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The head of a California medical company says he has developed the technology to turn your pretty brown eyes into deep baby blues, like Elijah Wood's.
Gregg Homer, PhD, of Stroma Medical Corporation in Laguna Beach, Calif., says this is possible because everybody has blue eyes already. You just can’t see them.
“Anyone who has brown eyes has blue eyes underneath,” he says, “and it’s covered by a thin layer of pigment. We’ve developed a laser that can be fired straight through the clear part of the eye, the cornea, and it disrupts the pigment so it initiates a process in the body that digests the pigment and it removes it from the eye.”
The procedure can be done in only about 20 seconds while a person sits down, stares into a tiny animated screen while the other eye is covered. When the alternate eye looks into the animated screen, the process is complete.
The eyes don’t turn blue instantly, though. In fact, they get darker for the first week. They begin turning blue in two weeks, and within four weeks, both eyes are blue.
Homer, Chairman of the Board and Chief Medical Officer of the company, says since he was recently interviewed on a Los Angeles television station, he’s gotten nearly 3,000 requests for the procedure.
But people who want it will have to remain patient, because it won’t be available in the United States for about another three years, and about 18 months in Europe and other parts of the world. It’s expected to cost about $5,000.
“I’m incredibly excited about it,” Homer says. “I have light eyes and I think brown eyes are just as beautiful as blue eyes. But I started doing this because I thought it was a cool technology and I thought it would be nice for people to have a choice. I’m glad other people think it’s cool, too.”
Once you turn your brown eyes blue, you can’t change them back, Homer says.
Scientists from the University of Copenhagen reported that originally, we all had brown eyes until a gene mutation occurring between 6,000 and 10,000 years ago led to blue eyes.
“It’s true that brown eyes are covering up blue eyes underneath,” says Dr. Brian S. Boxer Wachler, an ophthalmologist and director of the Boxer Wachler Vision Institute in Beverly Hills, Calif. “It’s an intriguing concept, but what I’m not sure about is the safety and that’s the big question mark on this technology.”
Boxer Wachler says that cases of eye trauma and inflammation also can disrupt pigment on the iris and cause patches of blue to show through. He says before he would use it, he would have to see studies to show it doesn’t cause increased chances of glaucoma or cataracts because of damage to the eyes’ natural lenses.
If it really works and is safe, Boxer Wachler believes -- judging from the hundreds of people pay $7,000 for an eye-brightening procedure he pioneered -- there will be lots of takers.
“They’re already getting their teeth whitened and if this procedure works, we’ll have the irises lightened in the color of the eyes. We are moving in this direction of changing the appearance of the eyes.”
Related:
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- The truth behind eye boogers (ew)
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eye_color
Medical implications
Those with lighter iris color have been found to have a higher prevalence of age-related macular degeneration (ARMD) than those with darker iris color;[58] lighter eye color is also associated with an increased risk of ARMD progression.[65] An increased risk of uveal melanoma has been found in those with blue, green or gray iris color.[49][52] However, a study in 2000 suggests that people with dark brown eyes are at increased risk of developing cataracts and therefore should protect their eyes from direct exposure to sunlight.[66]
These correlations associated with lighter iris color would apply to you if you had them lightened.
Macular degeneration has been attributed to environment, diet, genetics and, even smoking. To say that only someone with blue iris is more at risk is putting too much faith in what is written in Wikipedia.
AB never said blue eyes were the only risk factor. Just that it is one.
But you're confusing correlation with causation. That is, you are saying that the physical lack of pigment in the iris is what is connected to ARMD when it might be another factor. That is, the biological factors that cause you to not have pigment in your iris might be the underlying factor leading to ARMD, not the lack of pigment itself.
For example, we might say that those who have very large feet have a higher prevalence of hitting their heads on the ceiling. It isn't that having large feet causes you to shove your head into the rafters. Instead, there is another factor: Being tall. If you're tall, you tend to have large feet and your head is closer to the ceiling such that you're more likely to hit your head on it.
The same biological factors that lead to brown eyes may provide a protection against ARMD (I'm not saying they do...this is just to point out that there is more going on here.) Removing the pigment from the iris wouldn't change that.
No they wouldn't.
Jules-3900699, read the respective references, ahole.
Bilal-19, yes, sbag, they would. Lighter eyes and skin are more sensitive to strong light, and more easily damaged by it. It's no f'ing surprise that the further away you get from the equator, assuming you live in a non-desert area, the lighter are people's eyes and skin. But don't let me stop you from getting your eye color changed - we all know how insecure people like you are.
Crystal Gayle sang of this.
I remember that song, "doughnuts make my brown eyes blue."
