Pairs Of Spectacles Research Articles

Photosensitivity and filter efficacy in albinism✰

PurposeTo describe the prevalence and severity of photosensitivity in patients with albinism, and to compare with ocular features and how this correlated with use and choice of optical filters. MethodsCross-sectional study on 81 participants with ocular or oculocutaneous albinism. An ophthalmic evaluation including visual acuity, contrast sensitivity and evaluation of iris translucency and fundus hypopigmentation was performed. Participants were offered optical rehabilitation with testing of a wide panel of filters. The associations between ocular characteristics, subjective photosensitivity complaints, and filter choice were evaluated. ResultsPhotosensitivity was rated as “some” to “worst imaginable” in 77.8% of participants. Severity of photosensitivity correlated significantly with fundus hypopigmentation (p = 0.04) but not with iris translucency (p = 0.14) and it was worse in those with poor visual acuity but there was no association between photosensitivity and contrast vision. Seventy-four new pairs of spectacles were prescribed in the study. All outdoor spectacles contained a filter, whereas 26.5% of new indoor spectacles did not. Relatively neutral filter colors (gray, brown or a combination of gray and brown with other colors) and low transmission were preferred. DiscussionPhotosensitivity is common in albinism, but research targeting treatment is limited. Color and neutral filters with a low light transmission were preferred, with participants having a large number of spectacles, presumably to meet their needs in different situations.

Sight for All United: Five Year Impact of a Vision Foundation on its Community

Background: In 2016, Sight for All United (SFAU) was founded in the Mahoning Valley of Ohio with the mission of improving access to care and maximizing the visual potential of the underserved. Methods: A retrospective chart review was conducted on patients served by SFAU from January 2016 through August 2020. Socioeconomic information, type of service, cost, and dollar amount paid were collected for patients. The data were analyzed with descriptive statistics and mapped with Esri ArcGIS. Results: A total of 1327 patients received assistance through the medical assistance and school vision programs. In the medical assistance program, 222 patients (mean age 50 years, 57% female) completed applications and 37% (83 patients) were in a household of 3 or more people. Median yearly income was $18 504, 134% above the federal poverty level by household size. The most common surgical services were cataract surgery (101) and vitreoretinal care (17). The most common medical services were eye exams (79) and spectacles (76). Estimated value of medical services provided was $367 249; actual cost was $93 746. The school vision program provided 1105 eye exams, 1514 pairs of spectacles, and 1 cataract surgery with an estimated value of $133 692. Conclusion: Sight for All United provided $500 941 of vision services to its patients since 2016 while dispersing less than $100 000 of donated dollars through collaboration with eye care providers, community resources, and national foun-dations. This study demonstrates the impact vision foundations managed by local eye care providers can have on the needs in their community in a cost-effective and efficient way.

Speculations on Spectacles: Jane Austen’s Eyeglasses, Mrs. Bates’s Spectacles, and John Saunders in Emma

Speculations on Spectacles: Jane Austen’s Eyeglasses, Mrs. Bates’s Spectacles, and John Saunders in <i>Emma</i>

The influence of constant slight myopic defocus prescribed in the binocular and alternating monocular spectacle formats on the onset and progression of myopia in the children

Objective. To elucidate the long-term influence of constant slight myopic defocus prescribed in the binocular and the alternating monocular spectacle formats on the dynamics of refraction and its components in the children. Material and methods. The study involved 129 children (258 eyes) at the age varying from 5 to 12 years. The patients were divided into four groups. Group 1 was comprised of 48 children at the age of 5-8 years presenting with emmetropia and risk factors of the development of myopia. Group 2 consisted of 46 children at the age from 7 to 11 years with slight myopia between -0.75 and -2.25 D to whom the alternating continuous wearing of two pairs of spectacles was prescribed. The first control group was composed of 15 children (30 eyes) at the age from 6 to 9 (mean 7.5 ± 1.4) years presenting with pseudomyopia without correction. The second control group was comprised of 20 children (40 eyes) at the age from 7 to 12 (mean 9.7 ± 1.2) years having slight myopia and wearing conventional spectacle correction. Results. The children of group 1subjected to constant slight myopic defocus during one month experienced a shift of refraction toward hypermetropia attributable to the thinning of the lens and deepening of the anterior chamber. None of the children in this group developed myopia during the follow-up period of up to 9 years. In the patients of group 2, refraction remained unaltered during either 4 years (81.8% of the cases) or 7 years (66.6% of the cases). An insignificant increase in the length of the antero-posterior axis was documented in these children along with the significant increase of the horizontal diameter (HD) of the eyeball. The dynamic observation of the children of both control groups during 3 years has demonstrated the strengthening of cycloplegic refraction associated with the significant increase of the length of the antero-posterior axis and the insignificant increase of the transverse diameter of the eyeball. Conclusion. The permanent slight myopic defocusing of the image in the binocular spectacle format slows down the growth of the eyes and the shift of refraction toward myopia in the children with mild hypermetropia, emmetropia, and slight myopia. The proposed method for alternating monolateral constant slight myopic defocus inhibits progression of myopia in 81.8% of the children presenting with mild myopia during 4 years and in 66.6% of them during 7 years.

Alternating Penalization in the Prevention of Amblyopia Recurrence

Improved or normalized visual acuity in a formerly amblyopic eye has a tendency to deteriorate unless all amblyopiogenic factors are eliminated. As this can only be rarely accomplished, continued therapy to maintain optimal acuity in the formerly amblyopic eye is essential. Optic penalization of each eye by two pairs of spectacles, overcorrecting each eye on alternate days, has been effective in preserving visual acuity in 16 patients who had been successfully treated for strabismic or anisometropic amblyopia. This maintenance therapy is continued until the patient is no longer susceptible to a recurrence of amblyopia.

Health Status in our Communities: What Should Optometry Be Trying to Achieve?

In recreational life style as well as work patterns, Australians place particular demands on their eyes. The motor vehicle is our major mode of transportation. The weather can be glary at most times of the year, and much of the Australian's leisure time is spent outdoors where there can be discomfort from sunlight reflected from cars, roads and buildings. We watch a lot of sport, either directly or on television. Television watching itself ranks high as a national pastime. These activities are quite apart from tasks which we more commonly associate with eye irritation and discomfort, such as reading. By tradition, Australians have been reluctant to wear spectacles, despite such overall demands. During the last 25 years, however, we have become much more ready to use one or more pairs of spectacles. The responsibility for guiding choices about eye care and the fitting of appropriate spectacles where necessary falls very much to the optometrist. In turn, the optometric profession finds itself taking on increasing responsibility for planning vision care services in the community — in making decisions about what it wants to achieve and how and when we are going to achieve it. And these decisions have been affected crucially, in recent years, by new challenges in the community and socio-economic environment.