𝗙𝗥𝗢𝗠 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗟𝗞 & 𝗗𝗨𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝗧𝗢 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗗𝗜𝗚𝗜𝗧𝗔𝗟 𝗪𝗢𝗥LD

Published Article in TTIS - The Telegraph in Schools

More than a year into the coronavirus pandemic, parents across the globe are grappling with the same problem: how do you monitor a child’s eyes on digital devices when lessons have moved online and there are restrictions on going outside and socialising?

Educational institutions in the country have been closed since March 2020 to stop the spread of the novel COrona Virus Disease (COVID). However, there is uncertainty as to when these schools will reopen. Since there is no immediate solution to stop the spread of the COVID pandemic, the closure of schools will continue, having a large effect on the learning of children. The outbreak has changed the traditional teaching method of using blackboards to digital device-assisted online classes. During the long months of lockdowns and shuttered schools, parents should rethink screen time rules, especially when their children’s lessons take place online.

In this new e-learning procedure, children need to spend extra time using digital devices. Spending long hours in front of these screens dev can lead to many ocular problems in children. Digital Eye Strain (DES) is the most common eye problem associated with prolonged digital device use, characterized by symptoms such as dry eyes, itching, foreign body sensation, watering, blurring of vision, and headaches. Along with these symptoms, rates of myopia have been rising globally. The prevalence of myopia among children aged 6-19 years is estimated at around 40% in Europe and North America and higher in Asia. Other theories on how viewing distances impact where the light is focused on the retina state that shorter viewing distances while indoors may promote abnormal growth of the eye which increases the power in myopics. Routine eye checkup and eye exercises which were being done in eye clinics on a regular basis for lazy eye (amblyopia) treatment and convergence-accommodation difficulties also stopped suddenly after the announcement of sudden lockdown.

So, few rules have to be remembered when your child sits in front of digital devices to avoid increasing powers and digital eye syndromes:

1. Children must wear their spectacles at all times if they have any.

2. Children should sit straight and the One-Two-Ten (1-2-10) rule for the distance from digital devices should be maintained:

Mobile phones at a distance of one foot

Desktops and Laptops at a distance of two feet

and

Television at a distance of 10 feet.

The American Academy of Ophthalmology recommends a minimum distance of approximately 25 inches= approximately 2feet (about an arm's length) from the screen when using a computer. Never allow your children to lie down while with digital devices. The very famous 20-20-20 rules must be maintained: After 20 minutes of a digital session, children should take 20 seconds of rest before looking at a distant object which is situated 20 feet away from the screen.

3. Excessive air-conditioning, low water intake and staring at digital devices at a stretch causes Dry Eye easily. Encourage your child to blink frequently during e-classes. Water intake before and after online activities are a must. The temperature of your air-condition must not be too low which can reduce the atmospheric humidity. Lower the humidity, higher the chances of dry eye.

4. Children can use lubricating after taking advice from their eye professionals.

5. Parents should adjust the brightness of the screens of digital devices to reduce eye strain. These adjustments can be done through the settings of the device. Along with the brightness of the screen, the room lighting should be dimmer than the screen light of digital devices.

6. Font Sizes should be big for viewing comfortably. It's not a good idea to work on a smartphone or a tablet for long periods because the text is too small. Encourage your children to sit straight in front of the Desktop/Laptop.

7. Video games must be avoided after online classes. All types of board games must be introduced and parents are requested to take a vital part in this if they have a single child.

8. Proper rest is also required after online activities for a long time.

9. Outdoor activities like yoga, jogging, playing with pets or siblings are still recommended to decrease the rate of myopia because according to theory, light intensity and time spent outdoors regulates the release of dopamine in the retina, which controls the growth of the eye.

10. If after taking the above precautions, your child is still complaining of headache, eye-ache, difficulty in focussing on letters, can’t read paragraphs at a stretch, blurring of vision during near work, you must visit an Eye clinic with proper precautions of mask and sanitiser.

11. Parents who are still scared to visit the Eye clinic for eye exercises that have stopped abruptly because of the sudden lockdown, have good news for them: Online Home Vision Therapy is now available for children with amblyopia (lazy eye), Convergence-Accommodation deficiency, Computer Vision Syndrome (Digital Eye Syndrome).

Online Home Vision Therapy is becoming a useful tool because children now do not need to go to the eye clinic during this pandemic on a regular basis for eye exercises. Above all, therapy would be monitored by a therapist online in the comfort of your home itself. Children will be in touch with the therapist for the maximum amount of time.

Do visit your nearest Eye clinic by prior appointment for the initial checkup after which, instead of regular visits, you can avail Online Vision therapy in the comfort of your home which will be prescribed and monitored by your Eye therapist itself.

Contact for further enquiry: gargichoudhury.orthoptist@gmail.com

Phone- 9830555001

Resources :Dr Sagarika Choudhury for collecting data from BBC News/Indian Journal of ophthalmology/JAMA/American Academy of Ophthalmology