I play with my phone until the early morning every day, and my myopia reaches 2300 degrees... This kind of eye use is very dangerous!

Recently, a 70-year-old grandmother in Heze, Shandong went to the hospital for a checkup due to blurred vision. It turned out that she was 2,300 degrees myopic. Her granddaughter said that her grandparents played with their mobile phones every day until the early morning, which led to their high myopia at the age when they were most likely to suffer from presbyopia.

Netizens have said that their elderly family members also suffer from eye discomfort due to their addiction to watching short videos. The elderly are a high-risk group for eye diseases such as presbyopia and glaucoma. How should they use their eyes correctly when watching videos? What are some common misconceptions about using our eyes in life?

These misunderstandings about myopia

■ Vision is fixed after the age of 18 and will not improve ❌

As the eye develops, the refractive state of many people will gradually stabilize after adulthood, but it does not mean that we have to press the stop button at this point. If there is excessive eye use and pathological myopia, myopia may continue to develop even in adulthood.

■ If you have myopia, you won’t get presbyopia ❌

Myopia is a refractive error caused by the elongation of the eye axis, while presbyopia is a decrease in refractive power caused by the aging of the lens and ciliary muscle, which generally worsens with age. Myopia and hyperopia patients may develop symptoms of presbyopia at a certain age.

■ Turn off the lights when using your phone to save power and have little impact on your eyes❌

Playing with mobile phones in the dark before going to bed, staring at the phone for a long time, the constantly changing light and shadow will cause continuous stimulation to the eyes, which will lead to dry eyes in the long run, causing myopia and astigmatism to deepen, and also induce acute glaucoma. For the elderly, the risk of macular degeneration and cataracts will also increase greatly.

■ It is comfortable to watch your phone while lying down, and it has no effect on your eyesight ❌

Lying sideways to watch the phone may seem comfortable, but it is more likely to cause vision loss. Doing so for a long time will not only cause visual fatigue, but also lead to dry eyes, early onset of myopia or rapid increase in myopia, and even develop into high myopia.

When lying flat, because the eyes are closer to the bottom of the phone, more adjustments are required, which can cause eye muscle spasms and rapidly worsen myopia. In the long run, this may lead to high myopia or induce strabismus.

Watch short videos frequently

Take these eye protection tips

In old age (over 60 years old), eye aging accelerates and vision declines significantly. If you watch short videos for a long time, diseases such as floaters, glaucoma, cataracts, and macular degeneration can easily threaten your visual health.

To love and protect your eyes, you must first know what your eyes like and dislike.

■ Eyes don’t like long-term work

When watching short videos, it is recommended to avoid looking at the phone screen for a long time and with high intensity. You can adopt the "20-20-20 rule". After watching short videos for 20 minutes, stop what you are doing and look at a distance of at least 20 meters away for 20 seconds. This allows the continuously tense ciliary muscles to relax in time, effectively relieving visual fatigue.

At the same time, the total time spent on mobile phones should not exceed 4 hours a day.

■ Eyes don’t like too much pressure

Correct sitting posture is crucial to reducing eye pressure. Make sure the phone screen is at eye level and don't sit too close to the screen. At the same time, maintain a good sitting posture to watch, try not to lie down or lie prone, to reduce the pressure on the cervical spine and eyes.

■ Eyes do not like environments that are too bright or too dark

When watching short videos, make sure there is sufficient light around you and keep the screen brightness moderate, avoiding too bright or too dark to avoid irritating your eyes. When using your phone at night, you can turn on the eye protection light to reduce the damage of blue light to your eyes.

■ Eyes don’t like to be ignored! Don’t forget to check your intraocular pressure and fundus during your annual physical examination

It is recommended to have an in-depth eye examination every year, including intraocular pressure, fundus, etc., to promptly detect potential diseases.

■ Eyes: If you like outdoor sports, remember to wear sunglasses

The elderly can also increase their exercise appropriately, such as walking, Tai Chi and other low-intensity exercises. This will help avoid the ciliary muscles being in a state of tension for a long time and also help relieve visual fatigue.

Special reminder: Wear sunglasses during outdoor activities to reduce damage to your eyes from ultraviolet rays.

■ Eyes like fresh fruits and vegetables, egg yolks, and deep-sea fish

In terms of diet, increase the intake of foods rich in vitamin C, lutein, zeaxanthin, omega-3 fatty acids, such as fresh fruits and vegetables, egg yolks, and deep-sea fish. These nutrients help delay the aging of the lens.

■ Eyes also like to be massaged to relax

You can use acupoint pressing, cold water eye washing, hot compress eye protection and other methods to relieve eye fatigue and improve vision function. You can also do eyeball gymnastics to effectively prevent presbyopia by exercising the muscles that support the eyeballs.

Source: Beijing News, compiled from Beijing Evening News and CCTV News