Blinded by Technology: Woman Loses Vision from Overuse of Smartphone

A Hyderabad-based doctor reported news on a social media platform that a woman lost her vision due to the extreme use of a smartphone. Smartphone vision syndrome is becoming common in society. Dr. Sudhir Kumar tweeted the details that the woman used an excessive smartphone in the dark. It resulted in the loss of her eyesight. The symptoms started appearing when a Hyderabad woman left her job to caress her specially-abled child. This extreme phone use cost her a lot in the form of vision loss.

Our daily routine affects our general health in a variety of ways. The use of modern technology in the form of smartphones is somehow useful. But the extreme use of anything can prove dangerous for general health. Dr. Sudhir Kumar from Hyderabad shared a thread regarding the patient to boost awareness at the societal level. Social media platforms are active and are more convenient to learn. In his Twitter thread, he highlighted the fact that how phone use can be damaging to your health.

A 30-year-old woman, Manju, presented to the doctor with severe disabling eyesight symptoms for about one and a half years. There was a combination of symptoms that the woman explained to the doctor. The most common symptoms were:

• Floaters in the eye
• Bright flashes of eye
• Inability to see and focus on the images for some time
• Dark zigzag lines

She also claimed that there were some moments when she couldn’t see anything in the night for several seconds. These symptoms mostly occur at night when she wakes up to use the restroom. She visited an eye specialist for the complete evaluation of these symptoms. She was found normal by an ophthalmologist. After this, she got referred to a neurologist to deal with such symptoms. The symptoms began after the woman after she quit her job as a beautician to take care of her child.

She was used to browsing for several hours daily, including phone use at night for almost two hours. This habit affected her vision in a drastic manner. The doctors ultimately reached an obvious diagnosis of smartphone vision syndrome. Long-term use of these devices including smartphones, computers, or laptops can cause a variety of drastic effects on your eyesight. It is also known as digital vision syndrome or computer vision syndrome.

What is smartphone vision syndrome?

Smartphone vision syndrome is a complex combination of symptoms related to vision. It may cause multiple vision-related problems associated with doing close work during screen time or using any digital products. It raises extreme concern among the public who are habitual to use smartphones beyond the normal limit. Continuous and prolonged use of digital screens can cause different eye-related problems.

These symptoms are almost similar to the symptoms that Dr. Sudhir Kumar mentioned in his tweet regarding Manju.

Why are we considering this news at this level?

In this new era of technology, an almost major part of youth is busy scrolling through different social media platforms. Social media platforms are a good way to make such people aware of the side effects of using smartphones for a long time. Continuous use of a smartphone can disable your vision power. Dr. Sudhir Kumar also mentioned:

He properly counseled the patient regarding the vision power loss and explained the hidden cause of all these major symptoms. He explained that the possible cause of vision impairment is her extreme use of a smartphone. In addition, he also focused on minimizing the use of her smartphone. He did not prescribe any medical investigation nor did he prescribe any medication. Manju was quite anxious and asked for the medication. The patient mentioned that instead of minimizing, she will stop using a smartphone screen unless necessary. 

What happened when she stopped using her smartphone screen?

Dr. Sudhir mentioned in the tweet that once the patient stopped using the phone. On a follow-up visit of one month, Manju was absolutely fine and her vision impairment issues were gone. She was having vision problems for about 18 months. Now, she had normal vision and didn’t see any floaters or flashes of light. In addition, her vision improved, and momentary vision loss at night just stopped. He also mentioned that our suspicion proved right.

What are the other common causes of this screen vision syndrome?

According to doctors, there are also some other causes of these problems. These are mentioned below:

• Incorrect body posture
• Excessive use of electronic devices
• Continuous use of devices without taking a break
• Screen distanced at a shorter limit
• Long-hour visual display
• Common ergonomic practice

How can we protect our eyes?

At the end of the Twitter thread, Dr. Sudhir Kumar also mentioned some healthy tips for smartphone users to boost eye health. Here are some of the basic tips to avoid such problems in your daily life.

• Avoiding watching or scrolling electronic devices for a long time can help you prevent multiple eye-related problems.
• Take almost 20 seconds to break after every 20 minutes to look at something that is almost 20 feet away from your digital screen.

The other common precautions also include:

• Blink more often to refresh your eyes. Some people blink less while working on a computer. It can cause dry eyes. Blinking stimulates tears that moisten the eyes.
• Adjust proper lighting while working or scrolling on a screen. It is a convenient option if you make your room a bit lighter to easily work without any strain on your eyes.
• Adjust the brightness and fonts for your comfort. Adjust your screen settings to more convenient options.
• Minimize the use of digital screens as much as possible.

Conclusion

In recent news, there was hype for a woman who suffered from multiple vision impairment symptoms. She visited multiple doctors to treat her symptoms. After getting referred to a neurologist, Dr. Sudhir Kumar diagnosed the root cause of these symptoms. He shared a tweet thread to highlight the proper case presentation and management. Moreover, he also left a message for the people who use smartphones at an extreme level. Read the article as it may help you if you are a smartphone user.

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