Are the green lights bad for you?

[HillBunny]

I've just got mt Fitbit Charge2 and realised the green lights are constantly on. I had a different Fitbit before that didn't have this feature. 

Could this constant light be bad for you? Can you turn them off? I presume it's to monitor heart rate but does it do anything else?

i'd appreciate your thoughts.

[Spark1214]

I’m getting rid of mine.  https://emfacademy.com/fitbit-emf-radiation-what-you-should-know/

[Rich_Laue]

But EMF has nothing to do with the lights. 

BTW you should also keep that phone away from the head and stay out of your car. 

Please also do not put Bluetooth headphones on the head.. Actually since a wired headphone uses EMF to produce the sound, you can stay away from them also. 

[Freddy2019]

Sorry but you are completely wrong, it has bee scientifically proven that standard lights (I assume you are referring to incandescent bulbs) is the only one that doesn't cause any sort of damage at cellular level, fluorescent light isn't as bad as LED light. The later has significant potential for causing a series of physiological changes in our bodyes including skin tumor, permanent retinal damage and sleep disturbances ( if your eyes are exposed to led lights few hours before bed time- btw if you are going to deny this please find any info contradicting that not all led lights have blue light in them)

Obviously Fitbit and other companies are making millions out of this business... imagine now that Google is buying Fitbit how much they will care about your skin cancer 10 or 20 years down the line....

[Rich_Laue]

@Freddy2019 I'm not sure where you got your information, but every test I've seen proves the exact opposite.. I have a link from the USA Health site below. You have asked me to provide, now I'm askingvyouvto provide a medical report on your stance. 

As for LED lights and eyes at night, this is a result of the color temperature of typical LED lighting at 4000 or higher, oppose to warm lights of a temperature of 3000 an below. Next time buy what they call Soft LED lights. 

Both incandescent and Florescent lights produce a fair amount of ultra violet rays and will yellow paper ( Look at the shelf labels on stores). Led lights, unless specificaly made to produce ultraviolet rays, do not give of more than a very small amount. Also LED lighting is the only type of lights that are safe with people that have Photosensitivity or Light Allergy. 

You may read the. Report yourself, but see the bold below. The results clearly show that LED household lighting is the only type of safe light availible today. 

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/23746038/

METHODS: Two hundred patients were directly exposed to a single-envelope CFL as part of their routine management. Irradiation was carried out on the inner forearm with lamps positioned at 5 cm. Skin assessments were made immediately and 24 h postirradiation.

-----cut----

One hundred and one patients were tested to emissions from a light-emitting diode (LED).

A study involving 20 healthy individuals was carried out with exposure to the single-envelope CFL.

RESULTS: Skin erythema was induced by the single-envelope CFL in the following cases: 16 of 53 chronic actinic dermatitis, seven of 52 polymorphic light eruption, five of nine solar urticaria,

• ---cut---

The LED did not induce any UVR-provoked skin responses.

CONCLUSIONS: UVR from CFLs can aggravate the skin of photosensitive and healthy individuals when situated in close proximity. Double-envelope lamps reduce this risk. LEDs offer a safer alternative light source that eliminates the risk of UVR-induced skin erythema.

[Freddy2019]

Hi thank you for posting that Pubmed article.  when I bought my first tracker I carried out an extensive research as to find out if there was any sort of  long term study in relation to exposure to the LED found in all trackers. The reason why I was so determined to get some data from reliable source - possibly meta analysis- was because I wanted to get one for my son.

To address the article you posted,

firstly they do no mention anything about incandescent filament bulbs (this is the one that uses a lot of electricity compared to CFL and LED) emitting higher levels of infrared (which are generally good for you- leds  do not emit IR

second that article doesn't say much about UV radiation and it is more about how CFL can affect normal and photosensitive individuals; there is nothing addressing the real issue about LEDs.

As I mentioned above, I did carried out an extensive research in the past but I did not keep any articles as I wasn't preparing a literature review or anything as such, it was just for personal curiosity, but just to give you an idea you may want listen what  Dr Wunsh has to say about the dangers of LED light (interview with Dr Mercola - I just checked and it is still there on youtube). 

I need to clarify that the color emitted from LED (the one you see), measured in Kelvin Colour Temperature says nothing about the quality of the light.  Even the best quality LED emit some sort of UVA; Fitbit doesn't tell you anything at all about the LED use, any data analysis?, long term study? Nope all it is known so far is that LEDs are the worst type of lighting we can use in everyday life. Don't get me wrong, I love LEDs, I am mad about LEDs... but ok lets assume that LED s trackers emitt a very very low amount of UV rays (there are different frequencies of UV), that very very low amount of radiation sits directly on your skin for about 24 hours per day.... so would I want  to have a LED light sitting directly on a child's wrist 24/7 ? no. Governments are trying to push the use of LED lighting because they are environmentally friendly and fair enough... but there are some strings attached to it and we should at least be made aware.... now I do not kknow how old you are , but I am old enough to remember how careless we were with fluorescet tube lights of any kind many years ago.... well they still do not tell you how dangerous they are if you break one!!! minuscule parts of mercury will be spread around the house.... bottom line....

Studies constantly show that

incandescent lights are bad for the environment but good for you (they can potentially promote healing

Fluorescent lights ... right in the middle

Led , good for the environment - bad for your health (opposite of promote healing - cause damage.

