COVID-19 and the Eyes

We also want our patients to be well informed about the relationship between COVID-19 and the eyes.
While research is limited, this is what the current evidence suggests: 
COVID infects an individual by making its way into the lungs through the mucous membranes that line the mouth, nose, and eyes. 
Risk of transmission is highest through water droplets expelled from the nose and mouth as they are directly connected to the lungs. This is why mask wear is required across the world. While eyes have mucous membranes as well, research suggests the spread from the eyes to your lungs is low. Protective eyewear can be worn to provide complete coverage.

Here are the takeaways:
​
We want our patients to feel safe when they enter our eye care facility.

The risk of transmission through the eyes is low, but we will still take every necessary precaution to keep our facility clean and sanitary.

The best way to keep everyone in our community safe is to wear a mask, frequently wash/sanitize your hands, and avoid touching your face when you are out in public.

​We wish your family well. Stay safe!
Researchers believe that if COVID spreads by the eyes, the transmission is through the tear fluid.

How likely is COVID transmission through tear fluid?​
  • Positive COVID, Asymptomatic: The risk of transmitting the virus through tear fluid is very low. The virus does not accumulate to a significant amount in the eyes of these patients.
  • Positive COVID, Symptomatic, No Red Eye: These individuals have an increased risk of spreading the virus through the tear fluid, but overall risk is still generally low. 
  • Positive COVID, Symptomatic, WITH Red Eye: The greatest risk of COVID spread through the tear fluid is from the individuals with a red-eye related to the onset of COVID symptoms.

Eye Care Today


Blue Light
In today's world, we are surrounded by technology, which has lead to some major changes in our daily lives. The amount of time we spend on electronic devices has increased our productivity in many ways; however, our eyes were not designed to look at digital screens for as long as we currently do. A certain spectrum of blue light emitted from all our electronics has been found to increase eye strain, eye fatigue, and wakefulness at night. Blue light has also been implicated in the development of age-related macular degeneration (AMD). 

Advances in eyewear lens technologies have recently been developed to combat these harmful effects by absorbing the blue light. We offer high quality lenses and lens treatments such as Blu-Tech and Hoya Recharge anti-reflective coating to reflect and absorb the harmful blue light spectrum. If you're interested in learning more about what can be done to protect your eyes for long-term health, we encourage you to ask our staff at your next visit!

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