Packed house for blue light debate at Optrafair

There was standing room only in the Optrafair CET lecture theatre during the debate on Blue light.

The panel discussion, What do we know about blue light?, chaired by Professor John Marshall looked at the latest evidence on the benefits and evidence surrounding blue light and its potentially damaging effect on the eyes. It also sought interaction from delegates.

A show of hands from the audience revealed that while the majority of practitioners did suggest blue light blocking lenses to their patients the availability of definite evidence on the topic was not available.

Professor Marshall said some of the damage was evident from mechanism such as tanning. While the skin repaired itself in around five days ocular repair mechanisms were more complex. What was clear was that the repair mechanism for the retina contributed to debris build up which was a factor on degenerative diseases such as Age-related Macular Degeneration. A mechanism not really designed to continue past the ages of 40 to 50 years of age in humans.