I really feel people should be made aware of such issue...or perhaps Fitbit (or Google - since it is buying Fitbit) should provide clear and specific info Re same

[Rich_Laue]

When i mentioned color temperature, it was in response to your mention of LED for night time use. This is totally irrelevent to the LEDs on the skin. 

You mention a child, Fitbit only has 2 trackers that are approved to be used by children and neither have the ability to track the heart rate. 

As for LEDs as not being safe, this is just nonsense unless the user never goes out in sunlight. The only problem with LEDs is that they do not give of enough ultra violet for the body to produce vitamin D. So yes if the user is never exposed to sunlight, then yes this is a problem. 

As for the article not mentioning UV rays, please reread it again, the whole point of the article is that because of the lower, almost null, amount of UV rays the LED is the only safe type of light. (i marked this in bold from the research report. 

 No link to your YouTube? 

[Freddy2019]

here it goes, please watch it carefully it's a mind opener 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mOQ2SmaDLOY&t=884s

[Rich_Laue]

What problem @konijntje 

[jBeth5]

I've been using a Charge 2 for 2 years (wearing it almost every day), and today, I noticed that the skin directly under the lights has aged differently than the skin around it (it's darker and more wrinkled). I turned off the lights today, and I'm hoping that stops it from getting worse.

[jBeth5]

Inside the app go to the user image at top left > Charge 2 > Heart Rate > Off

[Spark1214]

I knew it.  Something really didn't feel right about about those lights.  Thank you so much for sharing. I'm surprised more folks aren't talking about it. 

[dsvi]

I logged just to tell you people that the lights can't leave burn marks on your skin since they're low power and in the visible spectrum. In that manner you should be allergic to every bulb you encounter.

The thing you are alergic too is actually the metal used for the charging pins located next to the lights. Skin iritations provoked by metals and alloys is very common. 

[Rich_Laue]

That's possible @konijntje but the contacts are surgical quality stainless steel up to European standards. Not the lower USA's

[dsvi]

Surgical doesn't necessarily mean fit for all the people. Especially since that metal stays soaked in sweat, poorly cleaned soap or skin care cream for hours. The same applies for the other surrounding materials, like the ceramics/glass. Biofilms can form when the skin isn't properly exposed to the atmosphere due to the watch pressing it all the time. The lights are the least probable cause, especially since it's only one intermittently and not continuously blinking LED light and 3 non Light emitting sensors.

[dsvi]

Ok fine you are right, whatever makes you feel alive

I don't know why I still argue with people on the internet in 2020

Might want to take a look at the link posted bellow. It's about a user with a Charge 2 who solved the problem. Probably what you people called a burn, he correctly identified as a rash. 

https://medium.com/@thebakedgood/how-i-cured-my-fitbit-rash-bb8037c995ab

[dsvi]

I was sarcastic

And I might know more than complaining on forums since I've known actual people having these issues and suggested them to try covering the charging pins with tape for a few days - even though they believed the pins weren't the culprit, BUT they still tried. And then, the "light burns" magically disappeared. 

[Rich_Laue]

@dsvi the link you point to states that by covering up the Charging Pins, he was able to get rid of the rash and had nothing to do with the led's. 

He also mentioned "Laser Lights" which is incorrect. These lights contain only visible light and are not very focused. They also are the only type of light that is safe for someone that is allergic to the sun. These people also have skin that breaks out in the presence of a standard incondescent lightbulb. 

[dsvi]

Those lights are LED and low powered and emit no heat - correct here. 

If you are not alergic to visible light, you shouldn't be allergic to LED
lights either - you are right here too. Therefore, *if* you are allergic to visible light, symptoms should've
shown long before you started wearing a Fitbit.

The article I shared was from a fitbit user describing his issue as similar to multiple users here and who didn't want to believe the hype, so he looked for a real reason. The fact he/she said laser lights instead of LED is irrelevant in the end. Light bulbs also emit incandescent light, not incondescent, yet that is irrelevant too. 

Fitness trackers have been around for 8 years or more, using the same LED
technology for detecting the HR. Studies have been done before and after
the watches went into sale, to essentially prove what physics and
biophysics already knew. In every case, the LED lights didn't trigger any
response from the skin, but various materials used for the charging pins
and the strap and/or the watch bottom casing would occasionally trigger
dermatological responses in some people. 

Check the green lights section here

https://emfacademy.com/fitbit-emf-radiation-what-you-should-know/

[dsvi]

Disagreement is not aggression. It's just you feel personally attacked by
my continous refusal to acknowledge your opinions. And that is strictly
your own issue to deal with, not the moderators.

I've been replying with verifiable facts while you've been just imposing I
must acknowledge your point of view and no other, on a public discussion
board. Who exactly is aggressive here, again?

[Freddy2019]

Sorry I had to reply to your message... are you for real? Konijntje!!!! that guy is simply telling you what his findings are, he may actually be right.... also you think you know better than this guy just cause you conform with the "others" .. what research have you done? what is your educational background? did you go back and read all posts on this specific part of the forum? I put up a youtube video (there you have a doctor talking...argue what he's saying...) on this forum... was it too long for your short attention spam or was he talking too "difficult" for your IQ? cause if that is the case you may want go back and read the summary I posted...I am not being aggressive here, I am trying to help you understand... also ask yourself a few couple of questions... are cigarettes bad for you? how long did it take for governments to stop selling them? are they still selling them? Now...are these lights bad for you?.... here you should go back and watch that video....😙😘