You might be getting some UV exposure long after the sun goes down — some new fluorescent light bulbs give off UV light.
Fluorescent light bulbs are everywhere now that people are trying to be more green. Most popular are the ice-cream-twist compact fluorescent bulbs called CFBs. CFBs create light by energizing a gas and exciting a phosphorous coating on their glass. The coating prevents most of the ultraviolet light from reaching you, but not entirely; some UV radiation leaks out of any fluorescent bulb. In some CFBs, the emission of UV light is so high that it exceeds the safety limits of the International Commission of Non-Iodizing Radiation.
So, should you be applying sunscreen before turning on your CFB reading light at night? No. Nor should you switch your CFBs back to energy wasting incandescent bulbs. The amount of UV exposure that you get from the light bulb is small compared to the UV exposure you get from just being outside; for most people it is not significant.
However, some people are exquisitely sensitive to ultraviolet light. Auto immune diseases such as lupus, inflammatory disease such as rosacea, and certain drugs such as HCTZ can be triggered by even small amounts of UV light from CFBs.
If you are particularly sensitive to UV, then select CFBs that have a double envelope instead of single, as it will block most of the UV light. And always stay at least one foot away when using fluorescent bulbs of any sort.
Also, remember to sit back from your TV (which my mother taught me to do when I was a kid). Of course, now with HDTVs, you get the best picture when you’re sitting a distance of 3 times the diameter of your TV. If you just bought a 60 inch HDTV, you might need to be in your neighbor’s living room to watch it. This, fortunately, should be safely away from any radiation.
Photo: Steven Fernandez (flickr)
Related posts:
- UV Light for Acrylic Nails Might Cause Skin Cancer “It’s like a mini tanning bed for your fingers....
- LED Light Treatment Provides SPF 15 Skin Protection With all the hype about sunscreens lately, wouldn’t it be...
- Does Sun Exposure Cause Melanoma? Sun causes melanoma skin cancer. Sun protects you against melanoma...
Uncategorized 
Personally I think fluorescent bulbs give off horrible light and give me headaches. I will never give up my old-fashioned light bulbs.
I agree with Kevin, there’s just something weird about fluorescent bulbs, they do not feel quite right to me
Just found your blog, and all I can say is that you’ll be seeing more of me!
Cheers!
[...] DermBlog-Fluorescent Light Bulbs and UV Exposure [...]
Actually you SHOULD switch back to the energy wasters because in the long term those ones are BETTER for the environment! The “energy efficient” ones are long term BAD for the environment. If you break one you have to evacuate your home. What’s inside is hazardous waste.
Just recently over in England every single worker at a factory that had replaced all their bulbs with the “safer” ones all ended up getting mercury poisoning – FROM THE BULBS!
Trust me, the old fashion energy wasters are WAY “greener” then these curly lightbulbs of death!
Environmentalists have lied to us over and over again.
When will we stop listening?
They make new fluorescent bulbs that give off a more incandescent look.
I agree with Kevin.Fluorescent Light bulbs are more efficient, where as it consumes more power.It is a strain reading under the fluorescent light bulbs, So it is better to choose Normal bulbs which we are currently using.Thanks for sharing this information.
I use the curlies for the bedroom cuz the ceiling is 9 feet up and I don’t have a ladder. I’d rather deal with them than deal with a cracked open brain…but then the lamp shade is a half inch thick and frosted, take that UV! I get a very old fashioned yellow light. Another trick is sticking a curly bulb inside a Chinese cloth globe lamp. You can choose what kind of light you want. I do save $$ because I need to run the lights, very little natural light reaches my bedroom.
I’m thrilled to see so much discussion about energy efficiency, whatever the opinion. As an energy-efficient lighting vendor I’ve found the best method of increasing awareness is simply informing my consumers about the latest products. The fact is that when they purchase energy efficient CFL or LED light bulbs they do see the savings on their energy bills. There is a lot of discussion about government mandates and whatnot; while this does benefit my business, I think simply selling the newer bulbs on their own merit is the best way to go.
End the fluorescent headaches out there. My girl friend had that problem for years. Turns out switching to LED tube lights did the trick in her office. She told he boss and within 3 months they made the switch. The crazy thing is they cut their lighting electric bill in half too. I didn’t know it at the time but they now offer LED in the U-Shape bulbs that bend around. They call them U-Tube LED bulbs. I guess anywhere can use them now.
what about fluorescent light?
How about led bulbs and tubes?Although expensive LED bulbs can produce light that is comparable to incandescent.
LED (Light Emitting Diode) last longer that compact fluorescents, they use less energy than traditional bulbs and potentially, compact fluorescents. LED lights are made in all sizes and shapes. LEDs do not contain mercury so their disposal is not a problem.
An article in the New York Times quotes Charles F. Jerabek, the president and chief executive of Osram Sylvania, a unit of Siemans as stating “In the US 78 percent of the public is completely unaware that traditional light bulbs will be phased out in 2012.”
Amanda makes good points about LED lights–they don’t flicker or hum and they don’t contain the chemicals associated with fluorescent lights. However, Jami is also right. Inexpensive LEDs will be put in a landfill more often than incandescents (not exactly a “green” solution)-and other LEDs don’t produce that much light (why bother replacing your lights only to work in the dark-that’s stupid environmental technology). Even worse, there are expensive LEDs out there that change color temperatures, which can be as bad a flickering for headaches.
Xander is right–eventually switching to LEDs will be the smart move, but there are a lot of impostor companies selling today. I help consult businesses about smart LED lighting. If you have any questions, feel free to drop me a line anytime at andrew@cumminggroup.com
Pretty good. I like your post
@William
If you have trouble reading by flourescent, just put the incandescent
bulb where you usually read. The rest of your house can have the curly
bulbs. 80% of our house is curly bulbs saving at least 50% on our
electrice bill.
Apparently there are now these decorative panels that you place in the fluorescent lights, and it acts as a filter from that harsh lighting. i think it’s called something like Sky Panels. a lot of doctors and dentists use them because its easier on their patients eyes.