Blue Lenses Dangerous?

[Browman]

Have a pt. who wants to make his third pair (after opthalmic and suns) "party" glasses and have them tinted blue. This got me to wondering about the safety of such an endeavor. With the launching of Provencia and Recharge, I've been reading a good deal about HEV/blue light hazards, and it seems that a blue tint would serve to amplify blue light, potentially putting my pt. at risk. Am I being overly cautious, or should I advise my pt. to pick another color?

[opty4062]

I would not worry about long term exposure to HEV/blue considering this would be a occasional wear pair only.

[Plausible]

Have a pt. who wants to make his third pair (after opthalmic and suns) "party" glasses and have them tinted blue. This got me to wondering about the safety of such an endeavor. With the launching of Provencia and Recharge, I've been reading a good deal about HEV/blue light hazards, and it seems that a blue tint would serve to amplify blue light, potentially putting my pt. at risk. Am I being overly cautious, or should I advise my pt. to pick another color?

Browman may just be on to something here. This may explain why Ozzy Osbourne speaks and acts the way he does, he seemingly always has on blue tinted specs.

[Chris Ryser]

We used to make a ton of blue lenses in the 1970s. It is a fad that might come back again anytime.

It is like the frame designs from that time period are back now.

[Craig]

I loved wearing blue lenses and may need to order another pair now. What ever lenses you wear will provide more protection than nothing.

[MikeAurelius]

The current generation of glassworking lenses (for soft glass torch work, replacing didymium) are blue. No worries here.

[standarduck]

I can't see how a tinted lens would 'amplify' blue. It just allows more blue to pass through than other colours. More blue would travel through a clear lens.

[chaoticneutral]

http://videogameseizures.wordpress.c...ective-lenses/
check this out - zeiss lenses to help prevent seizure for epileptic patients using blue lenses.

[kaypaula]

I can't show the research here, but I've heard that blue lenses could increase "depression" especially those already prone to it. My daughter has worn blue lenses for years; despite me telling her that may not be the best color to look through if there is anything to color therapies. She is prone to depression/anxiety etc.

[mshimp]

Loved wearing my logo nylor pilot frames with dark blue gradient lens in them. In the seventies of course.

[Robert Martellaro]

Loved wearing my logo nylor pilot frames with dark blue gradient lens in them. In the seventies of course.

Those Logo frames were some of the best frames I've worked with. I wore the Sirocco in the early 80's with AO's Photolite- a blue, plastic, photochromic lens.

http://www.dickwhitney.net/AOPhotolitePage.htm

[DanLiv]

I can't see how a tinted lens would 'amplify' blue. It just allows more blue to pass through than other colours. More blue would travel through a clear lens.

+1. ALL tinted lenses decrease light transmission. The color tint of the lenses means it decreases that wavelength less than others. A blue tint lens will at worst allows the same amount of blue light as a clear lens, and most likely actually decreases even blue more than clear, especially clear with AR. IF you are still worried, advise Prevencia on the blue tint. It will probably enhance the blue "party" effects he's looking for and take care of your blue/HEV worries.

[Jacqui]

We used to make a ton of blue lenses in the 1970s. It is a fad that might come back again anytime.

It is like the frame designs from that time period are back now.

We've made quite a few of them in the past few years. Both solid blue and photochromic blue.

[Darryl Meister]

it seems that a blue tint would serve to amplify blue light, potentially putting my pt. at risk.

As some of the others have already pointed out, a blue-tinted lens will not transmit any more blue light than a clear lens. It will just transmit less yellow light.

And for part-time use, particularly in the kind of low-light conditions that I would normally associate with some kind of "party" environment, there is certainly isn't any increased risk of blue-light hazard.

That said, if you are really worried about it, you could always go with a blue mirror coating, if he is simply interested in blue-looking lenses (without necessarily wanting to see everything tinted in blue).

I can't show the research here, but I've heard that blue lenses could increase "depression" especially those already prone to it

I have actually seen research to the contrary, suggesting that insufficient blue light can actually result in more depression and impaired cognition, since blue light around 460 nm has been linked to melatonin suppression and the regulation of circadian rhythms. This has been raised as a potential concern for "blue-blocking" tints and coatings.

See, for instance, Violet and blue light blocking intraocular lenses: photoprotection versus photoreception.

Best regards,
Darryl

[Emmet Ropia]

I apologize in advance for not reading the top of the thread. However, this quote caught my attention, "As some of the others have already pointed out, a blue-tinted lens will not transmit any more blue light than a clear lens. It will just transmit less yellow light."

It occurs to me that if the blue lens is attenuating yellow radiation, this will be perceived as a darkening of available light and stimulate an increase in pupil dilatation. Compared to clear lenses, the increase in pupil dilatation could result in higher than acceptable levels of short wavelengths to enter the eye. Perhaps my assumptions are wrong or exaggerated.

