From televisions and computers to today's smartphones, screens have greatly enriched our lives.
With the sudden rise of smartphones, it is expected that 84% of people will use handheld devices by the end of 2018.
In 2014, it was only 40.4%; in 1993, the figure was only 0.3%[1].
The widespread use of electronic products in today's society has led to a new disease: video terminal syndrome. Eye fatigue, blurred vision, dry eyes, skeletal muscle symptoms such as neck, shoulder, and back pain, carpal tunnel syndrome (commonly known as mouse hand), etc. are common manifestations of video terminal syndrome. Symptoms are more pronounced in people who have been exposed to screens such as computers and mobile phones for a long time [2].
Mainland research has also shown that people with high education, air-conditioning environment operations, and long-term use of computers are prone to eye discomfort and skeletal muscle fatigue. Eye symptoms are mainly: dry eyes, itchy eyes, foreign body sensation, blurred vision, eye swelling pain, eye fatigue and so on. Dry eyes and eye fatigue are the most common [3].
According to the world's first national report on visual health, the National Health Vision Report released by Peking University in 2015, the total population over the age of 5 in mainland China in 2012 had about 500 million people with various types of visual impairments. Among them, the total number of myopia patients is about 450 million. In other words, almost 1/3 of China's population is myopic. The total population with high myopia is as high as 30 million, far exceeding the number of patients with low vision and blindness [4].
The Red Cross Foundation of China released the "Research Report on Eye Health of Chinese Adolescents" in 2018, which proposed that at present, myopia is increasingly becoming a "national disease". Survey data shows that China has the largest number of myopia patients in the world. Adolescents are among the "hardest hit areas", with the myopia rate ranking first in the world and increasing year by year .[5]
The cause of myopia is still an unsolved problem in the medical community, and the intervention of screen technology has made this problem increasingly serious, and it has also attracted great attention from the state.
With so many people with myopia in the mainland, more and more children are developing the wrong habit of eye protection, and eye health needs to be paid attention to by parents and young people. Start little by little to protect your eyes.
1. Concentrate on staring at the screen
Staring at the screen for a long time will make the blinking action of the eyes less, the frequency becomes slower, and it is easy to cause visual fatigue, resulting in dry eye disease, eye congestion, eye muscle spasm and other diseases.
Browsing screen time should not be too long, and the International Eye Research Institute recommends the 20-20-20 principle, that is, a simple break after using the screen for 20 minutes, looking at a place 20 steps away for about 20 seconds to prevent excessive eye fatigue; and consciously blinking more when using the screen [6].
2, do not wear glasses to relax
It is often thought that wearing glasses or contact lenses of the cornea needs to be removed intermittently to achieve a relaxing effect. It is also common to hear people around you say that "myopia will get deeper and deeper after wearing glasses." Wearing glasses only corrects vision and does not prevent and control deterioration of vision. The deepening of eye strength is more related to eye habits and eye environment.
Glasses are required when looking at the distance or reading and studying, and the eyes are not relaxed when not worn [7].
3. Turn off the lights and play with your phone before going to bed
Many people are used to turning off the lights before going to bed and looking at their phones in bed.
In the case of great contrast between the background light and the screen light, it leads to a decrease in tear secretion and abnormal tear composition, and in severe cases, damage to the corneal epithelium. Using the eye in dim light will cause the pupil to be dilated for a long time, and people with glaucoma factors may induce glaucoma, which can easily cause damage to the optic nerve if the intraocular pressure is not controlled, and in severe cases, it can lead to blindness [8].
If possible, a low-brightness background light should be turned on in the room to alleviate the brightness gap between the screen and the background environment, so as to play a certain protective role for the eyes.
Image source: Stand Cool Helo
4. Lie flat on your side to play with your phone
Lying down to play mobile phones, there will often be mobile phones too close to the eyes, the distance between the eyes and the mobile phone is not consistent, etc., for teenagers, in addition to eye muscle fatigue, it may also cause strabismus.
If you have to use a mobile phone, you should still try to avoid lying down and looking at the phone.
5. The bright sun is fearless
When driving or going to the beach, you often forget to wear sunglasses for reasons such as inconvenience. Any exposure to the sun increases the damage to the eyes from ultraviolet rays.
Long-term ultraviolet radiation, can cause macular damage, solar retinitis, cataracts, pterygium, corneal damage and other eye diseases, the most dangerous time to look directly at the sun is noon and eclipse, not only will lead to headaches and temporary damage to vision, but also may cause permanent damage to the retina at the back of the eyeball.
In the outdoors with strong light, sunglasses should be selected to protect the eyes. The International Eye Research Institute mentioned that sunglasses that can isolate 99%-100% of ultraviolet light A + ultraviolet B should be selected.
