Part 2 – How Blue Light Works – Dr. Susan Lake Talks Screen Time As a Mother and a Doctor

part-2-how-blue-light-works-dr-susan-lake-talks-screen-time-as-a-mother-and-a-doctor.jpgpart-2-how-blue-light-works-dr-susan-lake-talks-screen-time-as-a-mother-and-a-doctor.jpgWe previously discussed the frustrations that arise for parents when they read recommendations from medical professionals regarding screen time limits. To fully understand why these limits are so strict despite the fact that they are nearly unobtainable, I’d like to be clear about how blue light gets to our retinas and why it must be filtered and protected against.

Blue light is everywhere.

You may be surprised to know that our main source of blue light is from the sun, similar to the Ultraviolet light (UV) that we have heard about for decades. In addition, although computer screens, phones, and tablets are a smaller contributor to our blue light consumption, the increased amount of time our children are spending on them is causing us a lot of concern as is the proximity of these devices to our children’s faces. UV light and blue light are filtered by our eyes very differently. To best understand how blue light gets to the part of our eye to cause damage, I like to use an example that will resonate with most parents of teens.

Scenario #1:

Your teenager enters a room. At the opposite end of that room is the door to their part-2-how-blue-light-works-dr-susan-lake-talks-screen-time-as-a-mother-and-a-doctor-1.jpgpart-2-how-blue-light-works-dr-susan-lake-talks-screen-time-as-a-mother-and-a-doctor-1.jpgbedroom. They are greeted by a large group of their best friends. The teen pauses, chats, laughs, answers questions, and spends a great deal of time with them. In fact, they may never arrive at the opposite end of the room to retreat to the solace of their room.

Scenario #2:

Your teenager enters the same room. They are greeted by you, their parent, asking them about their day, their homework, their love life, their thoughts on everything. They mumble “fine” and stream very quickly past you without pause to arrive at the door that will allow them access to the solace of their room. What does this have to do with blue light, you ask? Scenario #1 is how UV reacts when it hits your eye.  It is blocked by the cornea and lens, which filter out an amazingly high amount of its damaging rays so that they don’t reach the back of the eye to damage the retina. The remainder can be filtered by UV blocking sunglasses. Scenario #2 is how blue light reacts when it hits your eye. It streams right back those initial structures and blasts the sensitive and highly susceptible tissues of the retina. Some blue light is good and essential to our health. Too much can potentially damage retinal structures and will definitely cause eye strain, irritation, blurry vision, and fatigue that derail your child’s ability to best perform at all visual tasks. In summary, it could be said that devices such as computers, developed to enhance our children’s educational opportunities, also contribute to the reduction in the amount of time they are able to work on them. Does the irony in that hit you as hard as it does me? Then read my next blog where I explain what you can do to reduce the damage this blue light can cause and best protect your kids. Catch up and read my first blog in this series here if you haven’t already.  In the meantime, learn about EyePromise’s Screen Shield™ Teen eye vitamin that can help protect kids’ eyes from the affects of increased screen time.

https://www.lvcenter4sight.com/part-2-how-blue-light-works-dr-susan-lake-talks-screen-time-as-a-mother-and-a-doctor/

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

I Spy a Stye in Your Eye

Image
Written by Dr. David Evans Last modified on August 6, 2018 What’s that small, red, pimple-like bump on your eyelid that’s causing so much discomfort? It’s probably a stye (sometimes referred to as a sty or hordeolum). Besides being difficult to say 5 times quickly, an eye stye is a type of localized infection that can occur along the base of your eyelashes or underneath your eyelid. Styes that form along the base of the eyelashes are called external styes. They typically occur as a result of an infected eyelash hair follicle and look like the type of pimple that occurs when your pores are clogged with dirt and oil. Styes that form inside the eyelid are called internal styes. Similar to external styes, they are caused by an infection of an oil-producing gland behind the eyelid rather than an eyelash hair follicle. Internal styes result in generalized swelling of the eyelid rather than forming a pimple-like bump. Stye Symptoms As a stye develops, you might begin to experience pain
Read more

Post-LASIK Refraction and Pregnancy – Much Ado About Nothing?

Image
Written by Dr. David Evans Last modified on August 23, 2018 During pregnancy, women experience a drastic shift in their hormonal balance that has a ripple effect throughout the body. The spike in hormones like progesterone, estrogen, prolactin, oxytocin and relaxin are all important for a healthy pregnancy, but these increased levels can also impact gastrointestinal processes, blood pressure, skin pigmentation and, you guessed it, ocular health. Due to refractive changes that often occur during pregnancy, most refractive surgeons advise against LASIK during pregnancy, instead suggesting women wait several months after giving birth before considering treatment. Women who have already undergone LASIK may then wonder if the changes in ocular health that can occur during and after pregnancy impact post-LASIK refraction. New research presented by John Kanellopoulos, MD, New York University Medical School, NY, and LaserVision.gr seems to throw cold water on any such concern. The Eyes an
Read more

Overuse of Contact Lenses

Image
How do make sure you aren’t overusing your lenses? Most people who have prescription eye glasses prefer wearing contact lenses. It’s not only comfortable but it also doesn’t alter your natural look. Though contact lenses are convenient they shouldn’t be used extensively. Overuse of contact lenses can cause serious damages to your eye. If you are not following the 18 hour week rule, then you could be overusing your contact lenses. In other words you must take out your contact lenses for at least 18 hours a week. Here are some symptoms which are indications that you are using you have your lenses on longer than you should, and you need to consult your eye doctor immediately: Pain and redness in the eye Itching when you remove your lenses Increased mucous secretion in the eye Decreased vision Photophobia or light sensitivity Tearing Inability to remove your lenses because they are stuck in the eye   Your eye needs direct oxygen to ‘breathe’ and remain healthy.
Read more