[Darryl Meister]

It occurs to me that if the blue lens is attenuating yellow radiation, this will be perceived as a darkening of available light and stimulate an increase in pupil dilatation. Compared to clear lenses, the increase in pupil dilatation could result in higher than acceptable levels of short wavelengths to enter the eye.

The increase in pupil size is an astute observation to make, Emmet. But keep in mind that:

1) no one has really ever demonstrated unacceptable levels of blue light under normal viewing conditions (in fact, the safety of indoor lighting relative to the blue-light hazard has been confirmed); and
2) the pupil size is actually regulated more by blue wavelengths than other by wavelengths (so the eye would be less likely to dilate more compared to the absorption of blue light).

Still, pupil size is certainly a factor that should be considered in discussions like this. The retinal illuminance will be proportional to the square of the pupil radius.

Best regards,
Darryl

[standarduck]

the increase in pupil dilatation

That's awesome, I'd not even considered that!

[sharpstick777]

The negative effect of blue lenses, and by allowing more blue light through is that blue light (esp Short wave blue) doesn't not refract the same way through the eye as other colors do, ie, it doesn't not reach the same focal point on the retina.

As a result, vision will simply be fuzzier and there could be a loss of depth perception. Skiers call shortwave blue light "flat" light because they lose the ability to see detail and how far away objects really are. When I skied I called the effect "mystery mogul" where a large bump or mogul was simply hidden from perception even though it was right infront of me. Whoa! Where did that come from!

Although in skiing, I was able to pick myself up out of the snow. Driving however is not as forgiving.

I tried this myself, with blue lenses, things looked fuzzier, objects less defined and I could discern less how far something was from me. I suggest you do the same. Blue is not pleasant for long periods and could be a risk while driving.

[Darryl Meister]

The negative effect of blue lenses, and by allowing more blue light through is that blue light (esp Short wave blue) doesn't not refract the same way through the eye as other colors do, ie, it doesn't not reach the same focal point even through the same RX

Although the interaction between blue light and the chromatic aberration of the eye is an important consideration, I think the concern of the original poster was with the potential for long-term retinal damage due to the blue-light hazard, or the potential link between chronic exposure to intense levels of high-energy visible radiation and age-related maculopathy.

Best regards,
Darryl

[Flux3r]

i wore blue lenses for a time, and always suffered intense headaches a couple hours in. this was before i got involved with the optical industry, i know better now.

[MakeOptics]

+1. ALL tinted lenses decrease light transmission. The color tint of the lenses means it decreases that wavelength less than others. A blue tint lens will at worst allows the same amount of blue light as a clear lens, and most likely actually decreases even blue more than clear, especially clear with AR. IF you are still worried, advise Prevencia on the blue tint. It will probably enhance the blue "party" effects he's looking for and take care of your blue/HEV worries.

If you reduce the rest of the spectrum but allow all of the blue or close to all you will still have a dilated pupil due to reduced stimulus allowing more of the blue to pass through and therefore more harm due to blue. Same reason why backside UV, and suns without UV protection can be harmful and in some cases more harmful then wearing nothing at all.

Keep in mind if we eliminate blue light the next harmful wavelength is going to be the greens and yellows our sweet spot. At a certain point humans have to realize that the body may be living longer due to modern medicine and advances but the sensors are not designed to be functional that long.

I suggest work be done on a cure or at least glasses for time.

[Browman]

If you reduce the rest of the spectrum but allow all of the blue or close to all you will still have a dilated pupil due to reduced stimulus allowing more of the blue to pass through and therefore more harm due to blue. Same reason why backside UV, and suns without UV protection can be harmful and in some cases more harmful then wearing nothing at all.

This is the idea I'd had in mind, though it seems most of the thread disagrees. Aside from personal concern, interaction between the eye, brain, and lens tint is an area of great personal interest to me (I did some grad-level psychology work in college) so this thread is really quite fascinating.

[sharpstick777]

Although the interaction between blue light and the chromatic aberration of the eye is an important consideration, I think the concern of the original poster was with the potential for long-term retinal damage due to the blue-light hazard, or the potential link between chronic exposure to intense levels of high-energy visible radiation and age-related maculopathy.

Best regards,
Darryl

your right, but I didn't want anyone resurrecting this thread or new to Optics think that fitting blue colored lenses wasn't without a downside, the greatest risk is loss of depth perception while driving.

[MakeOptics]

your right, but I didn't want anyone resurrecting this thread or new to Optics think that fitting blue colored lenses wasn't without a downside, the greatest risk is loss of depth perception while driving.

Huh?