Roanoke City Schools to get $20,000 as part of blue light education

New research shows a certain spectrum of blue light is phototoxic and doctors are worried it could cause short term problems

ROANOKE, Va. – Roanoke City Schools is getting $20,000. It’s the only school system in Virginia getting the donation from United Healthcare.

We’re all spending more time in front of screens between working, classes, social media and video games.

But blue light may not be as safe as we think it is according to United Healthcare Chief Eye Care Officer, Dr. Scott Edmonds.

“We feel that school children are particularly at risk because the pandemic has increased their amount of screen time,” said Edmonds. “There are no long-term studies that show that blue light damages the retina.”

He says we only recently had a huge exposure to blue light but if we’re affected it wouldn’t show up until we’re much older.

“We don’t see short-term retinal damage. But we don’t see that from UV either. So we’re concerned it’s a public health issue,” said Edmonds.

Edmonds said new research shows a certain spectrum of blue light is phototoxic and are worried it could cause short-term problems like digital eyestrain and long-term disease like age-related macular degeneration.

“You can read your cell phone in the sun, and therefore you’re getting more radiation than the sun,” said Edmonds.

The healthcare company is donating $20,000 to Roanoke City Schools to use on technology or supports like blue light blocking items.

Here’s what Dr. Edmonds recommends:

  • Keep devices 30 inches away from your eyes
  • Use night mode on your phone
  • Talk to your doctor about blue light - they can rule out other issues and talk to you about the right amount of blue light blocking you need if you’re having digital eye strain

“It’s done either creating lenses that absorb the blue light, or anti-reflective coatings that reflect the way that the light. If you talk to someone with a pair of glasses, and you see a blue reflection off their lenses, they have blue light protection, that blue lights not getting in their eye, it’s getting in your eye,” said Edmonds.

A school spokesperson said the technology team is in the process of identifying how the money can be used to best support students and staff.

“Roanoke City Public Schools is grateful to United Healthcare for their support and dedication to our students. We look forward to receiving educational materials about eye health, including information about blue light and eye strain. We also thank United Healthcare for their pledge to donate $20,000 to RCPS, which will help meet the technology needs of our students and staff. These funds will help RCPS continue to ensure all our students are equipped with the tools they need to succeed.”

Roanoke schools are also getting 1,000 blue-light-filtering screen protectors as part of the donation.

You can read more about eye health and taking care of your eyes on United Healthcare’s website.


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Jenna Zibton headshot

You can see Jenna weekday mornings at the anchor desk on WSLS 10 Today from 5-7 a.m. She also leads our monthly Solutionaries Series, where we highlight the creative thinkers and doers working to make the world a better place.