Using smartphone in the dark may cause permanent blindness, Dept of Thai Health warns

[mgjackson69]

Thais can't really win in the TV environment. If they stick their necks out and make an authoritative statement, they are howled down by the Thai-bashers. If they say nothing, they are castigated as bludgers.

The doctor making the assertion may have a truckload of clinical studies to support his assertion. The fact Thai Visa does not provide meaningful data is not his fault.

Many years ago, a doctor in Perth, Australia linked mesothelioma with asbestos exposure. His findings were ignored for 20 years.

The tobacco industry for decades has made an art form of ignoring the statistical link between lung cancer and smoking.

Not quite...the tobacco selectively used statistics to claim that no positive link has been proven between lung cancer and smoking.

And they were not "wrong", even though "everyone knows better".

[Chicog]

Thais can't really win in the TV environment. If they stick their necks out and make an authoritative statement, they are howled down by the Thai-bashers. If they say nothing, they are castigated as bludgers.

The doctor making the assertion may have a truckload of clinical studies to support his assertion. The fact Thai Visa does not provide meaningful data is not his fault.

Many years ago, a doctor in Perth, Australia linked mesothelioma with asbestos exposure. His findings were ignored for 20 years.

The tobacco industry for decades has made an art form of ignoring the statistical link between lung cancer and smoking.

Not quite...the tobacco selectively used statistics to claim that no positive link has been proven between lung cancer and smoking.

And they were not "wrong", even though "everyone knows better".

Fair point though.

These Thai quacks can determine that smartphones make you go blind, but they don't seem to be able to link world-leading lung cancer rates in Northern Thailand with months of continued exposure to choking smog.

[KamalaRider]

BBC or any major news agency should do a thorough report on idiots in prime positions uttering nonsense in LOS (Land of shajt)

[Morakot]

This is factually and medically incorrect, and is an example of faith-based belief rather than expertise.

Yes and no! The evidence is not conclusive, by the high standards of large-scale randomized double-blind controlled trials.

So it's neither proven nor disproven.

Edited April 30, 2016 by Morakot

[bazza40]

Thais can't really win in the TV environment. If they stick their necks out and make an authoritative statement, they are howled down by the Thai-bashers. If they say nothing, they are castigated as bludgers.

The doctor making the assertion may have a truckload of clinical studies to support his assertion. The fact Thai Visa does not provide meaningful data is not his fault.

Many years ago, a doctor in Perth, Australia linked mesothelioma with asbestos exposure. His findings were ignored for 20 years.

The tobacco industry for decades has made an art form of ignoring the statistical link between lung cancer and smoking.

Not quite...the tobacco selectively used statistics to claim that no positive link has been proven between lung cancer and smoking.

And they were not "wrong", even though "everyone knows better".

If you have a statistic which shows on the basis of a huge cohort that a smoker is 20 times more likely to die of lung cancer than a non-smoker, who gives a flying f##k about a "positive link"?

The real problem there was high-paid lawyers obfuscating correlation and causation.

Edited April 30, 2016 by bazza40

[arjunadawn]

I thought using my ______ in the dark will make me cause permanent blindness! Jeez, the list grows longer.

[KamalaRider]

This is factually and medically incorrect, and is an example of faith-based belief rather than expertise.

Yes and no! The evidence is not conclusive, by the high standards of large-scale randomized double-blind controlled trials.

So it's neither proven nor disproven.

The "doctor" in the post clearly states it's a fact and for your information, in Thailand no one need to KNOW if it's true or not, only believe for it to become a fact.

[KamalaRider]

I guess we now know how this guy got his job. It was who he knew, not want he knew. I wonder how he got his doctors degree?

By mail.

[rwill]

He accidentally left out ",on your motorbike,"

[lkv]

Is this syndrome that the doctor is describing happening only within Thailand, and does it affect farangs as well?

Please let me know asap, it's an important matter.

Edited April 30, 2016 by lkv

[mgjackson69]

Thais can't really win in the TV environment. If they stick their necks out and make an authoritative statement, they are howled down by the Thai-bashers. If they say nothing, they are castigated as bludgers.

The doctor making the assertion may have a truckload of clinical studies to support his assertion. The fact Thai Visa does not provide meaningful data is not his fault.

