NEW ORLEANS — Optometrists are in a novel place to assist determine psychological well being circumstances in sufferers, in line with optometrist turned licensed psychotherapist Dennis Pardo, OD, MPH, FAAO, LCSW, MSW.

“As optometric physicians, we are the PCPs of the eye, and we may be the first to notice mental health in our patients,” Pardo instructed attendees at an Academy ’23 plenary session. “Just like diabetes, mental health and ocular health are inextricably linked.”

According to Pardo, collaboration between optometrists and different well being care suppliers is important to offer acceptable care to sufferers, and establishing relationships with psychological well being professionals is important, as psychological well being has develop into a public well being disaster.

Pardo additionally famous that psychotropic drugs might have ocular unwanted side effects that optometrists ought to pay attention to.

“I would argue that it starts with the intake,” Pardo stated. “You need to have a separate section for mental health conditions, side by side with physical health conditions. It needs to be front and center and it needs to be separate. Same thing for medications, a separate section for psychotropic medications, because this gives you the baseline information about mental health issues that your patients sitting in your chair are facing.”

Pardo famous that an antipsychotic like chlorpromazine might trigger blurry imaginative and prescient, diplopia, decreased mucus and tear manufacturing, and ocular pigment adjustments, whereas ADHD stimulants might trigger myokymia.

Pardo additionally mentioned the significance of understanding frequent psychological well being circumstances like anxiousness, phobias, PTSD, ADHD, schizophrenia, substance-related issues, obsessive-compulsive dysfunction and abuse.

“Do we have patients who are afraid of coming to see us?” Pardo stated. “Yes, we need to be aware of that.”

Furthermore, Pardo mentioned the hyperlink between sure ocular circumstances and psychological well being points. He famous that sufferers recognized with keratoconus usually tend to have depressive issues, and sufferers recognized with Sjogren’s syndrome or glaucoma are at elevated threat for each despair and anxiousness.

“We don’t just treat the eye; we treat the whole patient,” Pardo stated.

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American Academy of Optometry