Q: I have had migraines off and on all my life, and have missed a lot of work and good days because of them. I’ve heard about some new vision treatment, can you tell me more?
A: As you may know, migraine headaches can have many causes, or triggers. Commonly these include stress, certain foods and beverages, and many more. In fact, there is so far no single diagnostic test to identify the specific cause for migraine headaches in most patients. A significant portion of these seem to be caused by stimulation by light. Not just any light, but certain wavelengths of light.
And to be complete, several medications….both orally and injectable…..can reduce or prevent some migraines. But many people are hesitant to undergo botox injections for their headaches, or take chronic oral meds with some side effects, and prefer a “less invasive” treatment. Especially if a treatment could prevent a migraine, not just shorten its duration.
In the last couple years, more reports are coming in about migraine prevention and relief by blocking out certain wavelengths of light. The most successful light filter so far is a lens called Avalux. This light colored tint causes little if any color change in viewing the world, but it selectively blocks out a specific portion of light spectrum. This filter can be made into your regular glasses, or worn as a clip on over your glasses, like a sunglass clip on.
Most migraine sufferers have found that turning off bright lights or actually napping in a dark room can relieve some of the discomfort. We are hearing that many people can function at work by wearing these filter lenses, instead of needing to retire to a dark room. And migraine patients are well aware of the days missed on their job, or days feeling lousy unable to function normally at all. Having a treatment as non-intrusive as wearing a special set of glasses, or popping on a filter clip on, to allow fairly normal life is very appealing.
I should add, that many post-concussion patients also have light sensitivity issues. It appears these filter lenses can also help those people after suffering a concussion.
At this point, we are primarily relying on anecdotal patient reports of relief with Avalux lenses, and not randomized clinical trials. However, the provider of these filters is allowing patients to wear the lenses up to 90 days in your normal life to assess the effectiveness for you. This means you really have nothing financially to lose in trying them. This treatment is fairly new and not widespread yet, so many eye doctors may not be very familiar yet with light filter treatment. We are hopeful and optimistic that many migraine sufferers will benefit from this new option to make life a little easier and more comfortable.
