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The number of people with visual impairment has increased alarmingly as screen time has increased. According to a World Health Organization report for 2021, there are over 2.2 billion people worldwide who have near or distant vision impairment (WHO).
While many factors influence eye health, looking at mobile phones and screens has revealed several problems with a person’s vision, such as headaches, blurry vision, and nausea.
According to Dr. Amrita Kapoor Chaturvedi, Senior Consultant, Department of Ophthalmology, Amrita Hospital, Faridabad, looking at a screen for more than 8 hours a day causes structural changes in the eye and stimulates the growth of the eyeball’s length.
According to medical experts, the Covid-19 pandemic has resulted in an increase in the number of children developing myopia, a common vision condition in which close objects appear clear but distant objects appear blurry. Dr. Chaturvedi stated that it was believed that after the age of 18, a child’s eyesight would stabilize. However, prescriptions for glasses have recently increased until the age of 20-25.
“Children who already had glasses their power has increased a lot because of online classes in the pandemic,” said Dr Chaturvedi.
She also stated that when we focus on a near object for an extended period of time, the muscles of convergence, which are the muscles that bring the eyes closer together, tend to contract to focus. This causes headaches, blurred vision, and, in some cases, a loss of concentration.
A person may also develop dryness, which worsens when staring at a mobile screen for an extended period of time. “When we are focused on the screen, the rate of blinking of the eyes decreases. As a result, a person’s tear film becomes abnormal. This causes eye pain, a gritty sensation, and redness “Dr. Chaturvedi added.
HOW TO KEEP YOUR EYES HEALTHY
The only way to keep your eyes healthy is to limit your screen time. However, Dr. Chaturvedi advises that if someone must work in front of a screen for an extended period of time, there are some tips to keep in mind to avoid eye strain.
“Restrict social media surfing. Even after work, people tend to spend a lot of time on social media, which increases their screen time that goes over and above 7-8 hours a day,” said Dr Chaturvedi.
If you have to work on a screen, working on a “bigger screen is always better.”
“Use a desktop rather than a mobile or a laptop. Watching on a small screen means the distance is shorter. The closer the screen, the greater the strain. If it is a bigger screen, you can work at a greater distance. You can also increase the size of the font,” she added.
Take frequent breaks, said Dr Chaturvedi, and follow the 20-20-20 rule.
“Take a break every 20 minutes for 20 seconds. Put a reminder on your screen or on your phone, something that tells you that you need to move away from your screen after every 20 minutes. Look 6 metres away from the screen for at least half a minute,” she said.
The 20/20/20 rule is recommended by the American Optometric Association: look away from the screen every 20 minutes and focus on an object at least 20 feet away for at least 20 seconds. Furthermore, children should take a 10-minute break from their screens every hour.
Dr. Chaturvedi advised using a lubricating eye drop. Because staring at a screen causes dryness, using a doctor-recommended eye drop can help.
Conscious blinking is another way to combat dryness. “Do blinking exercises for 20-30 seconds twice a day. When you’re working on a screen, you usually just stare at it for hours at a time and forget to blink. When you take a break from the screen after an hour or so, just open and close your eyes 10-15 times in a row,” said Dr Chaturvedi.
Source:IT