Many years ago, a doctor in Perth, Australia linked mesothelioma with asbestos exposure. His findings were ignored for 20 years.

The tobacco industry for decades has made an art form of ignoring the statistical link between lung cancer and smoking.

Not quite...the tobacco selectively used statistics to claim that no positive link has been proven between lung cancer and smoking.

And they were not "wrong", even though "everyone knows better".

If you have a statistic which shows on the basis of a huge cohort that a smoker is 20 times more likely to die of lung cancer than a non-smoker, who gives a flying f##k about a "positive link"?

The real problem there was high-paid lawyers obfuscating correlation and causation.

The real problem was the tobacco companies paying the lawyers to obfusticate correlation and causation.

[attrayant]

Thais can't really win in the TV environment. If they stick their necks out and make an authoritative statement, they are howled down by the Thai-bashers.

Why do you think the responses apply only to Thais? I guarantee you the responses would be in the same vein if the statement had been issued by a top Swiss, German, Brazilian or American health official. The criticism is being directed at the content of the press release; regardless of the ethnicity of the person who authored it. Stop fishing for reasons to be offended.

The doctor making the assertion may have a truckload of clinical studies to support his assertion. The fact Thai Visa does not provide meaningful data is not his fault.

Oh, playing the victim card by proxy? That's a new one. You might want to brush up on something called the burden of proof. If alleged health official makes a statement that goes against not only the conventional wisdom, but the prevailing scientific consensus, it's up to him or her to provide supporting evidence. Unusual or unlikely claims made with no supporting evidence may be dismissed without evidence. Making special pleas to historical tragedies (claiming that so-and-so was right a hundred years ago) means we need to accept ridiculous claims without evidence? Please. A former president of South Africa famously declared that HIV doesn't cause AIDS. According to your "logic" we need to give him a pass because somebody in Perth linked mesothelioma with asbestos exposure 20 years ago?

[BritManToo]

Another Thai doctor that purchased his degree.

[KamalaRider]

Thais can't really win in the TV environment. If they stick their necks out and make an authoritative statement, they are howled down by the Thai-bashers.

Why do you think the responses apply only to Thais? I guarantee you the responses would be in the same vein if the statement had been issued by a top Swiss, German, Brazilian or American health official. The criticism is being directed at the content of the press release; regardless of the ethnicity of the person who authored it. Stop fishing for reasons to be offended.

The doctor making the assertion may have a truckload of clinical studies to support his assertion. The fact Thai Visa does not provide meaningful data is not his fault.

Oh, playing the victim card by proxy? That's a new one. You might want to brush up on something called the burden of proof. If alleged health official makes a statement that goes against not only the conventional wisdom, but the prevailing scientific consensus, it's up to him or her to provide supporting evidence. Unusual or unlikely claims made with no supporting evidence may be dismissed without evidence. Making special pleas to historical tragedies (claiming that so-and-so was right a hundred years ago) means we need to accept ridiculous claims without evidence? Please. A former president of South Africa famously declared that HIV doesn't cause AIDS. According to your "logic" we need to give him a pass because somebody in Perth linked mesothelioma with asbestos exposure 20 years ago?

[jerojero]

Yes this is true for Thai's. Just like the Thai cure for Ebola. Why is is do difficult for Thai leaders to see facts?

[lvr181]

Yes this is true for Thai's. Just like the Thai cure for Ebola. Why is is do difficult for Thai leaders to see facts?

There are none so blind as those who do not want to see.

The only belief that I have in the "doctor's" statement is that if you are using your mobile phone in the dark while riding your motorcycle then it could cause blindness by killing you!

[VincentRJ]

I did some research on this issue, on the internet, and discovered the following comment from an expert on the subject.

"Daniel Hardiman-McCartney, clinical adviser at the College of Optometrists, says: 'It has been proven that intense exposure to blue light kills cells in the retina, and it is a perfectly reasonable possibility that it can cause macular degeneration over a period of time.

'More research is needed to prove it to the scientific standard. We need to conduct studies on a large number of people over a long period of time."

As with many issues regarding human health, there is often some uncertainty as to precise causes because of the difficulty of doing control tests on various groups of people, and because of the long time-scales involved for the tests to be meaningful, and because of the numerous other factors of individual behaviour and genetic make-up that can affect the results and often cannot be controlled.

