Staring at a screen, laptop, or smartphone, can lead to eye-related problems - this is a fact that we all know very well by now. But can it lead to vision loss, even if temporarily? If we go by the Twitter posts of Dr Sudhir Kumar, Consultant Neurologist, Apollo Hospitals, Hyderabad, the scary outcome seems like a possibility. In a series of tweets posted earlier this month, Dr Kumar explained how a 30-year-old woman faced severe complications, owing to excessive use of her smartphone. In the post, the doctor mentions that the symptoms started to show after the Hyderabad woman quit her job and started spending hours on her smartphone.
Smartphones Affect Vision
"30-year-old Manju had severe disabling vision symptoms for one and half years. This included seeing floaters, bright flashes of light, dark zig-zag lines and at times inability to see or focus on objects," wrote Dr Kumar, adding, "There were moments when she could not see anything for several seconds. This occurred mostly at night when she got up to use the washroom. She was evaluated by an eye specialist and a detailed evaluation was found to be normal. She was referred to rule out neurological causes."
The doctor said he reviewed the case and realised that the symptoms started after she quit her job to take care of her differently-abled child. The woman, who is a beautician by profession had started to overuse her smartphone and this included browsing on phone, for more than 2 hours at night when the lights were off. "The diagnosis was obvious now. She was suffering from smartphone vision syndrome (SVS). Long-term use of devices such as computers, smartphones, or tablets can cause various eye-related disabling symptoms, referred to as computer vision syndrome (CVS) or digital vision syndrome," Dr Kumar wrote.
He suggested that the woman, Manju, cut down on her smartphones and didn't prescribe any other medicines. Manju complied and stopped looking at the smartphone except when it was an absolute necessity. Dr Kumar insists that their suspicions were right and wrote, " At 1-month review, Manju was absolutely fine. Her vision impairment of 18 months had gone. Now, she had normal eyesight and did not see any floaters or flashes of light. Moreover, her momentary loss of vision at night also stopped."
When Zee News Digital approached Dr Sanjay Dhawan, Senior Director & HOD - Ophthalmology, Eye Care/Ophthalmology, Max Multi Speciality Centre, Panchsheel Park, he shared, "Smartphones and other screen usages for a long duration do cause eye strain, discomfort, and temporary fluctuation of vision. But no permanent damage to vision has been reported by anyone or observed at our centers." He, however, insisted that "the symptoms of floaters, flashes, and seeing zig-zag lines are NOT related to smartphone usage."
Taking Care of Stressed Eyes
Doctors say that people should never continue to stare at screens for hours altogether. Dr Dhawan suggests the following measures to keep eye problems at bay:
- Cut down screen time
- Keep screen far from eyes
- Take frequent breaks
- Take good sleep
- Regular convergence eye exercises
- Use simple lubricant eye drops
Dr Sudhir Kumar also suggested following the 20-20-20 rule: Take a 20-second break, every 20 minutes, to look at something 20 feet away, while using a digital screen.
Smartphones: How Much Damage Can it Cause to Eyes?
Check out Dr Sudhir Kumar's post below:
A common habit resulted in severe #vision impairment in a young woman
1. 30-year old Manju had severe disabling vision symptoms for one and half years. This included seeing floaters, bright flashes of light, dark zig zag lines and at times inability to see or focus on objects.
— Dr Sudhir Kumar MD DM (@hyderabaddoctor) February 6, 2023
