Today, many people struggle with declining eyesight. It's a vision problem that's caused by age but advances more rapidly through the use of computers and other digital devices. Several factors cause a decline in eyesight, including:

• Cataracts
• Glaucoma
• Diabetic retinopathy
• Age-related macular degeneration
• Inflammation of the optic nerve
  

A decline in eyesight includes focusing, dryness, itchiness of the eyes, increased sensitivity to light, eye pain, discharge from the eyes, and white pupil. These symptoms often become more prevalent around 40-50, which decreases the ability to perform close-up tasks such as reading. In other words, the older you get, the worse your eyesight becomes. 

Of course, treatment options are over-the-counter eye drops, glasses, and lifestyle change. However, red light therapy is taking groundbreaking steps forward to help prevent declining eyesight. If your first thought is, “Is light therapy safe for eyes?” The answer is yes – and we’ll tell you why. But first, let’s see how red light therapy affects your eyes. 

How does red light therapy affect your eyes?

You know about light therapy, but you probably didn’t suspect it could be used to treat declining eyesight. While red light therapy has provided outstanding benefits for acne, joint and muscle pain, sleep disorders, and headaches, it can also aid vision problems. 

The findings from a study in The Journals of Gerontology could provide a glimpse into the possibility of home-based eye treatment, which has the potential of helping millions of people around the world deal with declining eyesight.

The study found that brief exposure to deep red light—three minutes a day for two weeks—improved adult’s ability to read letters against similar colored backgrounds. 

Lead author Professor Glen Jeffrey from UCL Institute of Ophthalmology said, "As you age your visual system declines significantly, particularly once over 40. Your retinal sensitivity and your colour vision are both gradually undermined, and with an ageing population, this is an increasingly important issue. To try to stem or reverse this decline, we sought to reboot the retina's aging cells with short bursts of longwave light." 

The retina ages faster than other organs, with a 70% adenosine triphosphate (ATP) decrease over life as well as a decline in photoreceptor function. However, red light therapy benefits eyes as the light stimulates the mitochondria, which helps increase ATP production. 

Professor Jeffrey continues, “mitochondrial density is the greatest in photoreceptors and their decline can be linked to reductions in retinal function and the onset of age-related disease.” In other words, by stimulating the production of ATP in the cells, the retina is able to increase in function which then helps improve the performance of photoreceptors. 

The findings were completed on mice, bumblebees, and fruit flies, all showing significant improvements in the retina's photoreceptors function, specifically when their eyes were exposed to 670 nanometres (long wavelength) of deep red light. However, this time, they decided to attempt a human study. 

The small study included 24 people (12 male, 12 female), between 28 and 72, with no ocular disease history. They were all provided with a small LED torch to take home and were asked to look into the device with their dominant eye every morning for 3 minutes. 

The findings revealed that there was an improved function of the photoreceptor after exposure to the 670-nm deep red light. "The technology is simple and very safe, using a deep red light of a specific wavelength, that is absorbed by mitochondria in the retina that supply energy for cellular function,” said Glen Jeffery. 

This is a massive finding and can greatly benefit people who are looking for an alternative treatment to prevent vision loss. Kayian's red light therapy products are highly accessible for clinical or at-home use, allowing professionals to treat their patients and members of the public to provide themselves with the care they need. For more information on creating your own private label product, please contact our team.

We all know the importance of our eyes, and when they’re working optimally, we don’t even think about them. But when something’s off, it can create huge discomfort in a person’s daily life. 

Dry eye disease, also known as chronic dry eye, is a very common condition, with around 5 million Americans suffering from it. Dry eyes occur when the eyes don’t produce enough tears to stay wet. As a result, the eyes become dry and feel highly uncomfortable while also creating vision problems such as blurry vision, red eyes, and sensitivity to light.

Interestingly, most people with chronic dry eye are middle-aged or older and it tends to affect women more than men. The reason being is due to women’s hormonal fluctuations in the body. 

Now the typical treatment for dry eyes depends on the symptoms a person wants to ease. However, usually, sufferers of chronic dry eyes are given five options:

• Over-the-counter eye drops. Treats mild dry eyes with artificial tears to moisturize the eye area.
• Prescription medication. Doctors may prescribe medicine such as cyclosporine or lifitegrast to help the eye produce tears for serious conditions.
• Lifestyle changes. There may be environmental factors worsening the condition such as smoke, wind, air conditioning, humidity.
• Tear duct plug. If the tears are draining too quickly, doctors may suggest a procedure in which a “duct” is inserted into the tear ducts. They help hold the tears in the eyes.
• Surgery. For extreme cases, doctors may suggest surgery to fix the eyelids and help the tears stay in the eyes. This is a rare option of treatment.
  