Correlation, as I think you know, is not causation, so you can't make this claim.
Hitler would have creamed his jeans for this technology. :) To me whatever the color of you eyes, its part of who you are. If the color of a persons eyes would make them insecure because they are not blue, they got issues.
Hahaha, Sirlafalot and dirtydog200! A vote up each for the humor!
Okay, good laugh, now I'll say this......I'm keeping my brown eyes because my husband likes them. He says it's one of the reasons he maried me.
I'll leave the insults to the children. Now, on topic, you're discounting the fact that the recipient of the procedure will have lived a quarter or half or more of his life with protective pigmentation in his eyes.
And you're discounting the fact that you're making a positive assertion for which you can't possibly have proof. Precisely because no one has 1. had the procedure, or 2. lived long enough after the procedure to show evidence of these degenerative conditions.
Oh, and you're confusing correlation with causation... Echo-cho-cho-cho...
Insult me more; I don't think you've quite proven your mental age yet.
Bilal-19, fortunately we've suckers like you to do the procedure and establish the probabilities for us. Until we do, it's a matter of understanding worst-case cost vs benefit. A lot of us here can spew axioms, but have no understanding of utility (costs). Utility is the emotion pleading to be let into the house of pure reason and thereby enriching it (DVL). Finally, I will restate that we already know pigment is protective.
Yes, pigment is protective, and I've got plenty of it, with no plans to give any back.
And still, you've not refuted any of my (or others') points; in case you thought otherwise, your point about pigment doesn't accomplish that. So I'll take your continued stabs as an admission of the fact that you have no evidence to back up your assertion.
You're making this too easy. Try again.
Just get colored contacts. I just can't imagine permanently changing eye color. I have very clear green eyes with a dark green ring around them which makes them unique and would not even consider this option. Both of my sons inherited by green eyes. Both of my sisters and mother have very dark brown eyes, and I couldn't imagine any of them with any other color. Brown eyes are just as beautiful as green or even blue eyes for that matter. I think our eyes are what make each of us unique, more than any other feature.
If you have dark eyes, colored contacts never quite work - I've been looking for years to find natural looking blue (and green, and grey) contacts, but with dark brown eyes they either are too translucent and barely show, or are too opaque and make eyes look unnaturally flat instead of the deep reflective color of real eyes.
Surgery would be tempting, but I don't think I'd risk it - I like my hazel-gold eyes, I just get bored with them. Now if they could come up with something temporary like hair dye I would be all over that.
Two aliens are orbiting earth.
1st Alien: This species has developed the technology to alter the color of their eyes.
2nd Alien: Is this an emerging intelligence?
1st Alien: I would have to conclude not.
2nd Alien: Why do you say that?
1st Alien: They're actually doing it.
That is very funny! You made my day.
I don't get it.
The same aliens land at a gas station and walk up to a gas pump and say, "Take us to your leader." Of course the gas pump doesn't reply. The other alien gives it a try, "We said, take us to your leader." Still no answer. They get back on board their spaceship to leave and one says to the other; "Earthlings aren't very friendly but DAMN are they hung!"
HAHAHAHAHA!! Good one!!
We can't cure cancer but we can turn your brown eyes blue.
I know this is elective and cosmetic, but...5 thousand dollars for a proceedure that takes 40 seconds?
And we wonder why healthcare is out of reach for many people. How do they justify this kind of bill for sitting you in a chair to stare at a screen for 40 seconds?
This is the kind of useless crap that gets concentrated on in a system focused on money and profit and not actual "care".
jim: This is 'elective' surgery like plastic surgery, it wouldn't be something covered under a healthplan. You're comparing apples to oranges. This isn't healthcare.
Also - you aren't paying $5000 for a procedure that takes 40 seconds, you're paying $5000 for years of research and development that created that procedure that takes 40 seconds. All that R&D takes money, and the investors who provide that money want to see returns on their investment.
Then we should be paying $100 for a bottle of Shout. "Hey moms, don't pout. Shout it out." And even more than that for Febreeze fart neutralizer! Now that's science.
Mengele tried to do this to kids back in the Holocaust.
What's the goal here?
Maybe the same as Mengele's, a bunch of racists trying to perfect their Master Race????? Just doing it a little more subtle, no WAFFEN SS or Brownshirts to make it obvious.
There's a Huge Difference between what that TURD MENGELE did, and what is being done here.Nobody is looking for a Master Race with Blue Eyes,here.
IT'S ALL PURELY COSMETIC KIDDIES!
Ja! SO you THINK mein frauline. Are you saying that Blue eyes are preferred to Brown eyes? Why would that be?
