The Dangers of Digital Eye Strain.

The Dangers of Digital Eye Strain.

These days, many of us spend a lot of time in front of our computers or on other devices.  However it has been reported that a woman in China, who was in the habit of spending many hours peering at her smartphone in the dark, eventually suffered a detached retina.

The woman said that she felt that the vision in her right eye seemed as though she was looking through a thick veil for about a week.  She went to see the doctor and said that when he covered her left eye the vision and everything she looked at out of her right eye was distorted.  She said that objects she was looking at, that should be rectangular, actually appeared oval. She was used to playing on her smartphone in the dark usually for about two to three hours every night.

The doctor who was treating the patient whose name was Liu diagnosed a partial retinal detachment and put the condition down to her habitual playing with the smart phone in the dark. The treating ophthalmologist explained that spending long hours staring at bright screen in the dark can cause an over contraction of the ciliary muscle and that in turn will affect its ability to accommodate the changes in the lens when the eye tries to view objects at varying distances.

Retinal detachment is a serious condition and can lead to blindness.  Ophthalmologists are reporting that they are seeing more and more patients who are suffering from the condition because of the use of both handsets and computers where they have been staring at the screens for long periods of time.

Another patient in China spent ten hours every day running a shop that he had on a well known online marketplace.  The excessive time that he spent monitoring his on line shop eventually cost him the vision of his right eye, in November last year, doctors reported.

China is a country increasingly obsessed with staying wired, but here as well as in the West health professionals have long warned that excessive use of these devices can lead to very serious consequences.   

Some very useful safety tips are offered by www.thevisioncouncil.org Lens technology is advancing to meet the concerns of a digital world and to help reduce digital eyestrain. Computer glasses are a great solution to reduce or eliminate digital eyestrain. Other “eye-gonomic” actions can also help lessen the incidence of fatigue. The Vision council’s medical advisory board offers these tips for safer screen viewing:

·      Adjust the brightness of your device.

·      Consider changing your background colour from bright white to cool grey.

·      Attach a glare reduction filter to your computer screen.

·      Frequently dust and wipe digital screens to help reduce glare.

·      Adjust your screen so that it is directly in front of your face and slightly below eye level. Do not tilt a computer monitor.

·      Position yourself or your device so there is sufficient distance between your eyes and the screen.

·      Lessen the amount of overhead and surrounding light that is competing with your device’s screen.

·      When using a computer, first sit in your chair and extend your arm.  Your palm should rest comfortably on the monitor.

·      Keep handheld devices a safe distance from your eyes and just below eye level.

·      Increase text size.

·      Remind yourself to blink more often.  This is important as staring at a digital screen can affect the number of times you blink, causing your eyes to dry.

·      Every 20 minutes, take a 20-second break and look at something 20 feet away.

·      Parents should limit the amount of screen time for children, and reduce their screen time in front of children so as to set healthy standards in the home.

Remember:  Blink. Breathe. Break

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Amanda Thomas

UK Health Radio