Televisions and computer monitors

Marshall ProtocolA curative medical treatment for chronic inflammatory disease. Based on the Marshall Pathogenesis. (MP) patients who are photosensitive must protect their eyes from light emitted by televisions and computer monitors. This can be accomplished by turning down the brightness controls on these devices and/or wearing NoIR or equivalent eye protection.

MP patients may also be very sensitive to “flickering” of the screen that healthy individuals cannot see. The “flickering” disappears as the patient heals.

The controls for brightness on a television screen are usually accessed from a “menu,” which is often a button on the remote control. On that menu is frequently a set of settings for “picture,” which will contain setting for brightness.

The problem with flat-panel displays is that most use fluorescent backlighting. So the spectrum presented to the eyes is about the same from both CRTs and LCDs. The key thing is to get a monitor which looks reasonably good at very low light outputs.

Flat panel displays have fluorescent tubes in them, and can put out significant blue light. There is usually a setting called “Color Temperature” on modern monitors. The lower you set it, for example 3500 degrees, the more blue light is attenuated. This doesn't totally fix the problem, but is a help.

Trevor Marshall, PhD

Some computer monitors have controls on the front which allow the user to adjust the brightness. MP patients may have to consult the documentation for the device for specific instructions on how to adjust screen brightness.

How to set a Windows computer screen to show dark background with white print:

1. Click on the Start button at lower left hand corner of computer.
2. Click on Control Panel.
3. Click Accessibility Options.
4. Click Display tab.
5. Check Use High Contrast checkbox.
6. Click on Settings and check High Contrast Black checkbox (or on the large or extra large for larger print). Click OK.
7. Click Apply.
8. Click OK.

The following are computer applications that enable Macintosh computer users to better control screen brightness.

• Shades – allows one to override a computer's lowest brightness setting; particularly useful for newer models, which can be very bright
• Nocturne – allows one to invert and colorize the colors on a screen; useful when a lot of the applications and web pages one uses have bright white backgrounds
• Doodim – allows one to dim the background behind an application

The following is a computer application that controls screen brightness per your selected settings.

• f.lux – f.lux allows you to use settings that change the color of the lighting on your computer screen. You can adjust it to only use the evening color scheme. This may even help with sleep.¹⁾