R M Stedall
Pretoria Eye Institute, Low Vision Services, Pretoria, South Africa
Certain Low Vision conditions such as albinism, cone dystrophy, rod monochromatism (achromatopsia), retinitis pigmentosa, optic atrophy and aniridia often result in severe photophobia for the patient.
The author discusses the use of dark tinted contact lenses and /or tinted spectacle lenses for the relief of the discomfort of pathological photophobia.
The albino has an absence of iris melanin pigment. This results in uncomfortable internal ocular light scatter. The author discusses his experience in fitting dark brown tinted contact lenses with a clear pupil to compensate for missing iris pigment. Although the study is still in it's early stages, preliminary results indicate improvement of up to two lines of visual acuity as well as a significant subjective acceptance of the contact lenses for relief from outdoor and indoor glare.
Patients with aniridia and traumatic iris abnormalities can also benefit from this particular mode of treatment.
Rod monochromatism (achromatopsia) is diagnosed by the patient having a normal scotopic ERG and abnormal photopic ERG response. These patients are often described as being "day blind" due to the associated photophobia. The author discusses the success of using a fully tinted dark brown contact lens with visible light absorption of more than eighty percent for these patients.
Although the article is specific to certain pathologies, one can adapt the use of aforementioned contact lens treatments to any other visual conditions with similar symptoms.
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