In the past couple of years, the sale of blue-light blocking glasses have rocketed to the extent that now almost every person who needs glasses, and even those who don’t, have a pair of these fancy 'high-tech' specs. It’s being sold on the premise that it protects your eyes from heavy screen time. Although it is being prescribed to many by ophthalmologists and opticians, the real science supporting the claim is severely lacking.
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Blue light glasses
Recently Dr. Steven Hoffman, an ophthalmologist, revealed the truth behind the allegedly revolutionary glasses on TikTok and well, you’re not going to like what he has to say. According to him, blue light-blocking glasses don’t actually do anything. He wrote:
Sorry if you spent $100 on BLUE LIGHT glasses during quarantine.
Instead, he recommends getting computer vision glasses, which do a way better job at helping with eye strain. He said in another video:
Ask your doctor for a pair of computer vision glasses. These are super different from blue light glasses. Blue light glasses are going to have a filter which doesn’t do anything for your eye strain. Computer vision glasses are actually going to have added power so that it’s optimised for your working distance from a computer.
Blue light glasses, not going to work. Computer vision glasses will work!
When asked about why patients are often prescribed these glasses, he played a line from a song that said:
It’s all about the money.
Busting the myth
Dr. Hoffman isn’t the only professional who has been busting myths about these glasses. The American Academy of Ophthalmology has confirmed that, scientifically speaking, blue light from computers is not known to cause eye strain or disease. They added:
There is no scientific evidence that the light coming from computer screens is damaging to the eyes. Because of this, the Academy does not recommend any special eyewear for computer use.
The symptoms of digital eye strain are linked to how we use our digital devices, not the blue light coming out of them.
