Screens giving children OLD-AGE eye disease

CHILDREN are developing an incurable eye condition that is more often seen in the elderly because they spend so much time staring at smartphones and tablets.

Dry eye disease causes burning and gritty eyes and has been linked to prolonged screen use.

Blinking is needed to clear debris and keep the cells which prevent eyes from drying out healthy. However, those using screens don’t blink as often as they should. ‘Dry eye is traditionally considered an old person’s disease, but we are increasingly seeing it surface in children,’ said eye health expert Professor James Wolffsohn of Aston University who is leading a new study eye health.

‘This is likely because of prolonged screen use, which makes us blink less and speeds up [how quickly] tears evaporate.

‘We need to do more to understand the health implications of children glued to smartphones, tablets and game consoles for hours at a time.’

Dry eye disease affects one in five adults, but the chances of getting it increase with age, so the rate rises to one in three among pensioners.

Tending to affect women more than men, it causes temporarily blurred vision, burning, red eyes and feelings of dryness, grittiness and soreness which get worse through the day. While incurable, the symptoms can be controlled with eye drops.

Professor Wolffsohn, who has treated patients for 20 years at his clinic, said he had seen few children in that time.

However, within just two months of opening, a dry eye clinic he runs has been attended by around 50 children, typically aged from 12 to 18.

Of these, roughly seven have been diagnosed with dry eye disease, which the young patients said got worse when they were using smartphones and tablets.

Professor Wolffsohn raised the issue at the Royal Society Summer Science Exhibition, where he was presenting an app to detect dry eye disease.

He said: ‘There is good evidence that when you stare at a screen you blink less often. This is natural because when you are really concentrating, on a computer game or social media, you try to achieve clear, uninterrupted vision. Even when people in this scenario do blink, they do so partially, with the eyelid making it only most of the way down before going back up again.

‘These behaviours can cause damage to the cells of the eyes which are important for avoiding dry eye disease.’

When the natural blinking process is disrupted, tears evaporate faster from the surface of the eye, become more salty and cause damage to important cells.

Professor Wolffsohn’s app is set to record data from 1,500 visitors to the Royal Society in London, and in its first day identified around 15 young people unable to keep their eyes open for more than about ten seconds – a warning sign of dry eye disease.

‘There is a certain irony in using technology to diagnose the ills caused by technology, ‘ he said. ‘But our app is an effective way of raising awareness about this persisting and debilitating condition.

‘Our research has the potential to guide people to more appropriate treatment at an earlier stage.’