Blue light-filter in IOL’s do they make a difference?

There are many different types of options when choosing a lens for cataract surgery. Your surgeon has a lot to do with the choice of the lens, but you can influence the kind of lens used. One aspect of a lens is a blue light filter. This is usually found in many of the Alcon lenses. Blue light filters reduce the amount of blue and UV light from the sun. This is said to help prevent eye diseases caused by the sun and also reduce glare and halo’s that many patients experience after surgery. In a study performed by Dr. Gray, a comparison for the effects of glare when driving was performed between those who have a blue light filtering lens and those with a comparable acrylic IOL with no blue light filter.   Using a driving simulator patients were required to drive in conditions with glare and no glare. The study showed that patients with the blue filter had a reduced effect of glare. There were less collisions during the simulation when under glare conditions.  According to Dr. Gray those who are susceptible to glare might do better with a blue light-filtering lens. Just something to consider when deciding on a lens. If your interested check out the article by Maxine Lipner titled “blue light-filtering lens reduces accident risk in simulator”.