#‘what if i tell phe we might be related and then we aren’t i can’t do that dad!’

[charlottedabookworm]

Reveal because Noctis and Phe both have an allergy to this one very specific, weirdly uncommon thing. In fact, most LC have this allergy.

His best friend isn’t always smiling or anything, but it’s still weird to walk into class and see him scowling down at a sheet of paper. Phe is the most laidback guy Noctis knows - though maybe that isn’t hard, when his competition is Gladio and Iggy who are intense on a good day - and to see him visibly frustrated rather than just shrugging it off because things happen has him pausing for a heartbeat.

Then, because this is his best friend, Noct slips into the seat beside him with a nudge of their shoulders and a: “You alright?”

“I lost my medic alert tag.”

He blinks. “Your what?” He asks stupidly, even though he knows what a medic alert tag is. Why did Phe need a medic alert tag? Why didn’t he know? Fuck he’s a bad friend what if Phe had had an accident or there had been an emergency and-

“It’s my own fault; I probably should have checked the bracelet before I went swimming in that lake with Aunt Lena but I forgot and it broke. Now I have to get a new one.”

“Makes sense,” Noct says slowly, glancing between Phe and the sheet of paper in front of him. “Is the form complicated or something?” His own tags are Citadel issued, after all, and have been for as long as he can remember. He has no idea how other people even get them.

“Nah, the thing I’m allergic to is just- complicated as anything to spell and it doesn’t even look like a real word. look at this thing, Noct!”

A piece of paper is shoved under his nose.

Noct bites back the urge to sneeze, the edge tickling at his skin, and grabs it to pull it away from his face and-

He freezes.

“Are you sure that’s what you’re allergic to?” The words taste like mud on his tongue as he stares at the complicated string of letters printed carefully on the page.

The very familiar string of letters.

Phe rolls his eyes, a grin flashing across his lips. “I know, right! It doesn’t even sound like a real thing, but apparently it’s a sedative of some kind? My dad’s allergic real bad to it so they tested me when I was a baby and ta-da!”

Huh, he thinks.

“Meds always have annoying names like that,” he says, still staring at the string of letters on the page.

If he pulled his own alert tag out from underneath his shirt, he’d see the same word, etched into the metal. It’s not that weird. It can’t be. Loads of people share allergies.

It doesn’t mean anything.

Just- Noct remembers his doctors talking about how rare being allergic to this specific medication is. So rare there’s not even any numbers on it.

He’s never even heard of anyone being allergic to it outside him and his dad, and even with them the doctors don’t think it’s a true allergy. More… their magic reacting badly to it.

“Noct?”

What are the odds of Phe and his father both being allergic to that one specific medication?

“Noct, you alright?”

A hand lands on his arm.

He blinks.

Phe stares at him, a frown on his lips, blue eyes dark with concern and-

Oh.

I need to speak to dad.

#ask #raven-6-10 #ffxv #prompto ulric au #regisson au #snippet #my fic #wrote this on my phone so i’m sorry if it gets messed up #noct just sitting here coming to the realisation that his best friend is related to him somehow #probabky through a bastard line a couple generations back? #after all phe has never shown any sign of magic #but he and his dad have to be related if they share the allergy right? #and he thinks they don’t know so he’s like okay gotta tell dad he’ll tell me what to do #‘what if i tell phe we might be related and then we aren’t i can’t do that dad!’

[kayla1993-world]

It's no secret that we're spending more time in front of screens than ever before.

Canadians say they spend almost 11 hours a day in front of them — at their desks, on their laptops and especially on their smartphones.

But after a long day at work, our eyes often start to feel dry, tired and strained, and many people are without hope for a solution.

Enter blue light filtering lenses. Optical chains say they protect our eyes from blue light transmitted from digital screens, and people are buying in.  And it turns out it's not just eye strain they want to warn us about.

A hidden camera study by CBC's Marketplace found sales people at some of Canada's largest optical chains making "sneaky" health claims about blue light from digital screens, but experts say there is no scientific proof that blue light from computer monitors and screens is harmful.

