Epilepsy
What is Epilepsy?
Epilepsy is a neurological condition caused by abnormal electrical signals from damaged brain cells that result in symptoms such as recurring seizures. It is the 4th most common neurological disease after stroke, migraine and Alzheimer's.
While epilepsy comes in several different forms, photosensitive epilepsy is a specific form of epilepsy where seizures can be triggered by flashing lights or contrasting light and dark patterns. Because these triggers exist externally and are perceived by the eyes, there are ophthalmic adaptations that can help reduce the occurrence and/or severity of a resulting seizure.
How It Feels – Living with Epilepsy
Epilepsy disrupts the ability of your cells to send to and receive messages from the brain. Instead of typical activity, the brain experiences bursts of electrical energy akin to lightning flashes, which wreaks all kinds of havoc on the body. Loss of consciousness, loss of mobility, visual disturbances – these are all possible hallmarks of an epileptic seizure.
Symptoms of photosensitive epilepsy, specifically, can include:
- dizziness
- changes in vision
- headache
- out-of-body sensation
- jerky movement of arms and legs
- nausea
- loss of consciousness
- uncontrollable muscle spasms
Complications from epilepsy include falling, drowning, sleep issues, memory loss and pregnancy complications. There is also the overall emotional toll to consider as patients with photosensitive epilepsy often feel isolated. The fear of driving a car or simply going anywhere with unpredictable lighting can completely devastate someone’s quality of life.
How We Help
In 2006, a team in Italy ran a study using a deep cobalt tint that blocks about 95% of light between the 550-650 nm wavelengths in the color spectrum. They were testing the effectiveness of this tint known as Z Blue, z1 Blue or Noir 26 on reducing photosensitivity in 610 epilepsy patients suffering from photosensitive epilepsy.
They concluded that the Z Blue lens was highly effective in controlling the photoparoxysmal response (photosensitivity) in the majority of these patients, irrespective of their epilepsy or antiepileptic drug treatment, and that the lens should be a valid resource for any practitioner that cares for patients with epilepsy.
Of the patients studied, 463 (75.9%) reported the disappearance of their photosensitivity, another 109 (17.9%) reported a considerable reduction and only 38 (6.2%) reported no difference.
The specific blue in Z Blue works by blocking parts of the red color spectrum known to trigger seizures as well as filtering the intensity of the light entering the eye. When considered against other surgical or pharmacological approaches, a Z Blue tint provides a non-invasive option that’s proven effective in mitigating seizure triggers.
Chadwick Optical’s Z Blue tint has been specially designed to filter the specific wavelengths of light defined in that study and is offered in a variety of fitovers, clip-ons and prescription lenses. However you think it can help your patient, we can make it for you.
Learn more about our tinting overview and process and view our tint library.
Unsure if this would benefit your patient? Give us a shout. We’d love to help.
