Sometimes medications just don’t do the job to help with your headaches, especially if your headaches and migraines are triggered by light. Please let Boerne Vision Center know if you are having light sensitivity that traditional sunglasses are not helping with. For example, the Orion Therapeutic is a Lavender colored tint that the University of Utah – Health Care has found to be useful in patients with migraine headaches, blepharospasm, light triggered seizures, CVS (Computer Vision Syndrome) and other light-sensitive/triggered conditions. The doctors at Boerne Vision Center can fit these patients with special contacts.
Orion Therapeutic was first described in a research project that took place in Birmingham, England in the early 90’s. In this study, children with migraine headaches wore Orion Therapeutic filtered spectacles. The researchers found that wearing the Orion Therapeutic filter improved the light sensitivity in these children, as well as lessened the frequency and severity of their migraine headaches. Since that time, Orion Therapeutic filtered lenses have been used to treat these and other conditions.
The researchers found that wearing the Orion Therapeutic filter improved the light sensitivity in these children, as well as lessened the frequency and severity of their migraine headaches. Since that time, Orion Therapeutic filtered lenses have been used to treat these and other conditions.
For more milder cases, we recommend trying the contact lens: ACUVUE® OASYS with Transitions™ Light Intelligent Technology™. That’s right, this is new technology that was FDA approved this year to help with milder cases of light sensitivity.
The Contact Lens That Changes with light
Boerne Vision Center has samples of ACUVUE® OASYS with Transitions™, which is a first-of-its-kind contact lens that goes beyond vision correction by adapting to changing light to provide all-day soothing vision. This contact lens automatically balances the amount of indoor and outdoor light entering the eye, including filtering blue light and blocking UV rays. ACUVUE® OASYS with Transitions™ helps reduce the stressful impact that light can have on patients’ eyes. Ask us how to try them.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xCpIgUZi9Lc]
Prosthetic Contact Lenses in Post-Concussion Photophobia
Photophobia, or light sensitivity, is a common and debilitating symptom in post-concussion syndrome. Pain sensation to the head, face and eye is transmitted by the trigeminal pathway which gathers input from rhodopsin and melanopsin origins. The melanopsin pathway is related to circadian rhythm and pupillary light response with peak sensitivity at 479nm. Melanopsin sensitive cells have been identified in the retina and the iris making an argument for blocking light from both. Spectacles with specific tints and rose tint limit blue light and are used for photophobia in cone dystrophies, blepharospasm, and migraine headaches. Limitations to wearing sunglasses indoors include cosmetic/social issues and stray light behind the spectacle lens. The purpose of this study was to assess the benefits of wearing tinted prosthetic contact lenses instead of spectacles for photophobia.
If contact lenses are not an option for you, special tinted glasses may be helpful to post-concussion, post-stroke, and light sensitive patients.
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Citations
Orion Vision Group; https://orionvisiongroup.com/therapeutic/
Faheemah Saeed, Darrell Schlange, Tina Najafi; Sustained benefits of Therapeutic Tinted Contact Lenses (CL) in patients with Albinism. Invest. Ophthalmol. Vis. Sci. 2013;54(15):2778.
Lynn D Greenspan; Prosthetic Contact Lenses in Post-Concussion Photophobia. Invest. Ophthalmol. Vis. Sci. 2015;56(7 ):3081.
https://www.jnjvisionpro.com/how-transitions-contact-lenses-enhance-visual-comfort
FDA press release: FDA clears first contact lens with light-adaptive technology https://www.fda.gov/newsevents/newsroom/pressannouncements/ucm604263.htm, April 10th 2018.
JJV Data on File 2018. Definition of ACUVUE® OASYS with Transitions™ Light Intelligent Technology™
JJV Data on File 2018: ACUVUE® OASYS Brand Contact Lenses with Transitions™ Light Intelligent Technology – Objective Clinical Claims
JJV Data on File 2018. Material Properties: ACUVUE® OASYS Brand Contact Lenses with HYDRACLEAR® Plus, ACUVUE® OASYS with Transitions™ Light Intelligent Technology, and Other Reusable Contact Lenses
JJV Data on File 2018. Substantiation for Bothersome Light Need Prevalence.
β Helps protect against transmission of harmful UV radiation to the cornea and into the eye.