"Wait a moment, should I watch the video?" Turning off the lights and using your phone could lead to blindness... risk of 'this condition'

Ah... ㅠ_ㅠ

While putting the kids to sleep, I absolutely must not use my phone...

Rather, I should put the kids to sleep and go outside...

Use your smartphone in bright light!!

Starting tonight, even in the dark early morning hours, using your phone in your room...

I need to fix it.

Going blind due to glaucoma... I never want to experience that...

Everyone, be careful with your eyes!! For your eye health, please keep your smartphones far away when you go to bed to take care of yourself~

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"Wait a moment, should I watch the video?" Turning off the lights and using your phone could lead to blindness... risk of 'this condition'

 

 

 

As the number of people watching videos on smartphones and other devices regardless of location and time increases, the recent detection of glaucoma, an eye disease, among people in their 30s has also risen. In particular, the habit of turning off the lights and watching smartphones, TV, etc., before falling asleep can raise intraocular pressure and may contribute to the development of glaucoma, so caution is needed.

 

According to the medical community on the 10th, glaucoma is a condition in which the optic nerve, which transmits light received by the eye to the brain, gradually deteriorates, leading to a narrowing of the visual field and potentially causing blindness.

 

Glaucoma is affected by intraocular pressure. The cause of increased intraocular pressure is that the aqueous humor, a fluid that fills the eye, supplies nutrients and carries waste products but cannot drain normally. When intraocular pressure rises, the eyeball becomes as hard as a balloon filled with air. As a result, all structures within the eye receive pressure, and the particularly soft optic nerve area is subjected to pressure, leading to damage.

 

Glaucoma gradually increases in individuals over the age of 40, with the highest number of patients in their 60s, but recently, there is a trend of increasing cases among younger generations. In particular, as refractive surgeries such as LASIK and LASEK are widely performed, many cases are discovered incidentally when patients visit an ophthalmologist for examinations.

 

Most young glaucoma patients often have myopia or high myopia, and other retinal diseases besides glaucoma are also sometimes detected.

 

If you have myopia or high myopia, you are more vulnerable to glaucoma damage. As myopia progresses to high myopia, the eyeball enlarges and the front-to-back length increases. When the eye lengthens, the optic nerve is pulled taut, making the optic nerve relatively thinner and increasing the risk of glaucoma. In addition to intraocular pressure, hypertension, diabetes, and other adult diseases can be risk factors, and family history is very important.

 

When working with your head bowed for a long time in a dark place, the pupils dilate and the lens moves forward, causing the anterior chamber angle (the passage through which aqueous humor is released) to narrow. This obstructs the flow of aqueous humor and increases the risk of developing glaucoma. There is also congenital glaucoma, which occurs due to abnormal aqueous humor drainage function in the eyes from infancy, leading to improper intraocular pressure regulation.

 

Glaucoma cannot have the already damaged optic nerve function restored even with treatment, and only treatments that slow the progression of damage are possible. Glaucoma can occur even if intraocular pressure is normal, so individuals over 40 years old experiencing presbyopia, or those with cardiovascular diseases such as hypertension or diabetes, high myopia or ultra-high myopia, or a family history should undergo regular check-ups.

 

Kim Joo-yeon, director of the Seeran Hospital Eye Center, stated, "Glaucoma usually affects patients over 60 years old, but recently, the number of patients in their 30s and 40s has been steadily increasing. If there are high-risk factors such as diabetes, hypertension, high myopia, or the use of steroids for more than six months, it is necessary to undergo glaucoma screening." She emphasized, "The visual field loss in normal-tension glaucoma progresses gradually, making it difficult for patients to notice symptoms on their own."

 

He added, "In axial myopia, the sclera becomes thinner to protect the optic nerve, and as the eyeball enlarges, the blood vessels cannot increase accordingly, leading to decreased blood flow which adversely affects optic nerve health." He further emphasized, "Glaucoma damages the optic nerve, eventually narrowing the visual field, and in advanced stages, can lead to blindness. Therefore, early diagnosis and treatment are especially important for younger individuals."

 

 

Reporter Lee So-eun (luckysso@mt.co.kr)