A self-media blogger was almost blinded by the "atmosphere light"? Don't turn the light too bright!

Even video bloggers have become high-risk jobs.

What would you think if I told you that the background light used by video bloggers when shooting videos could cause them to go blind? Recently, a blogger posted a video saying that he used blue ambient light when shooting videos. After shooting for a while, he felt discomfort in his right eye. After going to the hospital, he was diagnosed with macular hemorrhage in the fundus, which could cause permanent damage.

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What is macular hemorrhage? Why can a disease be revealed by simply shining a light on it? Let's analyze them one by one.

What is the macula? Why does bleeding hurt so much?

Many people may be unfamiliar with the word macula. In fact, the macula is a part of the area behind the retina of the eye. Because it is rich in lutein and looks yellower than the surrounding tissues, it is named macula. The macula is rich in cones and is the most sensitive part of the vision. It can be called the "heart of the fundus". It is mainly responsible for sensing external light, distinguishing various colors, and constructing a three-dimensional sense. Macular hemorrhage is bleeding that occurs here. Macular hemorrhage can cause the death of a large number of cones, resulting in irreversible vision loss.

Interior view | TuChong Creative

There are many causes of macular hemorrhage, the most common of which is trauma or increased intraocular pressure caused by coughing, vomiting or other physical pressure. Vascular changes secondary to systemic diseases are also potential causes of macular hemorrhage, such as diabetic retinopathy, hypertension, etc. In addition, there are also forms induced by external factors, such as long-term light exposure, laser beam irradiation, etc., which is the cause of the onset of this case. The structure of the eye focuses and condenses the light beam on the retina, and can amplify the irradiance by 5-6 times. This feature makes the retina the most vulnerable tissue in the eye. The severity of retinal damage is determined by the wavelength, exposure time, spot size, power and position.

Strong light and short light are both "weapons" that hurt your eyes

Coincidentally, a similar case has occurred abroad. While dancing in a discotheque, the patient stared at the green laser from behind the stage for a long time. The next day, his right eye showed signs of decreased vision. He went to the hospital for a checkup and was diagnosed with macular hemorrhage. But ambient lighting is not as powerful as lasers, so why does it also cause macular hemorrhage?

In fact, the atmosphere light used by the anchor is not ordinary. According to netizens, the maximum light intensity of the blue light atmosphere light used by the anchor can reach 5800lx, while the national standard of the People's Republic of China "Architectural Lighting Design Standard" stipulates that the general light intensity of a student's desk is only 300lx.

Stage lighting can also easily affect the human eye | Tuchong Creative

Blue light is low-brightness light, and brightness refers to the brightness of a color. When the power is turned on to the same level, we will feel that high-brightness light is brighter than low-brightness light. In order to maintain a brightness suitable for shooting, the anchor may have turned up the brightness of the fill light to a very high level. However, the damage caused by strong light to the retina is mainly macular burns, that is, the direct damage of strong light stimulation to the cone cells in the macular area, resulting in irreversible damage to vision. It is relatively rare for strong light to cause macular hemorrhage.

It is not just the intensity of light that can cause trouble, the color of light is also a problem. We have learned in high school physics that the shorter the wavelength of light, the higher the energy. Blue light is a short-wave, high-energy, and highly penetrating light that can penetrate the cornea, lens, and vitreous body and reach the retina and macula, the key tissues for vision at the bottom of the eye. Experiments on mice by researchers have shown that after exposing mice to toxic doses of blue light for a period of time, a large number of proteases were detected in the fundus of the mice, and a large number of rods and cones died and degenerated. Combining the above reasons, the anchor caused such a tragedy after one or two hours of exposure to high-intensity blue light.

Take care of your eyes and eat more green leafy vegetables

It’s not just this anchor. We also face many similar situations in our daily lives. Modern electronic screens are the main source of our exposure to blue light. Whether we can use electronic products healthily largely determines whether we can use our eyes healthily. So what should we do?

Mobile phones and computer screens are common sources of blue light | TuChong Creative

The most direct way is to reduce the time spent using electronic products every day, but many people have to spend a lot of time staring at computer screens every day due to work and other reasons. Then, we can use products that filter blue light, such as blue light filtering coatings or absorption-type anti-blue light glasses.

Secondly, we can supplement lutein, which can absorb blue light that enters the macula. As a strong antioxidant, it can also resist the occurrence of oxidative stress, bind to free radicals, and prevent blue light from damaging the macula. Many times, macular degeneration in the eyes of the elderly is due to aging, the deterioration of lutein in the macula, and ultimately damage to the macula.

Lutein is a type of natural carotenoid and a photosynthetic pigment. It is generally found in green leafy vegetables (such as spinach, mustard greens, lettuce, broccoli, etc.). You can supplement it by eating more vegetables. If you have special needs, you can also take lutein supplement tablets. However, the use of this medicine must follow the doctor's advice, because excessive lutein cannot be metabolized by the human body and will also cause harm to the body.

After reading this article, don’t forget to rest your eyes.

References:

1, GABRIEL COSCAS MD, GISÈLE SOUBRANE MD,PhD, FEBO, in Retinal Imaging, 20062, Miyaki, T., Kida, T., Oosuka, S. et al. Valsalva retinopathy induced by handstand: a case report. BMC Ophthalmol 20,368 (2020).

https://doi.org/10.1186/s12886-020-01638-z3, Federica Fossataro, Alfredo Pece, MariaBelotti, Eustachio Maragno, Macular hemorrhage after laser exposure and cannabinoid intake during a disco party, American Journal of Ophthalmology CaseReports, Volume 23, 2021, 101129,

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajoc.2021.101129.4, Zhihu "A self-media blogger was exposed to "ambient light" and suffered macular hemorrhage in the fundus and almost went blind. Why does the ambient light cause such great harm? How should it be used correctly?" -

https://www.zhihu.com/question/5222797805, Geiger, P., Barben, M., Grimm, C. et al. Blue light-induced retinal lesions, intraretinal vascular leakage and edemaformation in the all-cone mouse retina. Cell Death Dis 6, e1985 (2015).https://doi.org/10.1038/cddis.2015.333

Author: Xu Jiaxian, Biotechnology Major, Sun Yat-sen University

Review | Jia Changkai, deputy chief physician, Xiamen Eye Center, Xiamen University

Editor | Jiang Fan

Editor | Ding Zong

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