When at home, children are either glued to the television set or computer.
Their exposure to electronic screens has increased in the past decade. Hence, the after-effects are bound to crop up soon.
Ophthalmologists note that astigmatism and short-sightedness are now common among 10% of children. The incidence has doubled up in the past 10 years.
Children are exposed to computers for long hours these days. And it’s not just videogames and chatting, but many times, school assignments require Internet assistance and are expected to be done in the computer.
“The use of mobile phones, computers, and now iPads, have become so common among children, let alone long hours spent in front of the TV. Thus refractive errors among children have doubled over the last few years. Ten years ago, while only 5% of the children had poor distance vision, now at least 10% suffer from astigmatism and wear spectacles,” said Dr Arun Samprathi, consultant eye surgeon and paediatric ophthalmologist, Samprathi Eye Hospital and Squint Centre.
Sitting in front of the computer or TV set strains the eyes and children complain of headache and redness in the eyes. “Most of the complaints come from children between five and 13 years of age. And while making them wear glasses is one solution, it also needs to be ensured that they cut down on the time spent in front of the TV and computer. Generally, not beyond one to two hours of exposure is advisable,” added Dr Samprathi.
Increased hours in front of the computer is causing computer vision syndrome among teenagers, said Dr Kaushik Murali, HoD, paediatric ophthalmology, Sankara Eye Hospital.
“The problem with children is that they have the capacity of focussing on an object very closely.
And even if the glare of the screen bothers them,
instead of maintaining a
safe distance, they adapt their eyes to it. This leads to strain, headache, crowding of letters, eye twitching, disorientation of vision and even dryness and watering of eyes,” he added.
Compared to the past few years, more children are wearing glasses now.
“About 50 to 60% of children today have short-sight, as they are using their eyes for readings and observations from books, TV, and computer etc, rather than viewing distant things,” said Dr Bhujang Shetty, chairman, Narayana Nethralaya.
There are other factors that should be taken care of. For example, proper body posture while working on the computer is required.
“The computer should always be below the eye level and not above. The distance between the individual and the television set should at least be of 10 foot. Also, children are advised to take a five-minute break either by closing their eyes or looking into the distance once every half-an-hour,” said Dr Shetty.
It’s not all bad Computer-based orthoptics is a new computer software that treats children with eye problems related to focussing, informed Dr Murali.
“We use computers for treating children who have problem with convergence and accommodation. Also, binocular vision problem and perception problem can be treated through computer. The therapy can be done at home and we monitor the treatment from out clinic. It’s like physiotherapy for the eyes,” explained Dr Murali.
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