Blue light from LCD screens on phones, TVs may be damaging your eyes

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The blue light that comes from your cellphone, tablet and TV screen could be damaging your eyes.

The longer you’re exposed to it, the higher chance you have of developing problems later in life.

Dr. Kimberly Riordan, of Florida Eye Specialists, sees it every day -- patients complaining about dry eye.

Often times, the common denominator is the blue light coming from smartphones or pretty much anything with a liquid-crystal display, or, LCD, screen.

“It can create glare so the eye has to focus harder to see so that's creating more visual strain and more eye fatigue,” said Riordan.

The condition is called computer vision syndrome.

“Short-term, it can cause symptoms like dry eye, fatigue, irritation, and even headaches,” Riordan said.

The biggest concern is what can happen in the long term.

Riordan said the blue light can penetrate all the way to the back of your eye, to the retina.

“We worry about cumulative effect of this blue light on the health of the eye, on the retina,” Riordan said.

While the long-term effects are being studied, Riordan said prolonged exposure to blue light has been known to speed up macular degeneration, a retinal disease that can lead to vision loss.

She recommends these simple steps.

“Every 20 minutes, remember to look up and away 20 feet or further for 20 seconds and give the eyes a rest. Remember to blink,” Riordan said.

Riordan also recommends making sure your computer screen isn’t above your line of sight but rather slightly below. The key is less exposure to blue light.

Cox Media Group