A Wood’s lamp is a small handheld device that uses black light to illuminate areas of your skin. The light is held over an area of skin in a darkened room. The presence of certain bacteria or fungi, or changes in the pigmentation of your skin will cause the affected area of your skin to change color under the light.
Some of the conditions that a Wood’s lamp examination can help diagnose include:
In the case of scratches on the eye, we put a fluorecin solution in your eye, then shine the Wood’s lamp over the affected area. Abrasions or scratches will glow when the light is on it. There are no risks associated with the procedure.
Normally, the light will look purple or violet and your skin will not fluoresce (glow) or show any spots under the Wood’s lamp. Your skin will change color if you have a fungal or bacterial, as some fungi and some bacteria naturally luminesce under ultraviolet light.