Spending long hours in front of mobile screens can make you prone to develop ‘Smartphone Vision Syndrome’. It is a common habit that leads to severe vision impairment in young women. Dr Sudhir Kumar, a neurologist at the Apollo Hospitals in Hyderabad, recently shared the story of a 30-year-old woman, Manju who suffered ‘blindness’ for one and a half years. Her symptoms included seeing dark zig-zag lines, being unable to focus or see objects, and more. The doctor also revealed some weak moments wherein Manju would go blank for several seconds.
These symptoms usually occurred at night and the woman decided to get herself checked by an eye specialist. It was shocking to discover that her evaluation was normal but she was then referred to a neurologist. Dr Sudhir Kumar thoroughly looked into her case to trace back when the 30-year-old began to develop the symptoms. He learned that it all started when Manju quit her job as a beautician to look after her specially-abled child.
It is suggested that Manju picked up a new habit of browsing her phone for several hours during the day and even at night after turning the lights 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,” stated the doctor.
The 30-year-old woman hasn’t been prescribed any medication for her condition, instead, Dr Kumar only counselled her to just reduce the amount of time she spends using her smartphone. Manju was seemingly anxious fearing that something was utterly wrong with her brain nerved but eventually became determined to follow the doctor’s suggestion. She promised her doctor that she will stop looking at her mobile device unless absolutely necessary. After a month, there appeared to be a drastic change in her vision impairment. It seemingly took her 18 months to get to normal eyesight back.
While referring to her case, Dr Sudhir Kumar highlighted two key takeaways that everyone should ensure. “Avoid looking at screens of digital devices for long, as it can cause severe and disabling vision-related problems. Take a 20-second break, every 20 min, to look at something 20 feet away, while using a digital screen (20-20-20 rule),” he explained.
A common habit resulted in severe #vision impairment in a young woman1. 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
What was your takeaway from Manju’s story?
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