It’s all too familiar a sight for parents around the world: children hunched over smart devices with eyes firmly fixed on their screens for long periods at a stretch. Add the UAE’s intemperate weather to the equation and you have children cooped up indoors spending more than four hours on digital media a day.
Even if one disregards the well-documented ill effects of excessive screen time — say hello to obesity and behavioural problems — it’s only natural to worry about the strain it puts on children’s eyes.
“From birth up to the age of eight, our vision is developing,” says Dr M. Irfan Khan, Consultant Ophthalmic Surgeon, Moorfields Eye Hospital Dubai. “So it can be vulnerable to any excessive strain.”
Given that many vision-related issues start in childhood, he says, the added stress of regular, high-intensity, screen-based content and games can cause problems.
“We are noticing a higher incidence of myopia [or short-sightedness] and it is starting at a younger age compared to the pre-screen/tablets era,” says Dr Abdulla Naqi, Head of Ophthalmology Department at Dubai Hospital.
Dr Mohini Thakur, Specialist Ophthalmologist, Mediclinic Welcare Hospital, agrees. There has been an increase in the number of cases of refractive errors, especially short-sightedness, and a faster progression or worsening of pre-existing short-sightedness, she says.
Dr Khan puts this increase down to restricting the vision to a small distance over a long period of time — which is what usually happens when children get hooked to screens.
Moreover, research has thrown up an interesting correlation between time spent outdoors and short-sightedness — the less time you spend outdoors, the more at risk you are of developing myopia.
According to a study, Dr Thakur says, children’s risk of getting myopia fell by 2 per cent for every extra hour they spent outdoors a week. She also cites another research that found fewer children became short-sighted when they were made to spend 80 minutes of recess time outdoors every day, compared to those who were not required to do that. However, researchers are not sure how time outdoors helps — they think it may be exposure to daylight and looking at distant objects that do the trick.
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Computer effect
It’s not just in the incidence of myopia that ophthalmologists have noticed a spike. “Today we are seeing an alarming rise in the number of children exhibiting symptoms of computer vision syndrome,” says Dr Thakur.
Contrary to what many people fear, spending long hours on digital devices wouldn’t normally cause permanent eye damage. But it could lead to irritability, itchiness and redness as people, especially children, forget to blink causing dry eyes. It may also cause eye fatigue, blurry vision and headaches and eyes may become watery, painful and sensitive to light.
Dry eyes
Dr Khan cites dry eyes as the most common problem among children. When one gets dry eyes, tears are not produced properly or not of the correct consistency, resulting in quick evaporation. It can lead to inflammation and pain, ulcers, scarring of the cornea and some loss of vision.
“Dry eyes can affect the quality of life by making it more difficult to perform some everyday activities, such as using a computer or reading for an extended period of time,” he says. Since dry eyes don’t have a specific set of symptoms, be on the lookout for a range of signs such as stinging or burning, a feeling that sand or something is in the eye, excessively teary periods followed by very dry eyes, a stringy discharge from the eye, blurred vision, inability to cry, discomfort when
wearing contact lenses, and decreased tolerance of reading and working on the computer or any activity requiring sustained visual attention.
Other common vision problems include convergence insufficiency (where one eye turns outwards creating double or blurred vision) and accommodation spasm, says Dr Naqi.
Accommodation spasm happens when children spend long hours on smart devices and the focusing system locks in to that particular target distance. “Accommodation is a normal mechanism of the eyes, which helps us in near work such as reading and it involves the contraction of eye’s ciliary muscles,” explains Dr Rahul Venugopal, Specialist Ophthalmologist, Medeor 24x7 Hospital, Abu Dhabi.
“Ciliary muscles are relaxed when we look at a distance. So constant near work such as playing games on smartphone or a tablet leads to sustained contracted state of this muscle (locking in of the focusing system).”
When children look up from their devices after hours of use, they experience blurred vision.
Moderation is key
Fortunately, all these conditions can be effectively treated. What parents need to do is ensure children have regular eye examinations, especially up to the age of eight, when any problems can generally be rectified, says Dr Khan. After that, it becomes more difficult. “Frequent breaks, blinking and regularly looking at objects further away all help exercise the eyes and keep them healthy,” says Dr Khan.
Striking a conciliatory note, he adds, “Screen time is not necessarily good or bad and not all screens are the same — if children are getting exercise and are not using screens excessively, then there may be no issues.
“We can have the same potential problem with excessive time spent reading a book, watching TV or any near-vision activity, as the physical stress on the eyes is the same.”
So, it’s all about moderation.
How to reduce children’s screen time
Dr Mohini Thakur offers some tips to cut down excessive digital media use
• Monitor and regulate screen time to one to two hours a day
• Introduce more engaging alternatives to screens
• Make gradual changes
• Encourage outdoor sports or indoor physical games
• Encourage hobbies
• Spend quality family time
• Engage your child in simple household chores
• Be a role model and limit your screen time
• Go screen-free once in a while as a family
• Place TVs and computers in a common place
Tips for reducing eye strain from gadgets
American Academy of Ophthalmology’s advice for adults is applicable to children too.
At an arm’s length Place a laptop or the monitor of a desktop computer 25 inches away from your child’s face. Position the screen so that the child’s gaze is at a downward angle of 15 degrees.
Take a break It’s the long continuous staring at screens that causes eye strain and dry eyes. Make it a habit for children to take a break every 20 minutes by looking at an object 20 feet away for 20 seconds. This relaxes their eyes and helps them go back to their regular rate of blinking, which lubricates their eyes.
Reduce glare Make sure to set the screen to lower brightness to reduce strain.
Lights please The screens should not be brighter than the surroundings. If they are, it makes their eyes strain to see. Also increase the contrast for ease.
Keep them moisturised If children feel their eyes are dry, they can use artificial tears to refresh them.