While these treatments do help relieve chronic dry eyes, prescription-based methods or invasive procedures have really been the only options available. 

However, ophthalmologists are now treating this condition with alternative intense pulsed light therapy for dry eye.  Baltimore eye doctor Dr. Brett Levinson of Specialized Eye Care is treating Marylanders who have been diagnosed with chronic dry eye with the power of light. 

But how does light therapy really work on dry eyes? And is light therapy safe for the eyes? Intense pulsed light (IPL) therapy addresses the imbalance within the tear film and tears production, which is the cause of dry eye syndrome. 

The meibomian glands are oil glands that exist at the edges of the upper and lower eyelids. They secrete oil (meibum) that’s layered onto the eyes to prevent the tears from evaporating. However, when the meibomian glands become blocked, they prevent the oil from coating the eyes. 

Intense pulsed light therapy sends gentle pulses of light into the skin around the eyes, which reduces inflammation and the risk for bacterial infection. The pulses melt away the blocked oil, unclogging the meibomian glands and allowing the natural flow of oil to coat the eyes. 

Through consistent treatments, light therapy not only improves but helps maintain healthy meibomian gland function, preventing dry eyes from recurring.

Through light therapy, Levinson is focusing on tackling the root problem of chronic dry eye rather than simply alleviating the symptoms. Dr. Levinson states that chronic dry eye is due to “the oil glands of the eyelids get blocked. We use this technique [light therapy] to heat up the oil glands and squeeze them out.” 

Red light therapy and your eyes: the two best friends you’d least expect. 

Luckily, Kaiyan medical’s team has a deep understanding of the positive value of red light therapy, especially with common conditions like chronic dry eye. 

Whether you’re looking for at-home light therapy devices or professional light therapy devices for clinical use, Kaiyan manufacturers MDA-certified and FDA-approved devices for a range of conditions, including eye care. If you’re interested in producing your own private label, don’t hesitate to contact our team. We’ll be happy to explore your options and see what’s best for you and your practice. 

As much as we're advancing in technology, we're paying the price of sight. More and more people are spending their working days in front of a desk, staring at a computer screen. 

Whether we’re at home or on the bus, we're glued to our smartphones or tablets, staying connected to the world around us. What we don't realize is that the more time we spend looking at screens, the worse our vision becomes. 

Staring at your smartphone, laptop, or tablet for too long can lead to tired, itchy, and dry eyes, eventually leading to blurred vision and headaches. There's actually a name for this; it's called Computer vision syndrome. 

Computer vision syndrome is described as vision-related problems resulting from prolonged usage of digital devices, including computers, smartphones, and tablets. However, other vision-related problems  stem from cataracts, prescription glasses or contact lenses, migraines, age, glaucoma, trauma, and more. 

But with the help of light therapy, it looks like there's a solution to eye strain and declining eyesight. Researchers from the University College of London published their study in the Journals of Gerontology found that red light therapy may help improve eye function through mitochondria and adenosine triphosphate (ATP) interaction.

How do the mitochondria and ATP benefit from red light? The mitochondria produce most of the chemical energy needed for all biochemical reactions within the body. The energy produced is stored as ATP, which then converts into adenosine diphosphate (ADP) or to adenosine monophosphate (AMP). For the human body to stay healthy, ATP is essential for the cellular process. 

Concerning the eyes, the retina ages faster than any other in the body, according to Glen Jeffrey, lead study author and neuroscience professor at University College London's Institute of Ophthalmology. Glen adds that up to 70% of the ATP in the retinas will decline over a person's lifetime, which causes reduced eye function.  

This is where red light therapy plays an important role in improving eye function and vision. It's believed that red light therapy increases ATP production in the mitochondria, improving and restoring cellular energy, keeping your eyes healthy and functioning optimally. 

In the study, researchers tested the eye function and sensitivity of 21 participants between 28 and 72 without pre-existing eye diseases. The participants were given a small LED light, which they had to look directly into the light for three minutes a day over two weeks. The results were extremely interesting. For those under 40, they did not see any measurable differences. However, those over 40 experienced significant improvements in their ability to differentiate between colors and in sensitivity of up to 20%. 

Glen explains that red light therapy "uses simple brief exposures to light wavelengths that re-charge the energy system that has declined in the retina cells, rather like re-charging a battery." 

Though there are further studies that need to be done, this shines a light on the power of red light to restore eye function. Prior to the study above, other studies have been done in the past; however, this is the first on humans. Yet, previous studies also proved positive effects on retinal performance and damage reversal. 

The future's looking bright for those who have eye issues and want non-invasive treatments. As Glen said, “the technology is simple and very safe.” 

With Kayian Medical’s MDA-certified and FDA-approved red light therapy devices, you can provide clients with non-invasive and effective treatment to improve eye function.