As Technology Advances, Does Vision Worsen? The Culprit Ruining Our Eyes is Right Beside Us
Eyes are the windows to the soul, and everyone desires to have beautiful eyes with good vision. However, the incidence rate of eye diseases has been gradually rising. In China, the three highest prevalent eye diseases are mild, common myopia, followed by cataracts, and age-related macular degeneration.
“Everyone hopes to have a pair of beautiful eyes, and more so, good vision,” which is vital. Currently in China, the three most common eye diseases are myopia, with severe myopia being capable of causing many eye diseases; cataracts, which although common, can be cured through surgical methods; and the most severe, age-related macular degeneration, which is an irreversible blinding disease with a high incidence rate among the elderly, where prevention is better than cure.
Myopia, cataracts, and age-related macular degeneration are the top three eye diseases in China, with diabetic retinopathy also being a significant concern. Light can bring us brightness, but it can also cause harm. In the past, fluorescent lights were used in meetings, now it’s all LED lights. Why is the number of elderly people going blind in China increasing? Why do our electronic products and modern light sources harm our eyes? It’s because blue light is omnipresent in our lives. Some light sources, if used for a long time, contain a lot of blue light, such as computers, televisions, LED lights, tablet displays, intense sunlight, including bathroom heaters and laser headlights, all contain some blue light.
What impacts and harms does blue light have on our eyes? Some experimental research results show that long-term exposure to blue light causes visual fatigue, which can lead to myopia. For children, physiological development can be affected; long-term exposure to this blue light can induce cataracts earlier in old age and possibly increase the likelihood of macular degeneration. The complications may not be noticeable in the short term, but they will manifest over time. This morning in the clinic, a 31-year-old male, a company employee, who has long-term exposure to computers during the day and smartphones at night, was diagnosed with cataracts at the age of 31. His vision, even with glasses, was only 0.25, indicating that the onset of diseases is occurring earlier.
Therefore, to scientifically protect children’s eyes, the first step is to keep them away from electronic products, which is better than any protection gear. For adults, since work often involves the use of electronic products, it’s advisable to wear blue light blocking glasses, and have a blue light protective film on the surface of electronic devices, which is also very good. For children, two hours of outdoor activities are recommended, while in China currently, only one hour is advised for children. If we increase their outdoor activity time, encourage looking into the distance instead of near objects, and wear blue light or polarized glasses during intense sunlight, it could be beneficial. Outdoor activities have many advantages; even if you don’t look at electronic products indoors, your farthest view is only about 5 to 6 meters. Outdoors, even without looking far, the range your eyes reach is much further, like the indigenous people who often engage in outdoor activities have a vision of 3.0, while our best vision is 1.5. It’s advised for children to spend more time outdoors. We also found in the clinic that children who are willing to engage in outdoor activities for 2 to 3 hours daily have a very slow development of myopia. Eyes are the most important organ apart from life itself, protecting eyes is the responsibility of the entire society, may we all have a pair of healthy and bright eyes.