This podcast was produced in partnership with Transitions Optical.

How many times a day are you bothered by light? For millions of Americans, the answer is quite frequently! On today’s podcast, we discuss one of the most common ocular complaints our patients suffer from: light sensitivity. Our guests are Dr. Danielle Richardson, is an optometrist practicing in sunny Los Angeles, California, and Pete Hanlin, a practicing optician for 15 years and now the Senior Director of Professional Solutions for Essilor.

What is Light Sensitivity?

Hanlin describes light sensitivity as “any time a person experiences conditions where light makes them uncomfortable.” Light sensitivity, or photophobia, is characterized by both physical discomfort and interruption in the ability to perform activities and daily tasks. At this year’s Transitions Academy, research results from a survey of light sensitivity prevalence were shared that shows the condition is extremely common. 9 out of 10 people report they are sensitive to light.  If that sounds like more than you encounter in your practice, the same survey also showed that patients don’t typically communicate the issues to their doctors. While 90% of patients are sensitive to light, 80% of those who are sensitive say they don’t bring it up during the exam.  

Why is that?

“A lot of patients don’t know what light sensitivity means and may even consider it a medical condition that they would need to have been previously diagnosed with,” explains Dr. Richardson.  To better elicit patient complaints, she avoids using the phrase altogether. “Patients respond better to asking ‘are you bothered by light?’ instead of asking if they are light sensitive.” When she started phrasing her question this way, many more of her patients admitted they were having issues.  

Dr. Richardson has found two different levels of light sensitive patients in her practice:

Moderate to severe light-sensitive patients will use the words “bothered by light” and talk about how bright it is in their office or how they are having trouble with glare from screens or devices. These patients talk about how they have to squint and how they are more dependent on sunglasses than their colleagues, friends or family.

Mild to moderate light-sensitive patients won’t verbalize their complaints as much. She elicits their issues by asking them, “how do your eyes feel at the end of the day?” or “are there times that your eyes are uncomfortable?”

Dr. Darryl Glover stresses that it’s important to get staff involved in using the right language to engage patients in discussion of their ocular conditions.  He recommends that staff should be able to talk to patients at every part of the encounter – not just in the exam room. Educating everyone in the office about the right language is essential for patients to be able to understand how the testing, exam findings, and prescribed solutions relate to their own life and needs.

What are Common Sources of Light Sensitivity?

The two most common sources of light sensitivity are the sun and the devices we use, there are many other contributing factors.  Dr. Richardson pays close attention to address light sensitivity complaints in patients that she is treating for dry eye syndrome, taking certain medications, and contact lens wearers, especially those who are overwearing their lenses since they are more prone to corneal issues.  Patient occupation is also a major factor. She encourages doctors to not just look for complaints from patients with computer jobs, but healthcare workers, students, and anyone driving a lot during the day are also very prone to issues because of the dry environments they are working in and the amount of screen time they are being exposed to in their normal day.

Patients that complain about difficulty with night vision and headlight glare a...