Main image via Y107 + Rutnin
It’s been said time and time again, using your phone in the dark will cause you to go blind or cause irreversible damage to your eyes.
Well, this woman may not have gone blind, but she has definitely learnt her lesson the hard way.
via GIPHY
A 29-year-old woman from China was recently diagnosed with glaucoma – an eye condition that involves damage to the optic nerve that’s usually caused by abnormally high pressure in a person’s eye.
The condition is known to be one of the main causes of blindness, especially for those over the age of 60. Glaucoma can occur at any age, but is most commonly found in the elderly.
This is why it’s very surprising that a young woman aged 29 is already suffering from the condition.
Image via Rutnin
According to Oriental Daily, the woman was addicted to playing mobile games and would end up playing them with her friends every night, sometimes until 2am or 3am, before finally going to bed.
The woman and her friends were really into playing team games and would agree to play a couple of games together every night. One thing would lead to another, and soon the woman found herself playing later and later into the night.
After staying up past 3am one night, the woman found herself unable to open her eyes the next morning.
She was so scared when that happened that she stopped playing games on her phone for a few days and used steam eye patches on her eyes. But unfortunately, bad habits are hard to break.
The woman found herself playing games on her phone once again, but this time she made sure that she didn’t play too late into the night. But she did however, keep playing in the dark.
Unfortunately for the woman, the damage to her had already been done. One day, she found that her right eye was extremely red and bloodshot. The whites in her eyes couldn’t even be seen! She went straight to the doctor to get it checked out.
via GIPHY
The doctor diagnosed the 29-year-old with glaucoma.
Zhu, the deputy director of the ophthalmology department of the hospital, said that the using your phone in the dark before falling asleep is very bad for the eyes. This includes playing games, going on social media, and reading.
The deputy director went on to explain that using your phone in the dark will cause your eyes to be more prone to dryness, swelling and fatigue. Using your phone in the dark will make the ciliary muscles – the eye muscle that relaxes or tightens to enable the lens to change shape for focusing; contract forcefully, which could cause optic nerve damage.
When the eyes’ blood supply is restricted, intraocular pressure will rise which results in glaucoma or even severe cases, blindness.
Once again, if you can avoid using your phone in the dark, please try to or you could lose your sight. And if you do need to use your phone, turn on a light. That little act could save your eyes!
Share this with someone who always uses their phone in the dark!
Info via Oriental Daily