Staff at four leading chains cautioned buyers that digital screens could damage their retinas and could lead to serious eye sicknesses such as eye disease and floods. Two opticians at Hudson's Bay Optical suggested a link to cancer based on an in-store brochure given by lens manufacturer VisionEase, while Vogue Optical's website suggests blue light may raise the risk of "certain types of cancers."

Hudson's Bay Optical's Glasses Gallery later told Marketplace the pamphlet is "wrong" and will be pulled from Hudson's Bay Optical stores.

But experts in the fields of optometry and eye-related care say there's no proof that blue light from digital screens is harmful.

Dr. Rahul Khurana, a spokesperson for the American Academy of Eye-related care, said the idea of blue-light blocking is "flawed on so many levels."

"Blue light fear, harm, is really out there," said Khurana. "But there's no data to show it's truly dangerous and blocking it has not ever [been] shown to [have] any benefits."

Marketplace producers went undercover and visited multiple Hakim Optical, Vogue Optical, Hudson's Bay Optical's Glasses Gallery and LensCrafters locations in southern Ontario to see how the companies market the lenses to people.

Some dispensing opticians and salespeople told the producers that blue light from digital screens can lead to tiredness and headaches.

One optician said blue light has "very sharp rays, penetrating at the back of the eyes," while another salesperson said "it tears the eyes right out of you."

But more "serious" and even "scary-sounding" to doctor and eye specialist Dr. Sunir Garg were claims that blue light from digital devices might lead to retinal damage, age-related eye disease (AMD) and possibly cancer.

Buying blue light filtering lenses, it was suggested, might eliminate these risks.

"They're introducing this technology that blocks [the digital blue light] out," said one student optician.

"So we are not going to be seeing things like floods or eye disease, damage to your retina, things like that."

Many of these claims are also found on Vogue Optical, Hakim, and LensCrafters websites and advertising material.

Marketplace asked Garg, a spokesperson for the American Academy of Eye Care and a doctor at the Wills Eye Hospital in Philadelphia, to review the hidden camera video.

He was about worried how salespeople and opticians were "sneaky" customers with claims about how the light from screens can damage eyes. Retinal damage and eye disease are "serious" claims, Garg said, "but the blue lights from your screen is not the cause of that stuff."

"I think a lot of this is just to create fear and confusion and when people have fear and are confused, they end up spending money on things they don't need to spend money on," said Garg.

Garg's research has led him to figure out that far from benefiting customers, these lenses are mostly benefiting the companies that are selling them.

"Maybe those [blue light filtering lenses] are decisions made in different boardrooms across the country and around the world," Garg said, "but from a science view, I don't think people need to worry about this at all."

He doesn't blame the staff at these chains for spreading these claims, however.

"I can't fault them [because] I'm sure they're getting a little info sheet that says here's three talking points about blue light-blocking lenses, but it's not based on scientific data," Garg said.

"People will quote that blue light can hurt retinal cells," Garg said, "but what they're not telling you is that it's not been shown in any group of people who are using their screens."

The science into the harms from blue light is mostly done with retinal cells in a petri dish, he said, "or taking a poor mouse and and shining a blue light ray intensely into their eyeball for hours on end."

Both Khurana and Garg told Marketplace there's no research that suggests blue light filtering lenses are necessary.

Phillip Yuhas, a TA professor of optometry at Ohio State University, agrees. He said studies have shown people blink far less during computer use and that blue light filters have not shown any improved "visual comfort" for digital eye strain.

Khurana said if the problem people are having is from digital eyestrain, then blue light filters are doing nothing to deal with the core issue and "could be doing more harm than good."

But that hasn't stopped eyeglass stores from promoting them. One optician told Marketplace the blue filter lens is like an "extra shield on top of your eyes to protect your eyes from harmful rays."

The lenses can be bought with or without a prescription and range in price from $20 to more than $100.    

Global sales of the lenses reached $18 million US in 2019, according to Marketwatch.com, and are projected to go beyond $27 million US by 2024.

