implementation and poorly reported. All three were also at risk of selection bias.

    Basically the best 3 studies they could find, were still poorly done and there is low to very low confidence in the results of the studies.

    We can speak intelligently enough about what the lenses physically do. like, lens A blocks light from 420-435nm or Lens B is amber tinted to it blocks some incoming blue light, etc. But after that when the patient/consumer asks what good does that do them, IMHO the only acceptable answer at this point is that no one really knows because there is no high-quality clinical evidence.

    More and better studies need to conducted.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Kwill212 View Post
    Unfortunately, I don't think any of us can speak intelligently about the products or potential hazards. That is the whole point of the systemic review posted above. Of the 99 different blue light studies conducted only 3 were found to be worth reviewing. The others were rejected for incomplete testing, incomplete reporting, non RCT, etc. The three that were reviewed were still found to be limited in designed/implementation and poorly reported. All three were also at risk of selection bias.

    Basically the best 3 studies they could find, were still poorly done and there is low to very low confidence in the results of the studies.

    We can speak intelligently enough about what the lenses physically do. like, lens A blocks light from 420-435nm or Lens B is amber tinted to it blocks some incoming blue light, etc. But after that when the patient/consumer asks what good does that do them, IMHO the only acceptable answer at this point is that no one really knows because there is no high-quality clinical evidence.

    More and better studies need to conducted.
    Zactly, KWill.

    As a prescriber, I am not going to discourage anyone gung-ho to buy as they do no harm that we know.
    But, like you, am not going to suggest them either; esp. not for protecting retinal health. Not until there's a better more definitive legit clinical study.
    Last edited by Skol; 11-04-2017 at 11:09 AM.

  20. #20
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    Blue Jumper Maybe we should go back into the early days of UV lens treatments....................

    Quote Originally Posted by Robert Martellaro View Post


    In-mass tinting should be on the table also. See Mitzu Chemical's UV+420 cut http://uv420cut.com.

    Available from Luzerne Optical.
    http://www.luzerneoptical.com/pdf/therablue-sell-sheet.pdf


    Maybe we should go back into the early days of UV lens treatments which started to become popular in the early 1980’s.

    That was also the time when the first bluebocker glasses appeared on the market which blocked all UV and blue light passing through the lenses. They also cut all the visible blue light that was still mixed with UV, right up to past the 450nm mark.

    The ANSI people decided that UV protection should end at 380nm, and everybody used UV dyes that absobed to 380nm and which were crystal clear, and refused to use the products that had a yellowish tinge.

    Dental fillings that were UV, (around the 400nm rank) light curable, and came up around those years, and they needed protection when holding the fibreoptics to the repaired tooth to cure the fillings.
    Even then it became known that there was a damaging factor in the visible blue light.

    In the mid 1980s we produced a few thousand pairs of glasses for protection when curing the fillings.

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    Isn't blue light also thought to help slow myopia in children? I realize nothing is proved yet but neither is anything proved about it being harmful.

    And most lenses and and coatings that filter blue light just block a small amount of it indoors. Personally I offer it but don't push it at all.

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    Master OptiBoarder AngeHamm's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Kwill212 View Post
    Unfortunately, I don't think any of us can speak intelligently about the products or potential hazards.
    By "Speak intelligently about the products," I mainly mean that I know the names of the coatings that address HEV light, that Transitions and newer Varilux lenses address it, and that Prevencia looks flipping horrible. I don't make any claims about the products' need or efficacy.
    I'm Andrew Hamm and I approve this message.

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    Quote Originally Posted by AngeHamm View Post
    By "Speak intelligently about the products," I mainly mean that I know the names of the coatings that address HEV light, that Transitions and newer Varilux lenses address it, and that Prevencia looks flipping horrible. I don't make any claims about the products' need or efficacy.
    I know what you meant. I just like to play devil's advocate a bit, within reason. I mean, we could speak intelligently about the Bates Method and how it addresses Myopia, but should we?

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    Redhot Jumper coatings that filter blue light just block a small amount of it indoors .............

    Quote Originally Posted by Happylady View Post

    And most lenses and and coatings that filter blue light just block a small amount of it indoors. Personally I offer it but don't push it at all.

    Blue blocker lenses have been around since the early 1980s. As sunglasses they provide much higher contrast and colors as they block the visible blue light that provides a slightly fuzzy image to the eyes.

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    Ghost in the OptiMachine Quince's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by SeaU2020 View Post
    Shamir has a new materials called Blue Zero. It is available in poly, trivex and 1.67 no additional cost. Can just specify Blue Zero material in the order notes. I like it with the Glacier+UV a/r coat-Very Clear!
    Does anyone currently use this product? I was just given a demo and am getting ready to order myself a trial pair but I'd be very thankful for any first-hand accounts.
    Have I told you today how much I hate poly?

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