Children suffer eye pain, dryness, headaches. Cases in the 3-16 age group bracket are up almost 50% since the pandemic. Experts recommend digital therapy, exercises to beat this modern affliction.
The eye-fatigue diagnosis came after after they had spent Covid pandemic hooked on to online recreation as well with as daily online schools. Hours of online-class, combined with hours of mobile chats and computer games are to blame.
A POST-COVID EPIDEMIC:
“The human eye functions similarly to a camera with autofocus capabilities. It contains small muscles called ciliary muscles that have the ability to contract and relax. This action allows the eye to adjust its focus, enabling us to clearly see objects at various distances.” The strain of watching a digital screen for hours could at times lead to “convergence insufficiency”, a condition in which it is difficult for the eyes to work together when looking at nearby objects. “Essentially, the strain caused by digital exposure causes symptoms of Asthenopia like headache and dull pain around the eye eyes.”
“Convergence Insufficiency” comes with complaints of pain and itching sensation in the eyes, dry eyes, and headaches.” In some children, DES is associated with shoulder pain as well.
The age group treated for digital strain are within the ages of 3-16 years. The number of cases have increased by almost 40% to 50% since Covid.
DAILY 3-HOUR THRESHOLD:
There are no statistics available on the total number of children with digital eye strain, but doctors say that those who stare at an electronic screen for more than 3 to 3.5 hours everyday are at a higher risk of developing dry eyes, which is a symptom of digital eye strain.
Increased and continuous exposure to visual display devices such as computer screens, laptops, tablets, and smartphones for various activities have led to higher incidence of dry eyes in adults, with an estimated prevalence of near 50% for those using devices for long hours. However, dry eye disease are often overlooked in children, or attributed to allergies or infections.
“Several studies report an incidence of 6%-10% of dry eyes among school children and link this to an increase in smartphone use time.
“The most common symptom reported was headache (42.5%) following by eye strain (37%) and neck & shoulder/back pain (37%). Smartphones were the predominant primary device, more than half have been using mobiles for more than 10 years and 54.2% of the students spent a significant amount of screen time at night time.”
“We came up with Bynocs to treat lazy eye or amblyopia (which occurs when the brain does not perceive the signal from the eye). It comprises a series of digital games and activities that train the eyes to see better with the lazy eye at the moment. Bynocs for amblyopia is awaiting US FDA clearance, but is being used in Europe, Singapore, Latin America and India.
“Digital exercises” helped them and started offering it at their clinic for a free. The effect of the DES treatment lasts for 18 to 24 months.
“We are seeing an increasing incidence of DES among children, but exercises makes a big difference. They also have to follow other rules such as taking breaks from the screen every 20 minutes.”
SOME COMMON CAUSES OF DIGITAL EYE STRAIN INCLUDE:
- Blinking less while using a device.
- Viewing a screen at an improper distance or angle.
- Using a device with glare or reflection.
- Using a device with poor contrast between the text and the background.
TO REDUCE THE RISK OF DIGITAL EYE STRAIN, TRY THE FOLLOWING TIPS:
- Adjust your workspace.
- Position your monitor slightly below eye level, about 20 to 28 inches away from your face. You can try reducing glare by moving your monitor, closing shades, or using a glare filter.
- Take breaks.
- Follow the 20-20-20 rule: look away from the screen every 20 minutes and look at something around 20 feet away for a bout 20 seconds.
- Blink often. Blinking helps keep your eyes moist. If they feel dry, you can try using artificial tears.
- Adjust your screen. Try eye exercises.
