People should watch out for the adverse effects of excessive mobile phone use during the Lunar New Year holiday, especially with the trend of using messaging apps to send congratulatory remarks, which has made many highly susceptible to eye problems, an ophthalmologist said.
Dubbed “Lunar New Year mobile phone syndrome,” the condition commonly occurs during or after the holiday because of people staring at their screen for hours, China Medical University Hsinchu Hospital ophthalmologist Chen Ying-shan (陳瑩山) said.
Excessive use of technological devices can lead to dry eyes, as well as put a strain on the ciliary muscles, which help the eyes automatically adjust to short and long-range vision,Chen said.
Photo: Liao Hsueh-ju, Taipei Times
If a person spends extended periods looking at objects nearby, such as a computer or a phone, then their ciliary muscles would constantly be in a state of contraction, leading to muscle fatigue and loss of elasticity, the main causes of vision loss, he said.
Chen cited as an example the case of a 46-year-old woman, who complained of worsening eye problems, such as dry eyes and impaired vision after the holiday, especially when she tried to look at things right after using her phone.
The woman added that she also experienced double vision at times.
The patient, who works as a public relations manager, said she had sent more than 2,000 New Year’s wishes on communication apps such as Line, WeChat and Facebook before watching videos on her phone until 4am the next day, Chen said, adding that she replied to another 1,000 messages the next morning.
During a clinical consultation, the woman, who had nearsightedness at 6 diopters, was found to have irritated eyes, conjunctivitis and inflammation of the cornea, but a further inspection found that her myopia had decreased to 4 diopters, Chen said.
This is a case of pseudomyopia, meaning the extended periods of eye use during the holiday caused a refractive error that damaged the patient’s vision, Chen said.
People should eat more green and yellow vegetables during the holiday, and take a 10-minute break after every 30 minutes of phone use, with the total amount of time not exceeding one hour to protect their eyes, he said.
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