Woman Who Played Too Many Mobile Games Gets Eye Condition Which May Lead To Blindness

I‘m sure we’re not new to the idea of people playing games on their phones at any hour of the day.

Perhaps our own parents have told us or our younger siblings to stop playing and get into bed now; or don’t play handphone with the light off, ah! 

And you’re thinking, meh, what do you know?

Until you wake up in the morning and realise you can’t open your eyes because you’ve used your phone in the dark too much.

Woman Played Games In The Dark

Every night, a woman obsessed over her phone playing mobile games with her friends in the dark. At first, she’d allowed herself only one game each night before bed.

Image: Giphy

Such was the thrill as her friends coaxed her to play on and on after their team lost.
Before she knew it, her gaming hours had stretched past 2 am.

And sometimes, she could play throughout the night until morning.

Then the Inevitable Happened.

On one perfectly normal day, she found she could not open her eyes in the morning as she felt a stinging sensation.

She had stayed up till 3 am the night before.

She closed her eyes for a while, before slowly opening them again.

Image: Giphy

Fearful from the lesson, she refrained from mobile games for a few days and used steam eye patches to treat her eyes.

Then, as we know, the old habit kicked in again; she played games in bed in the dark once more.

Although she stopped herself from playing into the morning, the damage was done.

Her right eye was so bloodshot that the white could not even be seen.

Image: Giphy (For illustration purpose only)

The doctor then diagnosed her with Glaucoma.

What is Glaucoma?

According to Mayo Clinic, Glaucoma is an eye condition that involves damage to the optic nerve, which is often caused by abnormally high pressure in a person’s eyes.

One of the leading causes of blindness, it can happen to anyone at any age but is most commonly found in people over 60.

Using Your Phone In The Dark Is Bad For Eyes

Zhu, deputy director of the ophthalmology department of the hospital, said that using your phone for any purpose in the dark before going to bed is very bad for the eyes.

The brightness of the screen set against the dark environment makes the eyes more prone to dryness, swelling, and fatigue.

In scientific terms, the strong light of your phone makes the ciliary muscles—those muscles in the eyes that help you refocus your lens—contract forcefully, causing damage to the optic nerve.

Best to leave a light on, okay? I know your friends are perpetually on Mobile Legends or Candy Crush, but at least, be kind to your eyes.

You only have one pair, after all.