Blue light, an ongoing issue

Blog vol 6.27. Blue light, an ongoing issue 

During covid, people were spending A LOT of time on screens. Zoom was the thing: distance education, work from home, distance everything (even weddings). Eye strain became a problem. Has our screen time gone down since covid? Hopefully. What is the effect of blue light on the eyes?

There is a connection between the pineal gland, blue light exposure, and melatonin release that is well documented.  Some lens suppliers emphasize the link with blue light and eye/retinal damage and push blue filters for protection, but this is unfounded.

The link between blue light, the retina, and possible macular degeneration is not proven. In a great article by Dr. David Sliney out of Johns Hopkins University (read here), he points out all the variables that go into measuring blue light exposure and concludes it is almost impossible to control for it, because of variables like pupil size, corneal and lens transmission of the light, pigmentation of the patient’s eyes, the genetic susceptibility to certain wavelengths, the angle of incidence, the actual duration of exposure, and length of waves involved. It is very difficult to set up studies that will conclusively predict possible damage from blue light.

 So, what can we work with? And why all the stress on blue light filtration? Our use of screens has gone up exponentially over the last few decades, with average use globally at 6 hours and 40 minutes a day, and with teens, it goes up to over 8 hours. There was a concern about the eyes and LED lights generally which proved to be unnecessary, but this concentrated screen time over a long period is concerning. That much exposure must have some effect on retinal health. The beauty of blue filters, and for that matter, UV filters, is that they can be added to the glasses or contacts you are already wearing. 

A blue filter helps with sleep patterns and gives protection for screen exposure. We have a glasses option and a contact lens option:

Nikon lenses for spectacles have been coated with blue filters since 2012, with their camera lenses treated even as early as the 1970’s. In 2021, Nikon introduced Pure Blue UV.  Unlike previous coated filters which reflected an unpleasant hue, this new lens material filters and looks great. We have been using this product for close to 5 years and routinely include it in our orders. 

We also stock Johnson & Johnson’s Oasys One Day Max with a blue filter for our contact lens wearers. 

At this point, we dispense UV filters with all our products. We are coming to see the need for blue filters in the same way. 

It is very simple to put on the extra protection and is an excellent preventative, especially with the demands on our eyes and how much we use them. Come in and have a conversation with our optometrists and opticians about the use of blue filters. We even have a promotion on Nikon’s Pure Blue lens, for a limited time we are offering it as a free upgrade.

Til next week,



The good doctor