Ocular health

[hiker]

I ve got some old light gels( remember the coloured plastic they used for theater lights to create diffent colours on spotlights?) that ive put over my white led lamps -the difference is quite remarkable to my mind and eyes - even when covering only half of the white.

That's a clever way to remove the nasty effects of too much blue light from led lighting!

As for modern cars the led lights on them are really dangerous ! I donr like driving long distances at night and will avoid doing so for that reason !.

You are not alone. Recently I drove a couple of long distance trips during the dark hours, and although I looked "away" from the oncoming car lights, I had to sometimes block them with my other hand. Also, I had to flip down the rear-view mirror when there were tailgating cars behind me. It truly feels like the car lights "burn up" your retinas.

Increasing number of drivers seem to be finding that the modern car lights are too bright:

Car headlights ‘too bright’ as drivers increasingly dazzled

The overwhelming majority (89%) of drivers say car headlights on UK roads are too bright, leaving them dazzled while driving, new research suggests.

www.fleetnews.co.uk

However, there seems to be a solution: one could use blue blocking computer glasses while driving.

There are a few options available: "normal" glasses and fitover/clip-ons, which can be placed on top your own (prescription) glasses. These (colourless) lenses filter 50% of the blue light, so they should be able to damper the worst intensity.

Btw, one should never use the orange/red blue blue blocking glasses while driving, as they filter out all of the blue light, "distorting" the scenery and making certain situations more difficult to notice. Also the total lack of blue light will cause tiredness; a no-no while driving during the later hours.
The yellow blue blocking glasses might work, as they take out most of blue light while leaving some, but the writer of this article thinks that the computer glasses are the safest bet.

Blue blocking computer glasses are sold quite widely, but all of them may not be up to standard. I believe at least these two sellers are amongst the more reputable ones: boncharge and blockbluelight (the latter has clip-ons, which I'm going to get to wear over my prescription glasses).

 

[Gwenllian]

Red and infrared light could also help eye health. According to a study reported in Andrew Huberman's podcast red/infrared light help visual acuity after the age of 40 (and not before). The retina is part of the central nervous system and "the rods and cones of the neural retina are responsible for using the most amount of energy in your entire body"!! Also, since the production of ATP produces reactive oxygen species and drusen (a form of cholesterol, fatty deposits that accumulate in the eye as we age) the study has found that red/infrared light help reduce (and/or reverse in the case of drusen) ROS. Watch @1hour49min.

Red Light Man also dedicated this article to eye health:

The eyes of humans, and specifically the cells of the retina, have the highest metabolic requirements of any tissue in the entire body – they require a lot of energy. The only way to meet this high demand is for the cells to house many mitochondria – and so it is no surprise that cells in the eyes have the highest concentration of mitochondria anywhere in the body.

Seeing as light therapy works via interactions with the mitochondria, and the eyes have the richest source of mitochondria in the body, it is a reasonable assumption to hypothesise that the light will also have the most profound effects in the eyes compared to the rest of the body. On top of that, recent research has shown that degeneration of the eye and retina is directly linked to mitochondrial dysfunction. So a therapy that can potentially restore the mitochondria, of which there are many, in the eye is the perfect approach. [...]

Eye conditions helped​

General vision – visual acuity, Cataracts, Diabetic Retinopathy, Macular Degeneration – aka AMD or age-related macular degeration, Refractive Errors, Glaucoma, Dry Eye, floaters.

Practical applications​

Using light therapy on the eyes before sun exposure (or exposure to bright white light). Daily/weekly use to prevent eye degeneration.

Blue blocking computer glasses are sold quite widely, but all of them may not be up to standard. I believe at least these two sellers are amongst the more reputable ones: boncharge and blockbluelight (the latter has clip-ons, which I'm going to get to wear over my prescription glasses).

I started also wearing these clip-ons during the day and when I'm in bed reading instead of using these orange glasses I use a small red light reading lamp. I really like it!

 

[Beau]

I just had a visit with the eye doctor I thought I'd warn that apparently vaping in particular is not good for retina health. I have a genetic predisposition to macular degeneration and was told by the eye doc to stay away from vaping and people who vape because of the stress that it can cause the eyes. It can cause the retina to either deteriorate which leads to dry MD or to build excess blood vessels and then inflammation which leads to wet MD.

Now perhaps @Arwenn or @Lilou can chime in here if that's the case, also because he warned me about being around regular cigarette smoke and showed me the dark spots on my eyes that are apparently caused by smoke or sun damage. Is eye health really that affected by smoking and being around it? Would a supplement like blueberry or Lutein help with counteracting these affects?

 

[Arwenn]

Smoking is one of the risk factors for macular degeneration & disease progression (others being age, sex, genetics, comorbidities such as cardiovascular disease, obesity etc.). With regards to exposure to cigarette smoke, the aforementioned hyperlinked study states that:

Cigarette smoke is known to contain toxic compounds that may have pathological effects through different biochemical pathways, including the formation of retinal oxidative stress (see section on oxidative stress factors) and inflammation in RPE cells and vascular changes in the choroidal vessels.

