![Blue light from screens can make people blind](https://img.passeportsante.net/1000x526/2018-08-27/i86071-.jpeg)
Tuesday August 14, 2018.
American researchers have proven that blue light from screens irreversibly damages the eyes and could ultimately lead to blindness.
Blue light could cause blindness
As we already knew, the blue light from the various screens of phones, televisions and other tablets is not sleep’s best friend. Neither does it do any good in our eyes and even less in those of children. But a new study, carried out by researchers at the University of Toledo in the United States, shows that blue light could also eventually cause blindness.
Scientists have thus demonstrated that this light accelerates the degeneration of the eyeball and destroys cells permanently. However, age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is, as its name suggests, rather found in the elderly.
Create eye drops to avoid irreversible damage
These researchers, whose work has been published in the journal Nature, have identified a process that can be summarized as follows: we detect light thanks to photoreceptors located in the retina. These work thanks to a molecule called “retinal.” “And when the latter is exposed to blue light from screens, it becomes toxic and destroys photoreceptor cells. If the damage is irreversible, it is because the photoreceptors do not regenerate.
But this work also gives reason for hope since the team has also identified a protective molecule, alpha tocopherol, an antioxidant derived from vitamin E, produced by the body to prevent the toxic reaction of the retinal. If the treatment is not yet developed, researchers hope to develop eye drops based on this antioxidant as quickly as possible. Everyone can limit the risks and damage at their own level: not looking at a screen in the dark or wearing sunglasses that can filter both UV rays and blue light.
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