Optical Prism June 2016

advertorial WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT HARMFUL BLUE LIGHT By Isabelle Tremblay-Dawson, Senior Marketing Manager, Transitions Optical, Canada Why are people talking about So, what you're saying is Transitions® lenses have always blue light? filtered harmful blue light? Blue light is a hot topic right now because of the increased use of digital devices. However, what most people don’t know is that the sun is actually the largest singular source of blue light – over 100 times the intensity of electronic devices and screens, to give you some context. Yes, Transitions® lenses have always filtered some harmful blue light. Because we have control over the structure of the photochromic molecules we can provide the benefit of blue light filtering both outdoors and indoors (without compromising What is it and what does it mean for the eyes? Blue light (also known as High Energy Visible Light) is at the far end of the visible spectrum, close to ultraviolet light, with a wavelength of between 380-460 nanometers. The harmful portion of blue light is centered around 435nm. Long term exposure to harmful blue light has been linked to increased risk of developing age-related macular degeneration (AMD) which is the leading cause of vision loss in adults over the age of 50. What kind of optical solutions are available to help protect our eyes from harmful blue light? There are several kinds of optical solutions for eyeglass wearers to reduce exposure from harmful blue light, including AR coatings, indoor clarity). Is there a difference in the amount of harmful blue light that each of the different Transitions lenses filter? All Transitions lenses help protect against harmful blue light everywhere you need it. There are slight differences in the amount of harmful blue light each of the lenses filter. Transitions® XTRActive® lenses are the most effective of the Transitions lens products – they help protect against blue light everywhere you need it by blocking at least 34%* of the harmful blue light indoors and 88% to 95% of harmful blue light outdoors. yellow dye solution, sun lenses and photochromic lenses. What makes photochromic lenses, like the Transitions® family of products, different than other solutions is that they are dark outside when sunlight is bright and intense, so they offer extra blue light filtering where you need it most. They can be worn at all times and also provide good indoor protection against artificial blue lights with no un-aesthetic residual yellow colour. 10 EYE FOCUS | June Digital 2016 1 Arnault E. Barrau C, Nanteau C. Gondouin P, Bigot K, et al. “Phototoxic Action Spectrum on a Retinal Pigment Epithelium Model of Age-Related Macular Degeneration. Exposed to Sunlight Normalized Conditions.” PLoS ONE 8(*); e71398.doi:10.1371398.August 23, 2013. 2 National Institues of Health National Eye Institute. Facts about Age-Related Macular Degeneration. Retrieved from: https://nei.nih.gov/health/maculardegen/armd_facts Transitions, the swirl, Transitions Signature, Vantage, and XTRActive are registered trademarks and Transitions adaptive lenses is a trademark of Transitions Optical, Inc., used under license by Transitions Optical Limited. ©2016 Transitions Optical Limited. Photochromic performance is influenced by temperature, UV exposure, and lens material.

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