I think it's funny that when two people who have nose jobs, eye coloring, breast implants, calf implants, and bleached hair are shocked when they have kids they look nothing like them
Okay, that is hilarious. Reminds me of a true story about a wealthy Japanese businessman who divorced his wife because their first born was "very homely" and "looked nothing like me or my wife."
JULES: Did this take place before or after blood typing to determine parentage became known? Even if before, though he could not have proved or disproved parentage, the child could still not resemble either parent. He could have been what used to be known as a throwback. Inheriting from an ancestor. The courts, Japanese or American (You didn't specify.) Should not have allowed it.
LOL Steve, yup and they sit there and talk to you about how "real" they are! Really? Full of fake body parts uneccessarily, but you're "real" hahahaha ok! Pffft!
The wife always told me if we have twins, that the white one would definitely be mine.
Whoa.
Why, oh why, does everybody need to be "fixed" and "improved" these days? Let's stop with ridiculous junk like this and start teaching people to be happy with their own unique looks. The human race needs diversity, and brown eyes are just as pretty as blue. Or green. Or gray. Or hazel.
because society (probably including you) treat people with certain physical characteristics better than others.
I read an article a few years ago about the beginning of blue eyes in humans, and their conclusion was that the only reason the blue-eyed mutation survived was because it was pretty.
The only eye colors that look good on a woman are ROY G BIV.
Wow, this company should be called Boys from Brazil, Inc. I have brown eyes and love them....a nice shade of "mink".Â
Are there really people out there who would permanently change their eye color? That just sounds so totally nuts to me. What if the procedure went wrong or the final result was poor? Who would be crazy enough to take that risk? I would never let my EYE be operated on unless it was absolutely necessary. Finally, I personally have blue eyes but I don't see what is wrong with having brown eyes.
How does what another person does affect you? I'll wait...it doesn't, so why don't you with your already light eyes sit down.
Eh, not for me. My husband loves my big brown eyes, and my son inherited them from me, so I'm good. :)
Save some money: be happy with the eye color you were born with.
Now, question: Will all my children be born with brown eyes, or is there a chance that my next one (I'm 9 months pregnant) will be born with my husband's blue/silver eyes? Sheer curiosity for anyone that knows more about genetics than I.
It depends on which genes you have. If you have a recessive blue eye gene (for example, if one of your parents or grandparents have blue eyes, and the other parent has brown eyes) you might have a child with blue eyes. My mom has dark brown eyes, my brother has dark brown eyes, but my dad & I have the silver-grey/blue eyes. My mom's dad had brown, her mom had blue, so my mom has a recessive (hidden) blue eyed gene that passed along to me.
Eye genetics are interesting because there are a lot of genes involved. My husband has mossy green eyes. One of our girls has my grey/blue eyes, but with some brown spots (eye freckles) and our other daughter has a dark blue ring around the outside, and light aqua in the middle.
I love, love my brothers huge, deep brown eyes. They are sparkly and intense. I could never dream of why anyone would want to get rid of their eye pigment. Blue is pretty, but I have a soft spot for warm brown eyes.
http://www.glassescrafter.com/information/genetics-of-eye-color.html
Here is an article that might explain more about eye genetics and how melanin plays a role in eye shades. All I know is that you probably won't know right away what color eyes your child will have. It usually takes a full year (and sometimes longer) before a child's eye color stays permanent.
Each person has 2 copies of the "eye color gene" (1 from mom, 1 from dad). Brown eye genes are dominant. That means if you have brown eyes, at least 1 gene is a brown one. If the other is a blue gene, and you have children w/ another person w/ at least 1 blue gene, you may have a blue eyed child. So you can have 2 brown eyed parents w/ a blue eyed child. However, 2 blue eyed parents cannot have a brown eyed child (because each parent would have 2 blue genes in order to have eyes). But if either parent has 2 brown genes, then the child cannot have blue eyes, as the child would inherit at least 1 brown gene, and thus his/her eyes would be brown.
I don't know of any way to determine if you have 1 or 2 brown genes if you have brown eyes. Maybe you could just keep having kids w/ a blue eyed person. If you only have 1 brown gene, sooner or later you should get a blue eyed child. If not, you most likely have 2 brown genes.
It's possible. My parents have green/hazel and brown/hazel, and I have a blue that kind of reminds me of old denim (I've been told they look green when I'm sleepy). My hubby has very dark brown eyes, and our boys both have brown- one a straight brown (think crayon), and the other has a hint of red, like cinnamon.
