Ultraviolet rays, belonging to non-visible light, and blue light, belonging to the visible spectrum, present risks for the human eye that should be well known in order to better protect against them. This article explains the mechanisms of phototoxicity of this radiation and describes the various ocular disorders and pathologies that they can induce.

As early as Antiquity, Socrates describes the deleterious effect of direct or reflected observation of the Sun. There is a narrow border with age between the photo-transduction at the origin of the phenomena of vision and the pathology linked to the excess of photons, which can expose the eye to toxicity either acutely or cumulatively throughout life by overexposure factors, all the more so as life expectancy increases.

The retina, which is part of the posterior part of the eye, is exposed to residual radiation (little ultraviolet but essentially blue light with a risk of macular aging and the development of maculopathies, including age-related macular degeneration [AMD]).