Vision Loss & Blue Light

[Shep]

Hmm interesting, I would love to know why the blue light was suspected as the cause of the eye damage. Its a pretty small sample size so there could be a lot of other factors that influenced the changes but could be an interesting study to conduct. Maybe have LFS works volunteer for the scan and compare that to a control population to see if there are differences between the groups.

 

[optibob]

Hmm interesting, I would love to know why the blue light was suspected as the cause of the eye damage. Its a pretty small sample size so there could be a lot of other factors that influenced the changes but could be an interesting study to conduct. Maybe have LFS works volunteer for the scan and compare that to a control population to see if there are differences between the groups.

Blue light was suspected due to media and science, but it has not been conclusively determined it causes retinal damage, don`t subject LFS workers to volunteer for this, but my recommendation, they and you and myself volunteer to help society improve which ever area , one deems ! Peace out

 

[roblox84]

Interesting read, wonder why it got buried so quick since this should be talked about more often. After reading about this stuff I am definitely just going to retrofit leds into my JBJ hood instead of hanging pendants above the tank.

What I find interesting is that just about every seller got away from their retrofit stuff, even rapid led isn’t selling much anymore besides the hanging fixtures. Since I have little kids at home whom I like I will not risk their eyesight over a hobby, I just wish retailers and other hobbies shared the same opinion.

 

[Dogtown]

I’m glad I stumbled upon this thread. I will make some adjustments to take better care of my eyes. Thanks for sharing!

 

[hatfielj]

Regardless of if there's conclusive evidence or not, the fact is that we are being exposed to a LOT more blue light from unnatural sources then we've ever experienced in our entire evolutionary history. I think it is absolutely necessary to be cautious about it and take precautions to protect our eyes just in case we find out that it is indeed harmful. You only get one set of eyes in this life. And you don't want to be 60-70 years old and blind. I'm a physician as well (IM) and I see the effects of all sorts of unhealthy habits causing chronic disease in people on a daily basis (smoking, drinking, too much sunlight, lack of exercise, obesity, etc). It's smart to protect yourself and be cautious with these sort of things.

 

[DanConnor]

I suspect the culprit was new user errors with the OCT scanner

 

[lexinverts]

This is not good news for reefers....

https://www.usnews.com/news/health-...ight-from-digital-devices-speeds-up-blindness

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-018-28254-8

 

[Cherub]

This is not good news for reefers....

https://www.usnews.com/news/health-...ight-from-digital-devices-speeds-up-blindness

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-018-28254-8

thanks for sharing. I've been using my blue light filter on all devices since when they were saying blue light is linked to cancer a few months back. Now there's even more reason to keep it on. Sheesh these devices spy on you, invade your privacy, cause cancer and now blind you? Where's the incentives anymore??

 

[lexinverts]

thanks for sharing. I've been using my blue light filter on all devices since when they were saying blue light is linked to cancer a few months back. Now there's even more reason to keep it on. Sheesh these devices spy on you, invade your privacy, cause cancer and now blind you? Where's the incentives anymore??

It’s the blue light on our tanks that we really need to worry about...

 

[Cherub]

It’s the blue light on our tanks that we really need to worry about...

If that's all you're worried about in a world on fire then your life is simple. Kudos to you but the links are about devices not fish lights

 

[lexinverts]

If that's all you're worried about in a world on fire then your life is simple. Kudos to you

No, I am quite worried about the world on fire, thanks.

But, given the recently released study, I am also concerned that staring at my blue-led-lit reef tanks might contribute to macular degeneration in my eyes. And I might have harder time saving the world if I go blind.

 

[DanConnor]

If you really want to protect yourself from blue light, don't go out in the sun- it is much stronger than any man made source. The study refers to staring directly at a light source, such as a phone or monitor. Unless you are staring directly at your lights, I wouldn't worry. And the real way to prevent macular degeneration is through diet and exercise.

 

[lexinverts]

If you really want to protect yourself from blue light, don't go out in the sun- it is much stronger than any man made source. The study refers to staring directly at a light source, such as a phone or monitor. Unless you are staring directly at your lights, I wouldn't worry. And the real way to prevent macular degeneration is through diet and exercise.

If all we needed to worry about was exposure from the sun, then there would be no need to take precautions when viewing screens. The reflected blue light from our reef tanks is more powerful than a phone or computer screen. If you don't believe me, try holding a par meter up to your computer screen, and then to your reef tank.

I'm not ready to give up my reef tank just yet, but this is a potential hazard that we should all be aware of and continue following as the research progresses.

 

[DanConnor]

"If all we needed to worry about was exposure from the sun, then there would be no need to take precautions when viewing screens."

Not sure I'm following the logic of that...

 

[ZoWhat]

Define "blue light"....... 420nm-480nm? That light spectrum I've never read to be dangerous. There is 420mn-480nm abundantly in natural sunlight.