I have hazle eyes and my husband has very dark brown eyes, and our youngest son has big bright blue eyes. Doctors said he had only a 2% chance of having blue eyes. People look at us crazy though, they assume that I *must * have cheated on my husband to get a blue eyed baby lol!! But truthfully, his father has blue eyes, and my grandmother had blue eyes, my Mom has green eyes, and myself and both of my brothers have very green hazel eyes - so the recessive gene is definitely present. So, it is possible! :)
I have caramel colored eyes, and my husband's are light hazel. Only 1 of our 4 kids got my brown eyes. 2 are hazel/green, 1 brown like mine and 1 has bright sky blue eyes. No rhyme or reason!
I have blue eyes, my husband has brown eyes, my daughter has blue eyes, and my son has blue eyes. Now my daughters children my Grandchildren their father has brown eyes 2 Granddaugters have blue eyes, one Granddaughter has brown and my Grandson has brown eyes.
Our kitty has two yellow eyes and one pink one.
I was going to say the procedure sounds dangerous, may leave someone blind or something...but nevermind, they already are: Blind.
Unfortunately, my dad has had this "treatment" done to him for free as a side effect of getting shots in his eye to reduce swelling due to his diabetes. His beautiful brown eyes that I was so glad to inherit have faded into a smoky blue. At least he can still see.
There is something really creepy and wrong about this! And I have blue eyes.
What happens when they discover, a few years down the road, that this causes permanent blindness? Oops, sorry about that?
I have hazel eyes and so does my daughter. I couldn't imagine changing them and I hope my daughter never does either.
Interesting. I've had a brown spot in my eye since I was a kid. Now, I have more than one brown spot. They are still mostly blue. How did I get pigment in my eye?
Hi Tricia,
My daughter has the same thing (brown freckles in blue eyes). I have blue eyes, and my husband has green eyes. The pigment that makes eyes green (yellow/amber or brown) also can come along with a gene that makes eye color "patchy" (calico) which can lead to hazel eyes, eye freckles, etc. Also the amber color can change over time, with more exposure to sunlight, you get more pigment. My youngest daughter was born with deep, deep blue eyes with a dark blue ring around them. As she gets older, the lighter center part is getting more and more green. I imagine as my other daughter gets older she might get more eye freckles. I think they are pretty, they remind me of robin's eggs. :)
Well, thanks! I have often wondered how I was getting more of them.
I have one entirely blue eye, and one that is half brown and half blue. I'd never think of changing the brown one to all blue. I know several people with the same coloring.
I have a color which strangely very few if not only a handful of people are actually born with and its exteremly rare. They are a deep saphire blue color with a yellowish-greenish ring around the pupil (black part). They are capable of changing color on their own as at certain times they change to a unique silver, another time they change to green, another they change to the more yellowish-greenish color. I don't need this procedure. :P Its hard to know my true pigment because of these color changes.
woah... I want to see your eyes, they sound crazy cool!
So you're commenting because? The procedure is clearly for those who desire to have light eyes. Quit showing off and stating "i don't need this because i already have light eyes".
...and then the Star-bellied Sneeches wanted their stars removed.
Greed destroys us in one way or the other.
I would like to point out that IF a cure for ANY disease or ailment were to be discovered, Our 'system' requires that not only must a profit be made, but said profit must exceed that of maintinaing the disease or ailment. Otherwise said cure is shelved indefinately destined to cure nobody, or worse the cure is destroyed to preserve the profits of the maintenance drugs.
In other words to CURE something, it MUST be MORE PROFITABLE than giving pills to that population.
This is not only detremental to our country and our people, it is detremental to HUMANITY and life.
If the procedure was found to be safe, effective, and CHEAPER (like, tale a zero out and make it 500) then I might consider it. I have dark brown eyes and I never really cared for them. the image of having black hair and blue eyes is really pretty to me... 3 years is not bad too. :0
My mom had brown eyes and my dad had the most gorgeous blue eyes ever. My brothers got the blue eyes and I got the brown ones. I always felt cheated by this for some reason, and have never been happy with my eye color. Ever since colored contacts have been available for dark eyes, I have worn them. If I was younger (I'm in my 50's), I'd consider having the procedure done to lighten my eyes.
Somewhere in Hell, Hitler is creaming his pants...
I can't belive this is happening, but it dosn't suprise me either. Now there are going to be more problems then there already are today. It makes me feel sorry for future generations to come, because eventully it will become costom to have some of this stuff done.
Of course, Ghost! The docs sucker you in with these "cheap" $5000 eyes but then when you start looking like a bad cartoon they charge you several times that amount to keep your eyes looking normal. Of course they make sure that the eye color change can't be linked to the problems and just say it's natural and has to be redone every few years. Fools and their money are soon parted...over and over and over.