Staring at screens for a long time can make eyes feel dry, tired and strained, but blue light is not the person, said Garg, and buying special lenses won't fix the issue.

"What's bothering [people] isn't the blue light. It's the fact that when they're staring at their screen a lot they're not blinking as often.

"That causes the eye to dry out, [and] when your eyes become dry, they become irritated and scratchy and tired."

To deal with that, he recommends a simple fix. It's called  "the 20-20-20 rule."  Look at least 20 feet (six metres) away from your screen for 20 seconds every 20 minutes.

Blue light does wake us up and make us more alert, so too much late at night can make it hard to get to sleep. The American Academy of Eye Care recommends turning off devices or turning on blue light filters, a couple of hours before going to bed.

In the United Kingdom, claims like the ones heard in Canada by Marketplace producers aren't allowed.

Opticians and eyeglass stores risk being fined if they make unproven claims about blue light from digital devices.

In 2015, Boots Opticians were criticized and fined 400,000 pounds for making "sneaky" claims that blue light causes retinal damage.  

Dr. John O'Hagan, an optical radiation expert who works for Public Health England's (PHE) centre for radiation, chemical and conditional dangers, led a study on blue light from digital devices for the organization.

He carefully studied the amount of blue light coming from different sources including the sky, lightbulbs, mobile phones and computer screens.

"Blue light in our usual situation is not dangerous at all," O'Hagan told Marketplace.

"The main source of blue light for us is from the sky and a nice sunny day."

The PHE study found that for smartphones, laptops and digital devices, the amount of blue light gave off was less than one percent of the safe exposure level, even if stared at all day.

O'Hagan said that the light levels from a smartphone, tablet or laptop are "much below the levels that we experience outside, even in winter." We get about 30 times more blue light just by being outside, he said.

"You could stare at your phone all day long, right above the face, and the amount of blue light is not significant," O'Hagan said.

"There is no indication that blue light from your mobile or other devices is harmful."

Marketplace reached out to the four eyeglass stores visited by producers.

Hudson's Bay Optical/Glasses Gallery said Marketplace was given wrong information when it comes to cancer and disease from digital blue light and says it will be pulling all Vision Ease brochures and marketing materials immediately from all stores. It says all staff will be retrained in the coming weeks and it is "committed to providing the very best experience for our customers."

Manufacturer Vision-Ease said they "stand by their marketing materials" and say the science around blue light is "disagreeing" and "confusing" and more studies are needed.

LensCrafters said "while we train our associates on all products, including blue light and blue IQ lenses, some differences are possible in how individual associates clearly say this topic across our stores. We plan to reinforce our in-store training as the information around the possible risks of blue light grows."

Vogue Optical said "optical science changes very quickly" and "there is a high volume of continuous studies on blue light, some of which point to damaging effects on the eye." They also said they are putting a lot of work into educating staff to help educate people about what's available to buy and help them make the best choices.  

Hakim Optical says there is proof that blue light is damaging, and they "will continue to respect and support the licensed optician's responsibility to protect and educate the public with all available information and options related to their eye health care." They also said "there is no proof of harm from the blue-light filter upgrade."

Health Canada says prescription lenses are controlled through the Medical Devices Rules and the Food and Drugs Act.  

As the Food and Drugs Act "prohibits false, sneaky or dishonest advertising of a medical device, such as the promotion of claims without safety and effectiveness data," Health Canada said it will follow up with the optical chains to decide whether medical devices are being told to people or sold in Canada with unsupported health claims.

The Ontario Opticians Association told Marketplace "there is a very big number of clients who have expressed happiness with their blue light filters, in that they reduced or eliminated headaches, tiredness, eyestrain and the like."

For people who are worried about good eye health, Garg has some other suggestions — and they don't include lenses to block blue light.

"Do things like take a break occasionally, start quieting down before nighttime, eat a good diet, exercise and not smoke … all those things will help eyes way more than spending money on these blue-blocking lenses."

#charlsieagro