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ODs should take the lead in protecting the public against blue light
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To say today’s health care provider is challenged is a bit of an understatement. We deal with the human body, which is both incredibly intricate and oft times unpredictable. We deal with individuals whose emotions, intellect and value systems run the gamut. In addition, if patient care alone is not challenging enough, we spend a good portion of our days navigating an increasingly burdensome regulatory environment. Just when we feel as though we have reached some level of decorum, change happens – often, big change.
Witness, for instance, one such change involving lifestyle and risk. Over the past couple of years a significant emerging body of evidence has intimated “sitting is the new smoking.” Largely the result of various meta-analyses, we have come to realize a sedentary lifestyle is more dangerous than originally thought. Simply put, individuals who do not move much throughout the day are at increased risk for obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease and certain cancers.
The parallels with smoking are stunning. We have spent decades witnessing the devastation levied by smoking and, subsequently, trying to reign in tobacco use. Similarly, we are now starting to see the repercussions of sitting in front of a computer all day. For Baby Boomers and Generation Xers, sitting may well replace smoking as public enemy #1. And so begins the massive undertaking of educating the public and getting people to move more – not an easy task, and just one of the many challenges we face daily.
Arguably, getting folks to move is a little peripheral to eye care providers. Yes, we can educate our patients regarding the dangers – systemically and ocularly – of a sedentary lifestyle and encourage greater level of activity. However, the brunt of this initiative lies with the patient’s primary care physician. This is probably a good thing, as we have limited time and plenty of ocular issues to deal with – issues such as the dangers of blue or high energy visible (HEV) light.
In much the same way as a sedentary lifestyle has become a concern for primary care physicians, HEV light exposure has become a concern for eye care providers. You might say: “HEV has become the new UV.” While it is true we have yet to fully understand the magnitude of HEV’s impact on ocular health, we certainly know it is everywhere. HEV light is high frequency radiation in the violet–blue emission range from 400 nm to 500 nm. From sunlight to compact fluorescent bulbs to computers, tablets and cell phones, we live in a world in which HEV light is ubiquitous.
While our primary concern centers around HEV light’s cumulative effect on the macula, we are also concerned about its short-term impact on melatonin production and circadian rhythm in children. It certainly appears no one is immune to its influence.
As eye care providers, it is essential we play the lead role in protecting the public from HEV light, and the time is now. Educating, identifying those at risk and prescribing the proper ophthalmic lenses are imperative. In this month’s Primary Care Optometry News, we address this very issue in our feature article entitled, “Need increases to educate patients, offer protection against blue light” (pages 1, 8 and 10). I encourage you to take a few minutes and look it over, as it is an interesting read, equipping you for what lies ahead. But, perhaps equally importantly, it will help make your day a little less challenging.