Children posed Digital Eye Strain During Lockdown

Lockdown has been imposed in India in the wake of the expanding Covid pandemic around the world. The lockdown, which began on 25 March, is still restricted to children today. Initially, the anxiety over the exams slowly began to take a summer vacation at home. With little or no chance of going out, children began to spend time using mostly homemade television, mobile, computer, laptops and tabs. Slowly they started to see these digital screens for a long time.

Then, by the end of June, in the wake of the slow-moving covid pandemic, schools have begun to offer lessons to students by starting online or virtual classes at home. This brought the children to work on a digital screen at around eight to ten o’clock. As children spend more time on digital devices, this time has begun to have an impact on their eyes since the time has passed. Parents claim that children are more likely to have eye problems, especially due to Dry Eye (Computer Vision Syndrome) or Digital Strain.

Dr. Alpa Atul Poorabia, ophthalmologist and senior refractive, cornea, cataract surgeon, Apollo Spectra Hospital and Apollo Clinics, Kondapur responded by saying that parents’ concern for these eye problems in children is natural. She said spending more and more time on digital screens during the day is causing such situations. She explained that these problems arise in young children due to long periods of focusing on digital screens, reading without resting the eye, seeing the screen between high or low light due to digital screens, writing notes while working, and not getting proper rest. She said that it is not limited to young children and that there are similar problems among pediatricians who work at the workshop.

Those who suffer from digital eye strain have a number of symptoms such as a feeling in the eyes, irritation, burning eyes, watery eyes, tired eyes, closed eyes, headaches, red eyes. With these we can also see poor eyesight and back and neck pain in the back of the body.

Experts around the world say that the only way to avoid this problem is by encouraging them to spend less time on the digital screen to avoid physical and psychological problems in children.

But this is not possible under the conditions that prevail in the country, Dr. Alpa Atul Poorabia explained that there are many alternative ways of preventing such problems in children by making them aware of the problem. In particular, we suggest that it is best to try to reduce the amount of time children spend on the digital screen.

With this break, the medical professionals suggest that the problem can be avoided by several ways as mentioned below. They say that especially foods with vitamin A and vitamin C, fruits such as papaya, carrot, broccoli, tomatoes and eggs should be included in their menu for the day. It is suggested that the lighting of the digital screen should be corrected with the eye, and that the proper lighting in the room should be taken care of. They also suggest that you take a break every 20 minutes and turn your gaze away from the screen to look at objects from a distance. Along with all of these, it is essential to keep the screen clean thoroughly so that allergies can be minimized.

Experts say that choosing the right chair, sitting upright, increasing the size of the letters on the computer screen, and using glare-reducing covers on the screen can help prevent this. They suggest that children should consult the ophthalmologist promptly if the problem does not arise so that the child can avoid eye problems by following this advice and instructions.