Too Much Texting Leads to Detached Retina?

As I was staring at my iPad screen (so hard that my eyes were starting to go buggy) I noticed an interesting and somewhat disturbing article on the popular electronics review site, CNet.

According to something they reported, a Chinese man found himself with a detached retina after spending too much time staring at his phone’s screen, texting his girlfriend day and night.

Detached retinas are usually more common in elderly people. So, the most surprising part of this story may be this man’s age: only 26.  It is also a condition that is associated with advanced myopia–in other words, generally the person who suffers a retina detachment already has some vision problems.

In this man’s case, he was staring at the screen going back and forth with messages to his love, when all of a sudden the screen started to become unclear and he felt like there were lots of particles in his eye that were blocking his view. He did seek medical attention immediately (which was exactly what he should have done!) and they were able to perform surgery on them in order to save his eyesight.

Detached retinas can usually be fixed–but they must be treated as soon as symptoms present themselves.

It’s a good idea if, like the Chinese gentleman in this news story, you find yourself spending hours on end staring at a little bright screen that you take frequent breaks. Look out the window or someplace far away to give your eyes somewhere to focus that isn’t close. Blink as frequently as you can. Get up; walk around (outside if you are able) just to give your eyes a chance to adjust to different or even natural lighting. Anything you can do to allow your eyes to relax from the strain of the screen.

How do you know if your eyes are starting to “feel the burn?” Well, one sure sign is eye fatigue. If your eyes feel tired, droopy, or extra dry, then you can be sure they are working hard and need a break. Sometimes your eyes may even show symptoms like redness, which would be another sure sign that some quick relief (change of visual focus and maybe even some high quality eye drops) may be necessary.

And, of course, should you experience symptoms like floaters, pain, or anything else unusual that appears in your line of vision, don’t hesitate to see your America’s Best optometrist right away.