Glaucopsia, or “Blue Haze,” is a transient disturbance of vision resulting from exposure to the vapor of certain industrial
chemicals, notably amines that can be found in products such as spray-on polyurethane foams. Visual effects such as halos
around bright objects, blue-grey vision, and fogging of vision typically appear within a few hours of exposure and resolve
without permanent sequelae a few hours after removal of the exposure agent, although symptoms have been known to last up to
2–3 days. Effects are due to local corneal contamination leading to epithelial edema with associated microcysts that cause
forward light scattering. The changes in vision can predispose individuals to accidents at the workplace as well as while
driving. Measures to reduce or completely prevent ocular exposures to tertiary amines include wearing the proper personal
protective equipment, avoiding wearing contact lenses that can act as reservoirs for amines, limiting exposure times, and
keeping workplaces well ventilated to reduce vapor concentrations [17, 22].
Keywords glaucopsia - tertiary amines - chemical eye injury - blue haze
There was no outside funding of any kind used for this study.