Elderly woman in China who spends almost all day on phone ends up with 2,300-degree myopia

A Chinese woman in her 70s found she had developed 2,300-degree myopia during a checkup, with an aggravating factor purportedly due to her excessive mobile phone use.  

Chinese media reported that the elderly woman from Heze, Shandong had gone to the hospital for a checkup after experiencing blurred vision.

Her granddaughter, identified as Cui, said that since other family members were usually not at home, she had taught her grandparents how to use smartphones to keep them entertained. 

However, they became addicted to their devices and would spend almost all day on their phones, often from morning till past midnight. 

The checkup found that her grandmother's vision was 2,300 degrees for her left eye and 1,550 degrees for her right eye. Meanwhile, her grandfather was found to have astigmatism of 300 degrees, reported Hong Kong news outlet HK01 last month. 

Dr Zhai Changbin (transliteration) from Beijing Tongren Hospital said that there were most likely other contributing factors which aggravated the elderly woman's condition, aside from her daily mobile phone usage, reported Jiupai News. 

He added that the woman may have degenerative or pathologic myopia, which can worsen over time. 

In addition, the elderly woman was also found to have cataracts but had not received treatment for both conditions for many years, reported Shaanxi TV News. 

Coupled with her long hours of screentime, her vision gradually deteriorated. Her family added that she would often use her phone while lying in bed and in the dark.

Dr Zhai also advised that when using mobile phones indoors, it is recommended to ensure there is sufficient lighting and discouraged prolonged usage of mobile phones as it can cause eye fatigue. 

The phone should also be held 30cm to 50cm from the eyes as it is detrimental to myopia control to hold such devices close to the eyes. 

[[nid:730904]]

esther.lam@asiaone.com