Most of the effects of vaping that I’ve seen in the literature have been on ocular surface changes and dry eye disease. Nicotine can have vasoconstrictive effects on ocular blood flow. A study on mice does show that exposure to cigarette smoke & vape smoke correlated with inflammatory reactions in the retina. The abstract in the above mice study concludes:

These results demonstrate that exposure to C-cigarette smoke is harmful to the retina. Likewise, the exposure to E-cigarette vapor (with or without nicotine) increases the occurrence and progression of inflammatory and angiogenic stimuli in the retina, which might also be related to the onset of wet AMD in humans.

Key messages​

• C-cigarette smoke exposure promotes an inflammatory reaction in the retina in vivo.
• Mice exposed to E-cigarette (nicotine-free) vapor develop inflammatory and angiogenic reactions more pronounced in RPE and choroid compared to retinal tissue, while nicotine-containing E-cigarette vapor causes even a more serious reaction.
• Both inflammatory and pro-angiogenic reactions increase with the extension of E-cigarette vapor exposure time.

It wouldn’t hurt to take some preventative measures with Bilberry & Lutein, especially with a family history. Just a cautionary note if you are considering taking lutein & zeaxanthin, get the AREDS 2 formula that does not have beta carotene. Other clinical trials with high beta carotene supplementation reported an increase in lung cancer in smokers. Below is a table comparing the two formulas from the AREDS clinical trials:

Commercially available formulas based on AREDS/AREDS2 & other FAQs (National Eye Institute):

Nutrient	AREDS formula*	AREDS2 fomula
Vitamin C	500 mg	500 mg
Vitamin E	400 IU	400 IU
Beta-carotene	15 mg	-
Copper (cupric oxide) **	2 mg	2 mg
Lutein	-	10 mg
Zeaxanthin	-	2 mg
Zinc	80 mg	80 mg

*Not recommended for current or former smokers
**Added to avoid zinc-related copper deficiency
mg = milligrams
IU = international units

Edit/Added:

showed me the dark spots on my eyes that are apparently caused by smoke or sun damage.

Where are these dark spots & are you able to get a copy of the imaging that was done?

Is eye health really that affected by smoking and being around it?

The literature has been definitive about smoking being detrimental for eye health, but I wasn’t aware of the effects of cigarette (normal & electronic) smoke on the retina until you asked about it. My demographic is mainly elderly people, the majority of whom do not smoke, let alone vape.

 

[Z...]

I just had a visit with the eye doctor I thought I'd warn that apparently vaping in particular is not good for retina health. I have a genetic predisposition to macular degeneration and was told by the eye doc to stay away from vaping and people who vape because of the stress that it can cause the eyes. It can cause the retina to either deteriorate which leads to dry MD or to build excess blood vessels and then inflammation which leads to wet MD.

Now perhaps @Arwenn or @Lilou can chime in here if that's the case, also because he warned me about being around regular cigarette smoke and showed me the dark spots on my eyes that are apparently caused by smoke or sun damage. Is eye health really that affected by smoking and being around it? Would a supplement like blueberry or Lutein help with counteracting these affects?

There are several studies showing that daily supplementation of 20 mg of Saffron significantly helps retinal health, especially in people with predilection for macular degeneration.
After 3 months of daily supplements most subjects showed significant improvement.
Its all about pigments.
Daily consumption of blueberries also seems to help.
Lutein or Astaxanthin also seem to help. As well as taking Spirulina (Hawaiian seems the best - beware of Indian or Chinese) and good quality omega 3 capsules.
I would go for Kashmiri Saffron which you can find on iherb -it is supposed to be the best.

Pure Indian Foods, Bio-Kaschmir-Safran, 2 g

<ul><li>Bio-zertifiziert durch das Landwirtschaftsministerium der USA („USDA Organic“)</li><li>Certified Organic by NJDA (Bio-zertifiziert durch NJDA)</li></ul><p>Kaschmir-Safran ist der seltenste der Welt und wird für seine leuchtend rote Farbe und sein intensives Aroma geschätzt.</p>

www.iherb.com

All you need is few strands which you can consume with your breakfast.

 

[irjO]

I noticed lately that my are are getting more and more dry, which now I would have to apply some drops! I thought it was because of the weather lately but also I’m smoking more pipe which generate more smoke, so now that you bring this issue it, surely could be related.
I haven’t being told by an optometrist yet, but my DNA results showed that I have a tendency to develop macular degeneration.
And one of the things that are recommended is to use the minimum of sun glasses due that sun light helps our retina to re-generate itself and help with this condition. Now, I guess they still are needed when the sunlight it’s really strong.

 

[Beau]

Now, I guess they still are needed when the sunlight it’s really strong.

I know for me I have to be careful with the sun because of having blue eyes. I rarely wear sunglasses, unless there's a beach or a boat involved. My eyes are forever squinting outside!