I spent too long under grow lights without full spectrum glasses once and I can vividly remember having an intense headache and a few spots in front of my eyes. There was also quite a bit of dizziness involved, but I was fine within an hour or so, so I just put it down to experience and forgot about it.
This happened a few more times and whilst it was a bit irritating, I didn’t think too much of it, until I realised that there was a cumulative effect that had a much more permanent impact on my vision. It started with a blurring of my immediate vision and after I visited the doctor, I was told that it was a touch of macular degeneration.
It was a bit shocking to find out, as this kind of problem – I later found out – usually only affects people in their 50s and over and I was only in my early 30s. It was at this point that I realised what had caused it and what frustrates me the most is that it could have been easily avoided.
Full Spectrum Glasses Provide Sufficient Protection
Fundamentally speaking, not wearing the appropriate full spectrum glasses when under the very specialised lights that are used in grow rooms harms your eyes – as it has for me. The problem is that by the time you notice a change in your vision, it’s usually too late to do anything about it – as the damage has already been done. Cataracts are another major eye problem that can be caused in this way.
We’re told from an early age not to look directly into the sun for this very reason, but the light that comes out of certain grow lights is almost the same and can lead to permanent damage to the retina, which apparently takes just a couple of minutes to start happening.
Of course, no one actually spends time staring right into grow lights, so you’re not going to find too many people damaging their eyes in this way quickly. The issue comes when you spend prolonged amounts of time in this type of environment without the right protective gear on.
Grow lights emit scattered UV light, so it’s not always necessary to look directly into them to suffer with eye damage as a result. Spend long enough in this type of scenario and this indirect, scattered light can have a long-lasting impact on your sight.
Don’t Needlessly Suffer Like I Have
The fact is if you don’t protect yourself when working for long periods in a grow room, you’ll pay a much bigger price than you expect to and this is something that I know all too well. Full spectrum glasses are affordable and very necessary in this kind of environment and this minimal cost is one that we would all pay for long term eye health.
It might not seem that important to some, but that’s only because they aren’t fully aware of the ramifications of not wearing the right gear. I think it really is that simple.