Health Alert: Blue Light Blindness

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We spend hours on social media, watching movies or TV, even FaceTiming with our friends.

But the more you use those devices, the more likely you are to damage your eyes and sometimes the damage is permanent.

Optometrist Dr. Warren Johnson is here.

Some points we barely touched on are the fact that our new lighting sources like the curlicue fluorescent bulbs save energy but emit hazardous blue light which causes permanent damage to our vision as well as halogen bulbs.

What saves us money is damaging to our eyes.

We spoke about the concentration of blue light coming from our phones, tablets, desktop and laptop computers and the damage over time that it causes to our central vision.

90% of Americans are using digital devices daily.

Our millennials are on them about 4 hours a day and kids are on them at least 4 hours a day.

The blue light from our devices is hurting sleep patterns and causing heart disease and diabetes as well as vision damage.

What’s the solution?

Early detection is the key so having an eye exam yearly is the best way to do prevent nonreversible damage.

We measure the pigment density in your macula yearly to see if you are at risk or have early signs of macular degeneration.

Adults, children or babies as young as 18 months of age need to have their eye health examined yearly because they are the most susceptible to damage that takes its toll but may not cause permanent vision loss for some years.

You should have blue light filters in your glasses, even if you don’t wear glasses then you should wear a lens that does protect your vision without a prescription while doing digital tasks.

Diet and supplements that are rich in zeaxanthin and lutein are vital.

They are prescribed and stabilize or reduce the likelihood of macular degeneration while protecting your eyes.

Foods rich in zeaxanthin and lutein would be dark leafy green vegetables and colored vegetables.

The supplements should be chosen by your eye doctor.