Seeing Floaters From Red Light

[Sugar Ray 2]

I have been using the 25W ABI grower red light for the past month, and have shone the light on my face from 6" away for no more than 2 minutes on a daily basis. I started seeing floaters whilst the light was on my face about last week, and today I'm seeing them almost all day long. Anyone else experience this?

It seems to me that administering red light to oneself maybe dangerous, and it's worth spending money to get it done by a qualified practitioner, if such people even exist.

 

[xeliex]

Hey there, I noticed something similar to your experience in the past, but I am not sure if it's related directly to red light or to the simple process of aging and the cumulative damage from polyunsaturated fats.

I now try to avoid exposure to the face when I used red light.

 

[shepherdgirl]

Sometimes small floaters are barely noticeable unless you are looking at a light-colored wall or there is light illuminating them. Could it be possible that you never noticed them until you saw them in the light?

 

[Constatine]

Powerful red-infrared lights can be quite harmful when not properly dosed. And its really hard to dose properly. The optimal dose for a tissue is around 1 J/cm^2 and 10 J/cm^2 is about where the effects become harmful. But if the power density is too high even 1 J/cm^2 can be too much. A lot of people on this forum are dosing their tissues (and especially outer tissues like the skin or eyes) with doses over 100 J/cm^2. That can do a lot of damage. I think its better to just get sunlight as the infrared in sunlight is balanced by shorter wavelengths which protect the surface tissues while the deeper tissues still receive only modest and healthy doses as obviously less light reaches the deeper tissues.

 

[Soren]

Like many things that are good for you it is possible to overdo it. You have to be sure to calculate the dose correctly. However I would say there is a lot of research that shows the benefit of red light and eye sight. Just be careful not to overdo it and visible red light is probably safer than near-infrared.

 

[Sugar Ray 2]

I had only ever seen them a few times in my entire life, usually when I was on the beach on a really sunny day. After having experienced it again from the redlight, I now see it almost daily. I was only ever using it for less than 2 minutes daily or EOD and a time duration under a month.

 

[shepherdgirl]

I had only ever seen them a few times in my entire life, usually when I was on the beach on a really sunny day. After having experienced it again from the redlight, I now see it almost daily. I was only ever using it for less than 2 minutes daily or EOD and a time duration under a month.

Are you seeing a lot of different floaters, or are you seeing the same floater bouncing around? How many do you see? Do you see them when you are doing various activities, or only in the light or looking at the sky or a wall? If you are seeing a lot of floaters i would urge you to get checked by a doctor - this is also a symptom of retinal detachment so to be on the safe side get it checked.

 

[Kyle Bigman]

@Sugar Ray 2 Any updates on your floater status? I used red light on my face as well and now have lots of floaters. I am wondering if you have experienced any benefit/worsening.

 

[Makrosky]

Powerful red-infrared lights can be quite harmful when not properly dosed. And its really hard to dose properly. The optimal dose for a tissue is around 1 J/cm^2 and 10 J/cm^2 is about where the effects become harmful. But if the power density is too high even 1 J/cm^2 can be too much. A lot of people on this forum are dosing their tissues (and especially outer tissues like the skin or eyes) with doses over 100 J/cm^2. That can do a lot of damage. I think its better to just get sunlight as the infrared in sunlight is balanced by shorter wavelengths which protect the surface tissues while the deeper tissues still receive only modest and healthy doses as obviously less light reaches the deeper tissues.

+1
People underestimate the possible dangers of excess redlight. Where excess can be simply a few more minutes too close to sensitive areas. Every time I read someone using it on eyes or testes... OMG. People is going to hurt themselves really bad. And users like Daniel should stop advocating its indiscriminated use to everyone. It is quite easy to do it incorrectly and get harmed.

 

[Kyle Bigman]

+1
People underestimate the possible dangers of excess redlight. Where excess can be simply a few more minutes too close to sensitive areas. Every time I read someone using it on eyes or testes... OMG. People is going to hurt themselves really bad. And users like Daniel should stop advocating its indiscriminated use to everyone. It is quite easy to do it incorrectly and get harmed.

The odd thing is that light therapy was specifically advocated for people with floaters. I'm not 100 percent sure that the floaters were caused by the red light. All I know is that I have lots of floaters now ––after using red light –– than prior. I am trying to see an eye doctor tomorrow to make sure there is no retinal tear or something worse.

 

[TeaRex14]

I use eye protectors with my red light device, they're really cheap and help you out in the long run.

 

[Makrosky]

The odd thing is that light therapy was specifically advocated for people with floaters. I'm not 100 percent sure that the floaters were caused by the red light. All I know is that I have lots of floaters now ––after using red light –– than prior. I am trying to see an eye doctor tomorrow to make sure there is no retinal tear or something worse.

Nah, I have floaters also and it has nothing to do with red light. Your eyes will be ok but be really careful with red light on sensitive organs (eyes, glands, etc). The studies are always done in very controlled conditions. There are some old posts in the forum about the floaters, one of them by Lindsay IIRC look for them.

 

[Callmestar]

I use eye protectors with my red light device, they're really cheap and help you out in the long run.

Not to hijack the thread but could you recommend a decent pair of eye protectors?
A simple rubber pair came with my device but the light goes straight through them and I'm sure it's making me feel unwell from looking at such bright light.

 

[Constatine]

Shining red light in the face or rather head can be one of the most dangerous places to put it. Its quite easy to overdose the tissues in your brain. "Moderate overdoses" can create brain fog and damage the tissues over time but more significant overdoses can cause what is akin to excitotoxicity. It happened to me once from red light and was a very unpleasant experience. No long term effects but it was quite terrible in the moment.

 

[TeaRex14]

Not to hijack the thread but could you recommend a decent pair of eye protectors?
A simple rubber pair came with my device but the light goes straight through them and I'm sure it's making me feel unwell from looking at such bright light.

Something like this is what I've been using. They're made out of plastic. They work fine, but can start becoming uncomfortable if worn for too long.

 

[Sugar Ray 2]

Floaters have gone since I stopped shining it at my face. The few times I did, I wore eye protectors.

The induce of acne has also led to the cessation of red light therapy for the hair.

Was hoping for good results, and even whilst using it for under a couple minutes, if that, I have experienced negative effects.

I can't speak of any positive effects, although I haven't had an itchy scalp for a while, and there is almost a craving for wanting to use it. Perhaps it is down to improving my mood?

My skin also looked immediately better (kinda like it does after a sauna but much milder) when I used infrared light (Beurer IL50) rather than red light, where I haven't seen any noticeable differences.

 

[Jib]

I avoid use on the face just because I'm paranoid about using it near my eyes. It feels too bright so I'm just gonna assume it is too bright.

Didn't know it could be so dangerous. I guess the general idea is it's a stress inducer and works like an adaptogen. So you wouldn't wanna overdo it. Might have to rethink using it on the testes, haven't been going crazy but after the couple posts here I guess I'll stop it altogether in that area. I do wonder what the line is though? Are there studies showing cellular damage from near-infrared and infrared spectrum light that could translate to wattage and proximity and time of use?

I seem to like using it on my torso the best. I'm using a 25W 660/850nm combo therapy LED. It did seem to help with a bicep tear and a strained shoulder. A few acute doses and it really seemed to help the pain and soreness quite a lot.

I've accidentally blasted myself in the eyes a couple times while I positioning the light, and it seemed way, way too intense to use on the eyes. Just my personal take. I wouldn't do it personally, as the eyes are very sensitive and I would absolutely not want to risk causing any damage to them. For me though it actually felt uncomfortable which is a major reason I would never do it, it actually hurt.