Green eyeglass can ease debilitating pain of fibromyalgia

By Pol Allingham via SWNS

Green eyeglass can ease the debilitating pain of fibromyalgia, according to a new study.

Sufferers of the long-term condition that causes pain all over the body may need fewer opioids if they start wearing special green eyeglasses for several hours a day, say scientists.

American scientists discovered certain wavelengths of green light light up brain pathways that manage pain, paving the way for an urgent treatment to reduce opioid use among chronic pain patients.

Currently there are few alternatives to opioids for patients with severe and chronic pain despite it affecting up to one in 20 people in the UK according to the NHS.

The eyeglasses tackle pain and anxiety, which share similar biological mechanisms.

Researchers noted fear of pain can exacerbate anxiety too, which often leads to increased opioid use.

“Our research found that certain wavelengths of green light stimulate the pathways in the brain that help manage pain," said study lead author Dr. Padma Gulur, of Duke University.

“There is an urgent need for additional treatments to reduce the use of opioids among patients with fibromyalgia and other types of chronic pain, and green eyeglasses could provide an easy-to-use, non-drug option.”

The researchers explained how they gave 34 fibromyalgia patients various shades of eyeglasses to wear four hours a day for two weeks.

Blue glasses were worn by 10, 12 wore clear glasses and 12 wore green.

Patients who wore green glasses were four times more likely to have reduced anxiety versus those in the other groups who didn’t experience any less anxiety.

“We found that although their pain scores remained the same, those who wore the green eyeglasses used fewer opioids, demonstrating that their pain was adequately controlled," Gulur said.

“We would recommend the green eyeglasses treatment for those with fibromyalgia and are studying patients with other chronic pain conditions to determine if it would be beneficial.”

She said the green eyeglasses were specially created to filter a specific wavelength of the green light spectrum.

Most patients who wore them reportedly said they felt better and asked to keep wearing the shades.

The findings were presented at the Anesthesiology 2022 annual meeting in Louisiana.