Supporting Children’s Eye Health This School Year
Posted by amess on Aug 26th 2021
As school starts back up across the country, many students, teachers, and parents are excited for kids to be back in the classroom. However, just because some children are physically returning to school doesn’t mean that their eyes aren’t feeling the strain of another school year. In fact, one healthcare provider created an entirely new program to better support children’s eye health after the pandemic. Here’s what that entails.
The Program
United Healthcare started a program last year to help providers, parents, and kids support their eye health during the pandemic. The program helped promote healthy screen use by helping schools purchase better equipment to reduce blue light exposure for students. Additionally, they made enhancements in their eye care benefits, offering advanced coverage for those affected by blue light and computer vision syndrome (CVS).
What’s Missing?
While we support the efforts made by United Healthcare, research shows that supporting macular pigment, the eye’s natural blue light filter, is another effective way of managing CVS symptoms. Macular pigment is a protective layer made up of 2 dietary carotenoids zeaxanthin and lutein. Though we are born with this protective pigment, our bodies don’t produce zeaxanthin and lutein on their own. Therefore, patients must ingest them daily to keep their eyes’ natural protection strong and healthy.
Eating for Eye Health: Not as Easy as You Think
Eating enough zeaxanthin and lutein sounds like an easy request, especially since patients often hear about eating a healthy diet. However, these two important antioxidants are notoriously scarce in the modern American diet, with lutein being 5 times more prevalent in the diet than zeaxanthin. Why does this matter? Macular pigment accumulates 2 times more zeaxanthin. Additionally, the retina chooses this antioxidant to accumulate in the center and protect central vision.
Supplementation: A Helpful Solution
To get the recommended amount of zeaxanthin (8 mg) to increase macular pigment optical density (MPOD), patients would need to eat at least 20 ears of corn a day! This is not a sustainable diet, so many eye care professionals recommend supplementation to help bridge the dietary gap. EyePromise® is the #1 doctor-recommended eye health nutraceutical line and is trusted by professional and Olympic athletes to protect their eyes and improve their visual performance.
Supplementation for Screen Time
EyePromise offers formulas specifically designed to support eye health related to screen time. For adults, EyePromise Screen Shield™ Pro is a comprehensive formulation based on the most recent and relevant clinical research to help reduce common symptoms of screen time, including dry, tired, strained eyes and occasional headaches due to screen exposure.
For children, EyePromise offers Screen Shield Teen, a simplified formula for kids ages 4 to 17. Doctors also developed this one-a-daily, fruit punch-flavored chewable tablet using clinical evidence to support each ingredient. Both Screen Shield nutraceuticals are made with the highest quality, natural ingredients and safe to take with a daily multi-vitamin.
Dangerous blue light is everywhere. From screens to the sun, it seems like patients can’t stay away from this high-energy light wavelength. However, with a combination of helpful healthcare programs, nutraceuticals, and other blue light defenses, you can start helping your patients protect their eyes and live life to the fullest.