I want to block the UV - but not the blue

Hi all you cataracters!

I want to offer some thoughts about UV light and blue light. In aging lenses, there is a yellow pigment which protects the macular of the retina from degeneration by absorbing blue light. But in many of us, that "good" yellow pigment (3OH-kynurenine, 3OH-KY) is converted by bad enzymes (KATs) to a nasty brown substance (xanthurenic acid, XA) which modifies lens proteins so that they then absorb UV light unnaturally, leading to protein crosslinking, aggregation and cloudiness, thereby creating a nuclear cataract. In other words, it causes our lenses to self-destruct by absorbing UV light.
What started out as our friend (3-OH-KY), becomes our foe (XA).

The good news is, the nasty brown substance (XA) and its chemical relatives can be photobleached and probably broken down by blue light. The bad news is I can't just stare at blue light because that would irreversibly damage my retina. Well, I thought that, at least, I could wear eyeglasses that don't block blue light, but still block all the UV.

Many of us wear eyeglasses that either have a blue-reflecting coating or a blue-absorbing coating. I have been wearing a pair with a brownish, blue-absorbing coating for years. And I plastered all my computer monitors, even the TV, with blue light filters. But now I strongly suspect that blocking the blue light naturally present in daylight or other light sources all these years ("blue light over-kill") has caused my brunescent, nuclear cataracts to grow and become denser.

BOTTOM LINE: If there is no cataract, it seems a good idea to wear UV/blue-block eyeglasses to protect the retina from both UV and blue light, and to use a blue light filter on computers and electronic devices. But for someone with a yellow/brunescent cataract, blue-block filters may not be needed because the cataract itself is already protecting the retina from blue light. For me, the blue block is probably doing more harm than good.
So now, I hope to purchase new UV-block eyeglasses without a blue block, thus maximizing my efforts with other cataract reversal measures, such as N-acetyl carnosine or lanosterol eye drops.

The best UV block eyeglasses will have a fairly sharp cutoff at 400nm, blocking 99% of all wavelengths shorter than 400nm while still allowing all the other colors (including blue) into the eye. Also, I don't want UV-cut sunglasses which cut down most of the total visible light. They make the pupil open wide, allowing even more UV to enter the eyes from the side. UV400 block eyeglasses which cut down the total visible light by no more than 5% would be best. They are very expensive, but I hope to get a pair very soon.


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