The eye care industry is constantly changing and adapting as new technologies and trends emerge. There’s always something developing, whether it’s treatments for eye disease or new glasses and contact lenses. Let’s get caught up on the latest trends in eye care.
Continue reading to learn more about 5 new trends in the eye care industry.
New Dry Eye Treatment Options
Dry eye can be tricky to treat because of how many factors affect this condition. Treatment effectiveness can vary from patient to patient. Experts are always looking for new ways to help relieve dry eye symptoms.
Two emerging dry eye treatments are intense pulsed light (IPL) therapy and thermal pulsation.
IPL is a dry eye treatment where your optometrist uses light pulses to treat the blood vessels around the eye, helping relieve inflammation. These light pulses reduce the inflammation causing dry eye symptoms while simultaneously heating your meibomian glands, the glands releasing the oil in your tear film. Heating these glands removes blockages causing your tears to evaporate too quickly and dry out the eyes.
Thermal pulsation is another dry eye treatment designed to heat and stimulate the release of oil from the meibomian glands. The thermal pulsation device features 2 components to help treat the eyes. A lens-like device heats the eyelids to warm the meibomian glands, while another piece of the device puts pressure on the eyelids to help manually express the glands.
Telehealth
A new trend in the eye care industry is the emergence of telehealth as an alternative to traditional doctor’s appointments. Telehealth can be beneficial when taking precautions due to sickness. Sometimes, speaking with your optometrist without driving to their office can be beneficial.
Telehealth is a virtual approach to your eye exam. It allows you to experience several optometry services from home safely and conveniently. You can’t access all of your eye doctor’s services through telehealth, but it can be beneficial in many situations.
If you wake up with a red eye and other conjunctivitis symptoms, should you visit your eye doctor, or will this issue resolve with time and at-home care? You may not know by yourself, but a trip to the optometrist might not feel necessary. A situation like this is perfect for telehealth—you can speak with an expert virtually and get advice on what to do.
Telehealth isn’t always ideal—you may visit the office in person if your eye doctor needs to dilate your pupils or use diagnostic technology. However, telehealth is an emerging way to receive quality eye care from the comfort of home.
New Ways to Manage Myopia with Spectacles
Myopia can place children’s eye health and vision at risk if this refractive error is left untreated. Children’s eyes grow with them, so a child’s myopia can worsen with age, leading to poorer vision.
Additionally, more severe versions of myopia can increase the risk of eye disease in adulthood, such as glaucoma, cataracts, retinal tears, and myopic macular degeneration.
While there are many ways to treat myopia progression, experts always look for new ways to treat this condition. Children can receive different treatments depending on their needs, whether it’s eye drops, contact lenses, or glasses. Patients can soon experience a new type of lens designed to control myopia progression, known as SightGlass.
SightGlass is a new way to help control and correct myopia in children. These eyeglasses feature thousands of micro-dots in the lens, helping scatter light and reduce contrast on the retina.
The Expansion of Single-Use Contacts
Contact lenses are consistently developing—with emerging technology, updated parameters, and new lens materials. With recent developments, there’s some news regarding single-use contact lenses. Single-use or disposable contact lenses are soft contacts designed for daily replacement, letting you use a fresh pair of lenses every morning.
Contact lens company Alcon recently launched its new daily disposable lens for astigmatism, Precision1 for Astigmatism. These lenses feature a design for retaining moisture, helping your eyes stay comfortable.
Another company, Bausch + Lomb, obtained FDA approval for its new daily disposable lens, Infuse one-day contact lenses. These silicone hydrogel lenses help correct astigmatism while providing consistent moisture for the wearer.
Increased Eye Procedures
Regular eye care slowed down due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with many patients not able to get surgeries and other treatments. As more and more places lower or remove their COVID restrictions, expect a rise in eye procedures such as refractive surgery.
While refractive surgery helps people see more clearly without glasses, it’s considered an elective procedure. There were significantly fewer surgical consultations in the initial stages of the pandemic, but this number should rise. The global demand for refractive surgeries should increase to $10.3 billion in 2025, compared to $6.5 billion in 2019.
Eye Care Is Always Changing
You may think there’s nothing else to learn about the eyes, but research is constantly developing. New technologies, treatments, and discoveries happen every year.
The eye care industry is always changing, making it important to stay in the loop. The best way to do this is by booking regular eye exams. Your eye doctor can examine your eyes and inform you of the latest developments related to your eye health and vision.
Contact your optometrist when it’s time for your next eye exam.
