'Extended screen exposure leads to Computer Vision Syndrome in children'

NEW DELHI: Since schools across Delhi-NCR have been providing online classes to children due to lockdown restrictions, medical experts have warned 'digital eye strain' besides other health consequences.

In expert's view, excessive screen time, use of cellphone in absence of personal computer and laptops may cause dryness and can impact on spine structure too.

Besides this, improper sitting, minimum time interval between consecutive sessions may have adverse impact over mind and body.

According to a senior government hospital doctor, in a virtual classroom hours are spent on the screen, which reduces blink rate and leads to dryness, manifesting into irritation and burning eyes.

Children may complain of pinching sensation. Since screen appears much closer, the eyes tend to converge, leading to tiredness and children may complain of pain above eyebrows.

As precautions, it is advised to encourage the kids to sit at a desk and use desktops for these classes which should not be more than 30 minutes at a time with a break of at least 20 minutes in between classes. Increase the water intake of the child, ensure proper lighting and ventilation in the room where the child is sitting.

"Since, now they have studies on screen, it's preferable that we should limit the total screen time. When your kids are doing online study, make sure that the room light and sitting arrangement are comfortable.

One should keep in mind that very bright room light might make vision difficult on screen.

Also, make sure to enlarge small texts to reduce strain on eyes. High resolution screen improves visibility and is preferred. It's good to keep the screen clean for clarity," said Dr Ramani Ranjan from Motherhood Hospital.

According to Dr Vanuli Bajpai from a hospital located in Dwarka, the extended period of screen exposure is leading to symptoms of Computer Vision Syndrome in these kids.

We have seen a rising number of complaints of redness, burning sensation, itching, tearing and headaches in kids as young as 4-year-old.

The extended screen exposure becomes more harmful when the screen becomes smaller like mobile devices and iPads or tablets.

First and foremost, if the child has prescription glasses, we must make sure that the child always uses these glasses while working on the screen. Also, since all optical stores are non-operational at the moment, take special care that the glasses do not break.

The brightness and the contrast of the screen should not be set at a very high

level.