Have a Young Patient With Computer Vision Syndrome?

HOT TOPIC

Could Daily Supplement Alleviate Symptoms of Computer Vision Syndrome?

A recent clinical study published in the international medical journal Advances in Therapy demonstrated that astaxanthin supplementation could significantly reduce acute and chronic digital eye strain in children. The study, conducted by the company AstaReal, involved 64 children 10 to 14 years of age who reported using digital devices for more than 4 hours daily and experiencing mild to moderate symptoms of computer vision syndrome (CVS). Participants were randomly assigned to receive either 4 mg of astaxanthin or a placebo daily for 84 days.

The results showed that the children who received astaxanthin experienced a 20% reduction in CVS symptoms compared with those in the placebo group. Additionally, there was a 27% improvement in visual fatigue and enhanced stereopsis and pupillary light reflexes. The study also found that astaxanthin supplementation increased tear production, which is often decreased with prolonged screen use. The researchers highlighted the antioxidant properties of astaxanthin, which help mitigate oxidative stress on the ciliary muscles responsible for focusing on near or distant objects. (Read more here.)

My Two Cents

Anytime a study is performed and financed by the company that creates the product, you must look at the results skeptically. However, this could be a watershed moment in our pediatric patients’ future care and treatment. Obviously, screens aren’t going away anytime soon for anyone in the modern world. If this research is confirmed, it stands to reason that most schoolchildren armed with Chrome books, iPads, and other technologies should also take astaxanthin supplements daily. Another thing that caught my eye about the study is the increase in stereopsis and pupillary light reflexes. If true, this could also be an excellent supplement for athletes! Consider baseball and football players playing “under the lights” at night, requiring exceptional stereo. Hopefully, future studies will confirm these potentially practice-changing statistics!

OUTSIDE THE LANE

An Innocent Kiss, a Life-Changing Eye Infection

A 2-year-old boy from Namibia, South Africa, is facing the possibility of losing his eye after contracting herpes simplex virus (HSV) from a kiss from someone with an active herpes cold sore in their mouth. The infection began 7 months ago when Juwan developed what appeared to be an eye infection. Despite initial treatment with antibiotic drops, the condition worsened, and an eye specialist diagnosed him with HSV in his eye.

The virus caused a small ulcer on his cornea, which lead to severe complications. Juwan’s eye turned green from the antibiotic drops, and he eventually lost all corneal sensation, resulting in a 4-mm abrasion/ulcer and constant eye infections. Juwan’s parents sought help from specialists in Cape Town, South Africa, where Juwan underwent an amnion graft surgery to heal his cornea. His eyelids were also stitched together via tarsorrhaphy to protect the injured eye. There is an operation scheduled in April that will transfer nerves from Juwan’s leg to his eye in an attempt to save the eye.

Michelle Saaiman

My Two Cents

Well, there’s a lot to unpack there. First off, it’s fascinating (and extremely unfortunate) that this poor child could lose his eye because of an innocent kiss from someone with an active herpetic cold sore. I’ve heard rumors of the possibility of this happening but have never heard of a recognized case of it! What’s also interesting is the surgery to “transfer nerves from his leg to his eye.” Honestly, I’ve never heard of such an operation. My research shows that it’s called corneal neurotization, an attempt to return sensation to a numb cornea to restore the protective blink reflex, tearing reflex, and normal wound healing.

CAN YOU RELATE

It seems you can’t open a magazine, turn on the TV, or scroll on your phone without reading about one of the wars occurring worldwide and our country’s response to them. Honestly, I stay apolitical on such matters because, like my grandfather once told me, “If possible, try not to talk religion or politics with anyone. It’s rare for anyone to win in that conversation.”

However, sometimes you stumble across something exciting in a story about politics related to your everyday life in optometry that is worth sharing. Recently, I was listening to one of my favorite non-eye care podcasts, The Indicator by Planet Money (NPR), and in a recent episode, they discussed the potential Ukraine minerals deal that President Trump is negotiating. One of the rare earth metals seemingly at the forefront of the mineral rights deal is a crucial element needed for our country's national defense. This metal is found in the United State’s Tomahawk cruise missiles and forms a powerful type of magnet so strong it could cut your fingers off! Not only is this metal necessary in Tomahawks, but also in countless small motors and other electronics. A surprisingly large amount of our country’s national defense is tied to this particular metal, so we must have ready access to it—especially considering that the Critical Minerals Security Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies points out that the United States is highly vulnerable in its access to rare earth metals such as this one and that China is outpacing us at a race of five to six times in securing minerals such as this.

So, what is this metal? It’s one you’ve all heard of and is at the forefront of optometry’s war for practice expansion: neodynium—the same neodynium of Nd:YAG laser fame. The neodymium-doped yttrium aluminum garnet (Nd: YAG) laser is a solid-state laser that emits a 1,064 nm wavelength of light. We use this in eye care to correct posterior capsular opacification commonly found after cataract surgery, for peripheral iridotomy in patients with chronic and acute angle-closure glaucoma, for treatment of vitreous eye “floaters,” and for pan-retinal photocoagulation in the treatment of proliferative diabetic retinopathy. (Those first two uses of the Nd: YAG laser are at the forefront of optometry’s practice expansion sweeping across the United States.)

Who knew? One of the rare earth metals that is a hot topic of debate in international negotiation is also a topic of discussion in the eye care field here in America.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“The future is something which everyone reaches at the rate of 60 minutes an hour, whatever he does, whoever he is.”

— C.S. Lewis, British writer