The San Jorge Hospital becomes a university hospital
September 8, 2020
Aragón launches an alert system for the detection of coronavirus in wastewater
September 10, 2020
Aragonese ophthalmologists and opticians-optometrists warn of the increase in vision problems due to the abuse of digital devices with teleworking, online teaching and leisure.
In September it is usually time to check your eyesight for returning to school and work. This year, in ophthalmologist consultations there is more myopia, dry eyes and visual fatigue due to the consequences of confinement due to the covid-19 pandemic. The extension of teleworking and online classes has had a good part of the population glued to a screen for a few months, also for leisure.
"There has been an increase in myopia in young people and visual fatigue due to digital causes due to the use of computers, iPads... In some cases due to leisure and in others due to leisure and teleworking," explains Juan Carlos Giménez. , president of the Aragonese Society of Ophthalmology. "When they left work, many went on the computer to play with the video game console. They didn't leave the house," he remembers about the three months of confinement. That prevented him from resting his eyes. "The vision does not relax if you do not look at infinity. We have been looking at 40 centimeters and at most three meters," he remembers.
digital eye strain
"Almost all the calls we have had in the months of March and April have been about fatigue, dryness, burning... We have abused the use of our eyes, almost three times more than normal," he says.
"We have abused the use of our eyes, almost three times more than normal"
Dry eyes have been added to the most frequent problems "because you blink much less when you are in front of a computer or television." In these cases "tear creation decreases and the eye becomes dry," he explains. As a result, many of the vision problems have come from "digital eye fatigue."
"After confinement we have seen that, above all, children whose myopia was increasing or who were just, after these days it has increased," says Carlos Serrano, president of the College of Opticians-Optometrists of Aragon. "Being locked up at home, with computers, tablets, phones..." would have helped this.
Although he acknowledges that there are still no studies to corroborate it, professionals have seen "adults who were of presbyopic age and who did not yet notice it, who, by being locked up for so many hours with a computer, have taken that leap, they have advanced a little further." ". Along with them, people who did not need distance glasses and were starting to suffer from presbyopia, have noticed it. "Being closer to a screen for longer has accelerated the process," says Serrano.
