Overhead Fluorescent Lights & Eye Problems

Most offices, businesses, warehouses and industries are lit exclusively with fluorescent lights, usually from overhead, and many homes also use them. While fluorescents are inexpensive, give good clear light and last longer than filament bulbs, they may exacerbate some eye conditions.

Fluorescents and Existing Eye Problems

• Fluorescent lighting can cause eye fatigue, strain and discomfort to people who have an eye disorder known as glaucoma, according to The Glaucoma Foundation. It can also cause eye strain and discomfort to those who may be developing cataracts or who have any type of macular degeneration.

Other Pre-Existing Eye Conditions

• In an article for the Council of Citizens with Low Vision International, Elaine Kitchel posits that the pure white light fluorescent tube lighting, unfiltered, can be a cause of strain and actual eye pain to people with existing eye disorders or eye injuries.

Flickering Fluorescents

• "Light flicker" is the term for a rapidly fluctuating or pulsing light emitted by some fluorescents, according to the Canadian Center for Occupational Health and Safety. Your eyes do not always detect light flicker, but it can affect your eyes all the same, causing eye strain, fatigue and headaches.

Computers, Fluorescents and Eye Strain

• Using Video Data Terminal (VDT) screens underneath fluorescent lighting can cause eye strain, double vision and may contribute to migraines, according to an American Optometric Association overview on VDT screens and lighting. To ease glare, the AOA advises modifying fluorescent lighting or filtering it to reduce glare.

Fluorescent Benefits

• Fluorescent lighting can actually benefit some eye conditions in the elderly who can find colors hard to differentiate, according “The Eye Digest." Fluorescent bulbs advertised as “high color,” may, according to the article, help older eyes visualize colors better in a home environment.