So given your dramatic claims.....everyone outside without sunglasses on.....are slowing going blind. Maybe so if they live to be 500 years old....

Now.... UV-C.... which is germicidal blue light.... at the mid-250nm is dangerous is heck!! I've read many many times that UV-C can cause permanent eye damage with very little exposure.

This UV-C light spectrum is what scientists are worried about if the Earth's natural ozone thins out or depletes bc much of UV-c light is filtered by the Earth's ozone layer



.

 

[lexinverts]

"If all we needed to worry about was exposure from the sun, then there would be no need to take precautions when viewing screens."

Not sure I'm following the logic of that...

I'm happy to clarify. In your statement above "If you really want to protect yourself from blue light, don't go out in the sun- it is much stronger than any man made source..." you suggested that we should only worry about exposure to blue light from the sun. On the contrary, the research study that I linked to suggested that blue light from screens COULD damage our eyes. I am just pointing out that in dismissing the potential hazard of staring at blue light in our tanks, you are also dismissing the results of the research study.

 

[lexinverts]

Define "blue light"....... 420nm-480nm? That light spectrum I've never read to be dangerous. There is 420mn-480nm abundantly in natural sunlight.

So given your dramatic claims.....everyone outside without sunglasses on.....are slowing going blind. Maybe so if they live to be 500 years old....

Now.... UV-C.... which is germicidal blue light.... at the mid-250nm is dangerous is heck!! I've read many many times that UV-C can cause permanent eye damage with very little exposure.

This UV-C light spectrum is what scientists are worried about if the Earth's natural ozone thins out or depletes bc much of UV-c light is filtered by the Earth's ozone layer



.

445 nm blue light.

Earlier in the thread, I linked to evidence that just came out that 445 nm blue light can be harmful. See here:

https://www.usnews.com/news/health-...ight-from-digital-devices-speeds-up-blindness

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-018-28254-8

As I said earlier in the thread, I'm not shutting down my reef tank because of this. I'm just saying that this is a potential hazard that we all should think about, and follow as the research develops.

 

[ZoWhat]

445 nm blue light.

Earlier in the thread, I linked to evidence that just came out that 445 nm blue light can be harmful.

Bonk....my friend

Your articles are directed towards people who look at their smartphones at 100% brightness 14in from their noses for 6-8hrs a day.

You're comparing apples to oranges here my friend

Looking at your tanks actinic light ambiently bouncing off LR and going thru 1/2 front glass is NOT a hazard.

I bet my own eyes on it that its NOT

Now staring into your actinic light head on straight on for short periods of time over months at a time would def do eye damage.

But to claim scattered 450ish nm light in your room and even sitting and looking at your tank for 30mins to a hr each night IS GOING TO MAKE YOU BLIND, is a ridiculous claim. Unfounded, untrue

I would say you're own macular degeneration is from you eating too much REFINED SUGAR and I would not be surprised if you were either diabetic or pre-diabetic





.

 

[lexinverts]

Bonk....my friend

Your articles are directed towards people who look at their smartphones at 100% brightness 14in from their noses for 6-8hrs a day.

You're comparing apples to oranges here my friend

Looking at your tanks actinic light ambiently bouncing off LR and going thru 1/2 front glass is NOT a hazard.

I bet my own eyes on it that its NOT

Now staring into your actinic light head on straight on for short periods of time over months at a time would def do eye damage.

But to claim scattered 450ish nm light in your room and even sitting and looking at your tank for 30mins to a hr each night IS GOING TO MAKE YOU BLIND, is a ridiculous claim. Unfounded, untrue

I would say you're own macular degeneration is from you eating too much REFINED SUGAR and I would not be surprised if you were either diabetic or pre-diabetic

.

You've got me mixed up with the OP. I do not have macular degeneration. I just added links to the study that came out last week to this old thread.

I'm glad that you are so sure about the safety of actinic lights. If there is actually any risk from viewing reef tanks, I'm sure we'll all hear a lot more about this.

 

[MnFish1]

I'm curious about that too. Do you wear glasses? Are you someone who has worn glasses a long time? Do you wear them in the operating theater with bright overhead lighting? Does your posture favor exposing that side of your face to the overhead high intensity lighting, possibly reflecting off of the glass lenses into your right eye? (I'm wondering because I have noticed that I get reflected light sometimes from my glasses working on precise tasks and task lighting). Could exposure to those lights be also a contributing factor?

I'm not trying to minimize the impact of what you are saying, merely trying to offer something as a possible explanation as to why the right is more affected than the left. Blue light carries a lot of energy, it's like high frequency sound. Shortwavelengths with lots of energy behind them do some very damaging things to sensitive organs like the eyes and inner ears.

Though I get that minimizing certain kinds of light makes sense not sure that you aquarium
Has something to do with it