Greetings!!! I have not posted a blog in a while but I will make it a goal to start posting and hope that I can educate ya’ll about anything related to the eyes!
For this blog post, I wanted to talk about the photochromic lens treatment. Before we start, photochromic lens treatment is a self tinting lens add on. It allows your lenses to darken when they are exposed to UV and when they are not exposed to the sun, they revert back to clear lenses.
A pair of glasses are not just a pair of glasses. There is a lot of that goes into a pair of glasses and I will go into other lens options in later posts. First off, I want to let you know that photochromic lens treatment is not a substitute for sunglasses and it does not darken fully when you are in the car. The benefits of a photochromic lens options are to help decrease squinting when in sunlight, protect your eyes from UV rays, and to provide you with the convenience of sun protection without having to worry about switching to a different pair of glasses.
Concerns
The one concern I have heard from patients it that it does not revert back to clear lenses right away when going back inside. I want to assure you that it does change fairly quickly when going back inside. Yes, it does take a very small amount of time to revert, but the shift from dark to clear will not impede your vision in anyway. I myself have photochromic lenses. After coming back inside from getting the mail, I am able to go back to my computer and do my work without any issues. The conversion is seamless and I don’t even realize the tint is reverting back to clear.
Another concern that I have heard from patients is that photochromic lenses are just not dark enough. As I mentioned earlier, photochromic lenses are not a replacement for sunglasses. Photochromic lenses are not as dark as sunglasses, but they do help with keeping your eyes from squinting when you are out in the sun and definitely do help if you are sensitive to the sun.
Benefits
The benefit of photochromic lenses are to provide you with the convenience of the self tinting technology without having to do anything. Where it is helpful is when you are out in the sun for a short period of time and it would be a hassle to switch to your sunglasses. Here are some situations where it is helpful; going to get to the mail, walking into the restaurant from your car, walking into the grocery store from your car, and the list can go on. I also want to add that they photochromic lenses do come in a darker tint; however, the lenses have a slight tint even when you are not in the sun.
Conclusion
I definitely recommend photochromic lenses would not leave this option out for my own glasses. Again, it is not a replacement for sunglasses and is an element to add to your everyday glasses. I would still recommend prescription sunglasses versus using your glasses with photochromic lenses if you are out in the sun for long periods of time.
The benefits of photochromic lenses:
◦ Convenience of self tinting technology
◦ Helps reduce squinting in the sun
◦ UV Protection
I hope this post helps you in understanding the benefits and concerns about photochromic lenses.
If you have any questions regarding this topic, please don’t hesitate to contact us. https://twoceyecare.com/contact-us/
Thanks for reading!
Dr. Cao