Glasses with blue light blocking coating

[Justin S.]

I am getting ready to order a new pair of glasses. The optician is asking if I want the lenses to have a coating that blocks blue light. Some people believe blue light can damage your eyes, and others believe blue light emitted from electronic devices can cause insomnia. These are important considerations, but I am wondering how that coating might affect my perception of colors. Naturally, that is very important to me. Has anyone on this forum had any experience with a blue light blocking coating on their glasses?

[Jennifer D.]

This is a wonderful question. I have no experience with these type of lenses. However, I would personally go with a "best of both worlds" option. The light blocking lenses for normal use, a pair of "cheaters" or back-up glasses to use while quilting. I say this as quilting is my hobby, not my job and less than 10% of my time (if I'm lucky) on weekends is spent creating/quilting. If you rely on color perception for a substantial portion of your day then I would probably forgo the special filter. Hope my humble opinion helps

[Jennifer D.]

Glasses are expensive for me so I don't know if I can afford two pairs, but I want to do what is best for my eyes' health. That being said, research does not seem to be conclusive regarding damage from blue light. I certainly don't want to spend the next two to three years until I would again get new glasses viewing my fabrics through lenses that distort colors... so I am not sure what to do. Perhaps this type of coating on the lenses that blocks blue light does not actually affect the way fabric looks? But I certainly do wonder about it.

[Judith A.]

My eyeglass shop has samples of various types of lenses set up on display.
Perhaps you could explain your concerns to the staff who sell the blue light-blocking eyeglasses, and ask them if they have a sample lens you can look through.
If they have a sample lens or if they can get a sample, then you could bring in a color chart, and/or some fabrics in various colors, and do your own test to see if the blue-light blocking glasses alter the colors.
I hope you find a solution that works well for you.

Judy

[Jennifer D.]

Sorry, perhaps I should clarify. In my neck of the woods "cheaters" are what we call cheap $10 dollar glasses that can be purchased at a drug store (Walgreens or CVS should you have those chains in your area). Glasses that are strong enough to allow one to read large print and perform simple tasks (such as identifying colors in your case) but inexpensive enough that you can toss them into a purse or car without worry that you will loose or damage them as they are easily replaced. The "good glasses" are for reading a book, at work or with close tasks. So I would be the "good glasses" for the majority of my use, and bring out the "cheaters" when deciding on colors....but that being said I very much like Judy's idea of trying a pair out to see if it even made a difference!