Video Transcript:
Hi, I'm Charlie Saccarelli, and today we're going to talk about photophobia and using tints to help manage photophobia. So photophobia is, if you kind of break it down, its fear of light; which is kind of a dramatic interpretation of things because light is all around us. It's hard to survive with the fear of light.
Basically the way we use it is we think of it as a sensitivity to light. And what that looks like is I want to differentiate the idea of light and the idea of glare, because we need light to see. If you go in a completely blacked out space, you can't see your hand in front of you and your functionality is lost completely.
So we need some light, but we want to curb the light that is bothersome without blocking all of it. Because one way you can, you know, really mitigate photophobia is by closing your eyes. Right? You could do that. But then if you want to read something that makes that really hard. So the first thing that I think of when I think of glare is where the bothersome light is coming from. Because you have the thing that you want to see, and then you have all the things around you that could be bothering you from seeing the thing that you want to see.
So one of the simplest things, when I think of glare control and photophobia, is not an optical device at all. It's a hat with a brim. What that's going to do is really limit all the overhead light that is coming at you. So that's one way to really help with photophobia without changing anything in your life other than putting on a hat. It might mess up your hair a little bit, but they make the fancy visors and all that kind of stuff, so there's ways to get that done.
After that is what about the sides? Is there stuff coming in from the sides that's bothersome? If we can do something to mitigate that, that's another thing. Those are two things that we can do to block the light from the top, to block the light from the sides and not really obstruct your vision at all.
So I'll focus on those two things. As far as how to block light from the sides, they're not quite as elegant or socially acceptable as a hat. But, a lot of times there's frames that have side shields. They're side shields that you can attach to your glasses. I've seen some that people kind of make themselves, which are very clever. So I would start with blocking from the top, blocking from the side.
Then we start talking about what's right in front of you and what we can do to mitigate that situation. When you're doing that, it's very tempting to say, “Give me the darkest thing possible.” What you run into when you do that is the magic of your brain.
So your brain is really smart. Your brain adapts to things. That's what you've been doing your entire life. When you're adapting to things, your pupils in your eyes are no different. If you put a really dark tint on and you're wearing it indoors to use a computer and you go outside, the delta between your indoor and outdoor is as obnoxious as it is if you're not wearing any glasses. So you want the minimum amount of light blockage that you can still function.
For some people, that is, you know, an extremely dark sunglass. But when you do that, you need to be aware that, okay, when we go outside and have more light coming in, that's going to be just as bothersome as it ever was. So there are a lot of dark tints available. I have a couple here.
This one's a dark blue. This one's a dark amber. Each of those colors will kind of change your perception. Sometimes people have sensitivity to different areas of the light spectrum. They might prefer an amber versus a dark gray or a dark blue. That's largely a matter of personal preference, even though we can predict that most people will appreciate a gray because gray doesn't really modify your color perception.
But some people do appreciate the contrast enhancement that is offered by a brown lens. So when we're talking about photophobia and using tints to manage photophobia, you don't want to jump right to tints. You want to start with the overhead, start with the sides and then start working on tints. When you want to work on tints, you want to find the color that you like the best and then go as light as you possibly can and still suit your needs. Then go as dark as you have to.
And that's the general strategy with photophobia. The other thing is do not wear the glasses when you don't have to. If you wear them when you don't have to, that's going to be the situation where your eyes begin to adapt to the situation, and then they'll be less effective when you do need them.
So that's tints and photophobia and hopefully that's helpful for you. If you have any questions drop them in the comments. And don't forget to hit subscribe.
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Disclaimer: The information provided in this video is for educational purposes only and is based on our experience in optical solutions. We are not medical doctors. Consult with your ophthalmologist, neurologist, or other qualified healthcare professional before making any changes to your treatment plan. The solutions discussed are intended to support, not replace, professional medical advice.