Yellow glasses to protect the eye

2004/11/01 Elhuyar Zientzia Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria

• Medikuntza

Who does not like to look at the blue sky, the bright sea and the reflection of the snow? Russian researchers have shown that blue light damages sight. However, they have also presented a way to deal with the problem.

The blue light radiation acts on the retina and pigmented epithelium, resulting in free radicals. These free radicals are very harmful because they destroy healthy cells and cause irreversible changes. In addition, the influence of free radicals is even more negative if they are associated with oxygen, damaging the cells essential for vision.

The eye itself has protective mechanisms against blue light. First, the lens of the eye is yellowish, eliminating most of the ultraviolet and blue waves from the visible spectrum. Behind the pupil is another natural filter, as there is a yellow spot on the retina. And the third protective structure is the pigmented epithelium. All three allow filtering most of the blue light.

However, with age these structures weaken and blue light can greatly damage retinal disease. To avoid this, Russian scientists have proposed glasses that mimic natural protection.

The glasses have amber lenses and depending on the brightness of the sun and the damage of the retina are lighter or darker. Incidentally, the glasses sharpen the view. This phenomenon is well known by professional photographers who use yellow filters to obtain accurate images.