Glaucoma and light tolerance

[mrsknibb]

Hi

I have developed primary open angle glaucoma after years of well controlled ocular hypertension, but detached retina last year led to onset glaucoma. I struggle greatly with light sensitivity and am struggling to find a range of glasses/sunglasses that will keep all sunlight from entering my eye. I have a high prescription for short sight, -10 so most curved frames won’t support those lenses. Does anyone have any similar experience or advice. Thank you in advance

[muddledme]

Hello mrsknibb,

The autumn "INSIGHT" Glaucoma UK magazine has a very interesting article ;" dealing with dark, light and glare".

Some things taken from it include........

Wearing a peaked cap, wide brimmed hat or visor.

Use an umbrella or parasol.

Wear sunglasses or tinted eye shields .

Ask at the opticians for advice on lenses.

Make sure sunglasses have a UV filter and good quality lenses.

Blue blocking lenses protect your eyes from blue light ,may sharpen images and reduce glare without making everything darker. These lenses are usually yellow or orange.

Avoid thick frames which can interfere with side vision.

Dry eyes, damage to the front of your eye, cataracts and some medications may make light sensitivity worse.

Personally, I find my cap essential in the garden and always have a visor that is easy to fit in my bag when out. I found the glare quite a shock at first but now I suppose I have adapted to it.

Do you have an optician in your area who is specialised in glaucoma ? Your local hospital eye clinic may know of one, ( if you ask the medical secretary). I have found their knowledge so helpful.

Hope you find some help soon, best wishes.

[mrsknibb in reply to muddledme]

Hi, I’ll check it out although I do most of what you suggest. I do need something that completely blocks any light entering my eye. I’m definitely going to look at different coloured lenses and have read about the yellow being good.

Thank you for taking time to reply

[Dance007 in reply to mrsknibb]

I have found Oakley sunglasses to be excellent. They are the only brand I've found that do prescription lenses with a curved lens. The lenses come in a range of colours and depths of colours too. I don't remember the name of the lens I have, but the great feature is that it reduces glare without making everything dark, so I can continue wearing them even when it's not very bright. This is really good if you're troubled by glare even on cloudy days, as I am.Unfortunately, they're not cheap, and because everything is still clear and light (but not bright) it felt odd when I first wore them . On bad days I even wear them in the supermarket to cope with glare from the lights.

I hope you find a solution that suits you.

[mrsknibb in reply to Dance007]

Thank you so much for this. I will definitely investigate this option

[muddledme in reply to Dance007]

Thank you , the Oakley sunglasses do sound good.

I also find supermarkets too bright, some better than others, took me a while to realise this was a symptom of glaucoma .

[Murdy1 in reply to muddledme]

Thanks for sharing this knowledge, I suffer greatly from glare. Tom

[GirlWithTheBow]

I struggle with light sensitivity after my trabeculectomy. I've been wearing sunglasses outdoors even on cloudy days. In the supermarket I wear a wide brim sunhat, though I did have to resort to sunglasses in M&S food hall because their lights were far too bright. I have yet to find a solution for driving at night. Sometimes it's not possible to avoid driving at night especially when public transport is rubbish and now the days are getting shorter.

[mrsknibb in reply to GirlWithTheBow]

Thank you for sharing, I can drive at all at night in areas with no street lights, really difficult

[trident111]

Hi,

If you need prescription glasses with a light filter, you can order glasses with a medical filter that filters light in the lower range (400-455 nm, the most harmful). You can also choose filters that almost completely cut off harmful blue light from yellow, through orange to black. As far as I know, most optical companies have such medical filters, e.g. Zeiss has the F 60-90 and F 540-580 series. You just need to find a good optician - not everyone knows what he is talking about. As for regular sunglasses, I recommend Julbo with Spectron 4 lenses. They cut off 95% of light and additionally filter blue light, which can be recognized by the yellow tint of vision

[GLdio71]

Very informative thankyou. I have Glaucoma and have been struggling with light sensitivity since a nasty migraine last March requiring hospitalisation. I am trying out some Cocoon overglasses next week but think the Zeiss medical filters sound a more logical/elegant solution. After much researching your post has provided a great avenue for exploration. Thanks mrsknibb 😊