Transitions Optical launches Clinical Review Paper
Raising awareness of the potential risks of many common medications to visual quality and long-term eye health, a new clinical review paper, Ocular Effects Associated with Medications, developed by noted ocular pharmacologist and textbook author, Siret D. Jaanus, PhD, was launched today during the Mido. The paper was sponsored by Transitions Optical through an independent research grant funded by its Transitions Partners In Education program.
'Numerous prescription and non-prescription medications, alone or in combination - including common classes of drugs such as cardiac, oral contraceptives, antihistamines, and antibiotics - may alter the quantity or the quality of vision or even pose a threat to future eye health,' said Dr. Jaanus. 'As the use of medications continues to escalate, so does the potential for drug-related adverse effects. Raising awareness of these effects can help reduce risk'.
The adverse ocular effects of medications have been classified into three basic categories.The first includes effects that produce a change in quantity of vision, such as blurred vision, altered refractive states, or accommodative dysfunction. The second category comprises effects that alter quality of vision by inducing glare, increasing light sensitivity, or impairing light-dark adaptation. The third group includes effects that may contribute to the development of ocular disorders such as cataracts, keratopathies, retinopathies, maculopathies, optic neuropathies and glaucoma. The paper is accompanied by tables and a well-documented appendix which provide a concise reference for eyecare practitioners of drugs and drug classes that might affect healthy sight.
'Healthy Sight Counseling, an integrated approach to vision care, vision wear, and education, adopts a primary care methodology to comprehensively screen patients for the many factors that might affect their healthy sight, including careful attention to medications in use,' said Dr. Jaanus. 'The practitioner can then counsel patients accordingly to provide the optimal vision care and, as indicated, the judicious use of vision wear with a customized eyeglass prescription'.
A component of the Healthy Sight Counseling methodology, this considers all relevant factors affecting healthy sight to prescribe the appropriate lens design and lens enhancements to ensure visual quality and promote long-term eye health.
'The customized eyeglass prescription can play a role in both minimizing disturbing visual effects of certain drugs, such as photosensitivity, and decreasing the long-term threat of drug-related ocular disease, such as UV radiation damage,' Dr. Jaanus added. 'Photochromic lenses, for example, can provide 100 percent blockage from ultraviolet radiation and titrate light on demand, promoting good sight and a lifetime of healthy vision'.
'Transitions Partners In Education programs aim to raise awareness of the significant, pervasive risks to visual quality and long-term eye health, and to educate about the protective and preventative benefits of eyewear,' said Denis Fisk, director of global clinical education, Transitions Optical, Inc. 'The potential adverse effects of common medications on healthy sight are little-known risks that deserve the close consideration of the patient and the eyecare professional. Raising awareness is critical to reducing risk, so we are proud to sponsor Dr. Jaanus' paper.'