The key words in the article are 'may' (as in may cause permanent blindness), and 'could' (as in could risk to suffer permanent blindness).

What does appear to be proven is that intense exposure to blue light kills cells in the retina. Whether or not the blue light from an iPhone used in the dark is sufficiently intense to cause actual blindness, eventually, cannot be proved because of the numerous other factors involved. However, it is likely to be a contributing factor for someone whose lifestyle and genetic disposition makes him/her particularly vulnerable to the processes of macular degeneration.

[MaiChai]

Maybe you could offset the effect by eating a couple of carrots while operating your phone in the dark?

Edited May 1, 2016 by MaiChai

[dcnx]

Now imagine how incompetent everyone else is at their job here, because the majority of "professionals" are equally inept at their profession, if not worse. You usually get what you pay for. If you find someone who does know their craft, praise them.

[SABloke]

BS I always use my phone before going to bed and never had figifnejksb djdjs djfjfin d dvkjgkfd sjskkfkg fkckkodps

[VincentRJ]

BS I always use my phone before going to bed and never had figifnejksb djdjs djfjfin d dvkjgkfd sjskkfkg fkckkodps

You'll have to wait a few years, or even decades depending on your current age, before the effects take place. When or if they do take place, you will probably never know how much the result of your blindness (or significantly degraded eyesight) is due to spending so much time peering at your iPhone in the dark, because you won't be able to relive your life doing everything the same, but without using the iPhone in the dark.

However, if you happen to have an identical twin brother or sister who has led the same sort of lifestyle, doing similar amounts of exercise, and eating the same sorts of food, but who rarely uses an iPhone in the dark, and who doesn't develop eye problems, then that could be a strong hint that your eye problems were caused by spending too much time peering at your iPhone in the dark.

[tuanku]

Another myth is that masturbation makes you go blind (that doesn't stop people doing it either)

[phoenixdoglover]

This is a case of the blind leading the might-go-blind.

[KIWIBATCH]

Is that the same guy, who was fighting hangovers with a glass of warm water?

...yep same guy...who also said a year or so back that "playing soccer reduces the desire to have sex"....

[attrayant]

I did some research on this issue, on the internet, and discovered the following comment from an expert on the subject.

That's so cute.

[partington]

This "research" unfortunately comes from disreputable alternative medicine sites relying on reported statements from "experts" that are twisted and partial, or on experts who don't actually have expertise, and not on published science.

This particular "research" seems to originate from sites like 'Natural News" whose function is as a marketing vehicle for selling nostrums, later picked up by even more untrustworthy and disreputable organs like The Daily Mail.

If you get health information from brightly coloured websites and not scientific research you will of course believe rubbish like the original post statement, but there is no common sense in doing so.

One of the pages I found this ridiculous "research" on was selling blue filters to guard against this non-existent danger!

[Chicog]

Another myth is that masturbation makes you go blind (that doesn't stop people doing it either)

My dad caught me at it in my room once. He said "Son if you keep doing that, you'll go blind".

I said "Dad, I'm over here".

[12DrinkMore]

Yes this is true for Thai's. Just like the Thai cure for Ebola. Why is is do difficult for Thai leaders to see facts?

Facts are inconvenient as is evidence.

[12DrinkMore]

Well really, this is amazing.

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/914214-cdc-concerned-over-peoples-lack-of-understanding-about-education/

Mr. Chatchai went on to say that the CDC has been worried that the people may still lack sufficient knowledge about public health and education because distorted information is still circulating in the country.

He can start at the top, from the OP.

Smartphone users are advised not to use their phones to text friends or to surf the Internet in the dark as they could risk to suffer permanent blindness.

This was what Dr Vajira Phengchan, director-general of the Department of Health warned.

Surely they must know each other?

If not, they should get together and have a pow-wow. But unfortunately the biggest hindrance to progress, "Saving the Face", will strike. Dr Phengchan will be certainly not be able to retract his statement. Not ever.

[CantSpell]

When I was young, my mommy told me that masturbating will cause blindness. Who to believe?

Both but then this brings up a scary question.....

Could one become double blind doing just that while watching porn on the phone in the dark?

or would the double blind actually result in a nil??

Maybe he should form a committee