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Doctors stare at problem as techies refuse to blink

Eye-related complications on the rise among techies, prolonged staring at monitors cited as reason.

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Bangaloreans are in the eye of a storm; so say the city’s eye specialists.

Vision-related complications such as eye strain and frequent redness of the eye, most of them part of the computer vision syndrome (a condition resulting from focusing the eyes on a computer display for protracted periods of time) is increasing among young adults in Bangalore.

The solution to the problem could lie in blinking as often as possible while looking at the computer, and taking 20-second breaks every 20 minutes.

According to ophthalmic experts, the maximum number of patients walking in to their chambers are techies, mostly in the age group of 25-35; and, worryingly, the numbers have doubled in the past five years.

“We have seen a rise in the number of cases,” said Dr Rohit Shetty, vice-president, Narayana Nethralaya, a city-based eye speciality centre. “Of the 100 cases we received recently, 40 cases are related to computer vision syndrome. There is an alarming rise in the number of computer-related eye problems among young adults. Most of them complain of minor eye strain, redness of eye, dry eye, and few of them also complain of sleep disturbance.”

Doctors said uninterrupted staring at computer monitors as well as nutritional deficiency, especially deficiency of vitamin B12 and vitamin D, affects vision in such people. “Techies also say they cannot stare into the glare of vehicle lights and complain of having difficulty in driving at night,” said Dr Shetty.

Dr Shetty narrated the examples of two patients with extreme vision complications. “One of my patients was a 27-year-old techie Rashid (name changed),” said Shetty. “He worked for 10-12 hours a day in front of the computer. His eyes irritated when he stared into the glare of vehicle lights. After having two near fatal accidents, which Rashid felt was due to his eye problem, he came for a check up.” 

Yet another case involved a 25-year-old techie, Mansi (name changed). “She walked in with complaints of vision loss and poor visual quality,” said Dr Shetty. “All colours seemed blurred to her. On a thorough investigation, it was found that she was suffering from vitamin B12 deficiency which affected her optic nerves.”

Dr Arun Samprathi, managing director, Samprathi Eye Hospital, said they received about 10 such cases daily, and the number had doubled in the past five years. Dr Samprathi said prolonged staring at the monitor without blinking leads to dryness and redness of eyes.

The solution to the problem, Dr Samprathi said, lay in frequent blinking of the eye, giving rest to the eye muscle. “People working in front of the computer for long hours should try to take a 20-second break after every 20 minutes. That will surely help prevent vision loss in the long run.”

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