The Centre for Ocular Research & Education (CORE) has published a resource collection to promote greater understanding among the global eye care community and their patients. Issue 74 of Contact Lens Update expands on the Tear Film & Ocular Surface Society (TFOS) Lifestyle Reports that were published earlier this year. The issue is available by visiting ContactLensUpdate.com.

“Multiple factors may affect the patient sitting in front of you. The World Health Organization has recognized that eye problems can be a result of our lifestyle choices,” said Lyndon Jones, director of CORE and a member of the TFOS Board of Directors. “The TFOS Lifestyle Workshop was created to address how different aspects of our modern lifestyles can affect the health of the ocular surface. The broad range of reports address topics including the impact of contact lenses, the type of eye makeup they are wearing, to the state of their mental health. Our work to increase practitioner awareness of these issues will improve patients’ lives.”

The TFOS Lifestyle Reports also provides information on digital eye strain and digital device use, and discusses how food, beverages, and elective procedures can affect the integrity of the ocular surface.

Jennifer Craig, professor at the University of Auckland and Chair of the TFOS Lifestyle Workshop, provides an introduction to the reports in the issue’s editorial. Her overview summarizes some of the key clinical findings from the eight topic reports, which span contact lenses, cosmetics, the digital environment, elective medications and procedures, environmental conditions, lifestyle challenges, nutrition, and societal challenges. The summary helps practitioners narrow down important points of discussion that could be affecting the health of their patient’s ocular surface. 

The feature article features a series of eight informative infographics that condense the TFOS findings into an easily accessible visual format. This provides eye care practitioners with a synopsis of the important findings from each report, before they delve into the full details found within the comprehensive reports.

This issue’s clinical insight is a two-page patient handout provides take-home messages from each of the TFOS Lifestyle Reports. This serves as a way for practitioners to open the conversation into how lifestyle impacts our eyes and empowers patients to take a proactive role in managing the health of their ocular surface.

Himal Kandel, a Kornhauser Research Fellow at the Save Sight Institute, The University of Sydney, contributes the conference highlight. First presented as a poster at the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology 2023 annual meeting, his study describes use of an international registry to examine factors that affect the quality of life in people with different types of dry eye disease and corneal neuropathic pain. 

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The Centre for Ocular Research & Education (CORE) has published a series of infographics in 25 diverse languages that encourage responsible contact lens recycling and disposal. The initiative resulted from widespread positive feedback about four English-only versions released earlier this year.

The series is now available for download and use by the global eye care community at https://contactlensupdate.com/2023/10/31/contact-lens-sustainability-infographics/

Languages now include Afrikaans, Arabic, Croatian, Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hindi, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Malay, Norwegian, Persian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Serbian, Slovak, Spanish, Swedish, and Vietnamese. CORE plans to distribute additional languages over the coming months.

The four separate designs are intended for professional and consumer educational purposes, as sustainable practices and programs are becoming more established within the contact lens sector. One infographic helps communicate with wearers about relative impact, putting contact lens-related waste into context with other common products and lifestyle habits. Two others explain the best routes for ideal contact lens disposal, while a fourth reminds wearers not to place their contacts into wastewater systems.

These can be provided to patients directly as printed resources, sent via email or text, or used on social media and practice websites to make consumers aware of available options.

“Several contact lens manufacturers have demonstrated sustainability commitments by preventing waste and inspiring reuse, recycling, recovery, and responsible disposal. Helping patients grasp that they can enjoy their contacts while remaining environmentally responsible is something we should all be reinforcing,” said Daddi Fadel, DOptom, clinical scientist with CORE and the coordinator of the translation initiative.

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LensCrafters launched its first virtual experience, LensCrafters Eye Odyssey on Roblox, a global immersive platform where millions of people connect and communicate daily. LensCrafters Eye Odyssey, one of the first online edutainment experiences with an optical retailer on Roblox, offers an engaging and educational way to promote healthy eye care habits, while providing an entertaining and immersive experience for young people.

LensCrafters Eye Odyssey aims to raise awareness around eye care while providing a fun, interactive immersive experience with LensCrafters’ Palo Alto flagship store serving as the experiential backdrop. 

“By engaging with the millions of people on Roblox, we have the capability to highlight our vision care efforts in a very creative way,” said Alfonso Cerullo, President & GM of LensCrafters, North America. “This is a unique moment for the brand to reach the younger generation and cultivate a new community through a cool interactive experience. The launch of LensCrafters Eye Odyssey gives the brand an opportunity to engage users around the importance of eye health and emphasize that vison health is critically important to everyday life and plays a vital role in a person’s overall wellbeing.”

The Eye Odyssey series will take visitors through two different seasons, embarking on a thrilling immersive journey. In season one, users help Blinky, a young, friendly eye-bulb character, overcome challenges caused by prolonged exposure to screens and learn how to maintain healthy vision by adopting appropriate eye care habits. UGC digital items can be earned engaging in the experience and redeemed at the conclusion of Season 1.

Based upon LensCrafters vision health guidance, people will be reminded during the experience through timed pop ups to utilize “the 20/20/20 rule” to prevent digital eye strain — every 20 minutes take 20 seconds and look 20 feet away (out the window, down the hall, or across the room). 

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