6. Race against the clock to see the phone
College students and office workers often use the time they spend walking and taking transportation to process information.
Looking at the mobile phone in the moving state such as walking and taking transportation, the vision is more concentrated when looking at the screen, which can easily lead to spasms of the ciliary muscles of the eyes and is more likely to lead to the occurrence of myopia.
In addition, riding, walking and playing mobile phones are prone to dizziness, and even nausea and other symptoms, which is due to the fact that the visual center receives a discontinuous visual image, making people feel dizzy.
The "low-headed people" should not be able to walk intently, not only hurt the eyes, but also prone to traffic accidents.
7. Wear contact lenses at any time
In order to go out faster or rest early, contact lenses are not adequately disinfected when wearing or removing them.
Make sure to properly disinfect and replace contact lenses. Except for daily disposable contact lenses, which do not require routine cleaning, other contact lenses require routine cleaning and disinfection. Please use professional disinfectants, water alone is not enough to achieve the purpose of disinfection, may contaminate the glasses and cause irreversible damage to the eyes. In addition to the glasses themselves, the boxes containing contact lenses should also be disinfected in a timely manner and replaced monthly.[9]
8. Colorful beauty pageant pupils
With colored contact lenses, due to excessive chemical composition, it may cause congestion and inflammation of the eyes due to poor wearing habits, eye allergies and weather reasons, and serious eye diseases such as corneal hypoxia and corneal perforation caused by eye infections [10].
Everyone has a heart for beauty, and you must polish your eyes when buying beautiful pupils, so as not to be deceived.
9. Eye drops for a long time to protect the eyes
There have been reports that a Japanese internet celebrity eye drops feel drier the more you use the eyes, after investigation found that it contains methyl sulfate neostigmine ingredient, the doctor mentioned that this ingredient has the effect of constricting the pupil, and there is a bright feeling when used up. Long-term use is addictive and increases the risk of "dry eye".
Eye drops have complex components, and long-term use of antibiotic eye drops will destroy the microenvironment of the local eye, resulting in new eye diseases; some eye drops contain hormones, which may cause glaucoma, cataracts, and may also cause local fungal infections; and the preservatives contained in eye drops may also hurt the cornea due to frequent use and large doses [11].
Blind selection of eye drops for eye discomfort may delay the timing of treatment, and the choice of eye drops and the use of the specifications should follow the doctor's advice.
10, tired than rubbing your eyes
In the daily work environment, the eyes are sore and tired, and it seems that a hand rubbing relieves a lot. However, there are many microorganisms on the hands, such as bacteria, etc., and random rubbing of the eyes is likely to give these microorganisms an opportunity to cause infection when immunity is low.
Rest more when tired, choose to look far away, and blinking is the scientific and correct way to protect your eyes.
bibliography
1.Parihar J K S , Jain V K , Chaturvedi P , et al. Computer & visual display terminals (VDT) vision syndrome (CVDTS)[J]. Medical Journal Armed Forces India, 2016, 72(3):270-276.
2.Chu C., Rosenfield M., Portello J.K., Benzoni J.A., Collier J.D.A comparison of symptoms after viewing text on computer screen and hardcopy[J]. Ophthalmic Physiol Opt. 2011;31(January (1)):29–32.
3. She Xijin, Huang Zhongning, Huang Duru, Yin Dongming, Wen Xianzhong, Qiu Chuangyi, Ye Huaqing, Li Laiyu, Huang Li. The influence of video display terminals on the visual system[J].Chinese Journal of Occupational Medicine,2007(05):392-394.
4.https://visionimpactinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/Summary-of-National-Vision-Care-Report.pdf[J/OL].
5.https://new.crcf.org.cn/files/%E6%8A%A5%E5%91%8A17.pdf[J/OL].
6.https://nei.nih.gov/healthyeyes/eyehealthtips[J/OL].
7.https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/5-truths-about-protecting-your-eyes[J/OL].
8.http://m.news.cntv.cn/2014/06/05/ARTI1401980361732206.shtml[J/OL].
9.www.feelgoodcontacts.com. Retrieved 5 September 2016[J/OL].
10.http://www.jsiec.org/nurse/nurse_detail.asp?id=363[J/OL].
11.https://www.puh3.net.cn/yjk/kpyd/109580.shtml[J/OL].
*The content of this article is a popularization of health knowledge and cannot be used as a specific diagnosis and treatment recommendation, nor is it a substitute for face-to-face consultation by a practicing physician, for reference only.
*The copyright of this article belongs to Tencent Medical Code, unauthorized media reprinting is prohibited, and illegal reprinting will be investigated for legal responsibility according to law. Individuals are welcome to forward to the circle of friends.
* Welcome to WeChat search and pay attention to the public account "Tencent Medical Code" to get more health science knowledge.