Students who have to study online or people who work using computers almost all day, and also use mobile phones to follow the online world as if it is the fifth essential factor of life, will inevitably affect eye health significantly. But what are the important and common symptoms or diseases? Today, we have some information to share.
Myopia
Currently, those who study online, who used to stare at the computer screen for 4-5 hours a day, now have to use their eyes twice as much, up to 9-10 hours per day. Prolonged focusing or staring at the screen for a long time may cause pseudo-myopia, which means the degree of nearsightedness increases but will gradually improve on its own.
Esotropia
Esotropia caused by prolonged computer screen staring is called acute acquired esotropia, which occurs suddenly but not in everyone. It happens only in individuals at risk, such as children with residual hyperopia from natural farsightedness. These children, if they have to stare at something for a long time, have a higher chance of developing esotropia than normal children.
Computer vision syndrome
A group of eye symptoms caused by prolonged use of eyes on the computer, with severity depending on the duration of use and continuous staring at the computer screen, such as:
- Eye strain and dry eyes
Because focusing on viewing reduces blinking by about 50%, there is more eyelid lifting due to staring. If staring at the computer in an air-conditioned room at 22-23⁰C or lower temperatures with significantly reduced relative humidity, it increases the chance of dry eyes. - Dry eye symptoms in children
In children, assessing dry eye symptoms is more difficult because there are often multiple symptoms together, ranging from increased blinking, rubbing eyes until red, allergic conjunctivitis, burning eyes, eye irritation, blurred vision, slower focusing, light sensitivity, eye socket pain, headaches, and sometimes back, shoulder, or neck pain such as text neck syndrome. There is also a syndrome called Video game vision syndrome, which is classified as a disorder caused by prolonged staring at one thing, such as playing computer games.
Guidelines to avoid dry eyes and vision problems from computer staring
If you are concerned or feel symptoms as mentioned, and after stopping staring at the computer screen the symptoms do not improve, and you cannot avoid staring at the screen, it is recommended to have a detailed eye examination to find the cause, so that prevention or appropriate treatment can be provided. Initially, you should do the following:
- Take eye breaks whenever possible, such as during class changes.
- Look into the distance, such as at nature or the surrounding environment, for 5-10 minutes every hour.
- Avoid air conditioning or fan blowing directly on the face, which increases dry eyes.
- Adjust the lighting inside and outside the room to be similar with sufficient brightness.
- Regularly clean computer, phone, and tablet screens to remove oily smudges, as oily smudges cause glare, which scatters light and makes you strain your eyes more without realizing it.
- Parents should set a good example for children by establishing rules together, such as no phone use during meals, to reduce screen time.
Dr. Warakorn Thiamthat
Ophthalmologist, Eye Center
Phyathai 2 Hospital
