Oh say, can you see? Flag Day and that star-spangled banner are American traditions in June, but for Bausch + Lomb, it’s also a time to remind people about what they can—or can’t—actually see during Cataract Awareness Month.
The Bausch Health subsidiary focused on eye health is partnering with Prevent Blindness in a social media campaign to raise awareness of cataracts and cataract surgery. In one social post, for instance, an image morphs from very blurry to crystal clear to illustrate the reality of cataracts.
More than 20 million people in the U.S. have cataracts, and that total is expected to jump by 50% to 38.5 million people by 2032.
Bausch + Lomb is posting eye awareness content all month on its social pages on LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. For every share or like on its Facebook page, it will donate $1 to Prevent Blindness’ work to ensure everyone has access to cataract care and surgery.
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Meanwhile, Bausch + Lomb sales reps are going out to eye care professionals with a new “What to Know, What to Ask” brochure about cataract care after surgery. Physicians and eye care professionals have been requesting new materials to help educate their patients, Joe Gordon, the U.S. president of Bausch + Lomb, said in an email interview.
Baush + Lomb's eyecare product portfolio includes intraocular lenses (IOLs) used during cataract surgery. During surgery, the natural eye lens is replaced with an IOL appropriate to the individual’s eye. Cataract surgery is the most common surgery in the U.S., performed on more than 3 million Americans every year.
“The goal of this campaign is to educate the public and raise awareness of the symptoms, causes and treatment options for cataracts,” he said, noting cataracts are the leading cause of vision loss in U.S. and the leading cause of blindness worldwide
While the June initiative is new, Bausch + Lomb has been partnering with Prevent Blindness to raise awareness of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) during its disease awareness month in February for the past six years. In 2021, the two launched a video campaign featuring people living with AMD telling their stories and sharing personal strategies for healthy living.
AMD has two forms—dry AMD and wet AMD. Wet AMD can be treated with anti-VEGF injections into the eye, like Bayer and Regeneron’s Eylea, but there is currently no treatment for dry AMD. Bausch Health and Bausch + Lomb last year acquired an option to purchase the opthalmology assets of Allegro Ophthalmics, which includes risuteganib being investigated to treat intermediate dry AMD.
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With the cataract awareness campaign already underway, Gordon said they’re “pleased by the engagement we have seen so far and look forward to the momentum building.”
Prevent Blindness CEO Jeff Todd said in the press release that with rising cases, it's “critical” to educate people early about cataracts and the effectiveness of surgery.