A 21-year-old woman from Dongguang, China lost her vision after playing the much popular "Kings of Glory" game on her smartphone for an entire day. The woman who goes by her pseudonym, Xiao Wu, felt a weird sensation on her right eye on the night of October 1. She had to be admitted to the hospital on the very next day.
Ophthalmologists in the Donggiang Huaxia Eye Hospital confirmed that Wu is suffering from retinal artery occlusion, a condition where the blood flow through the retinal artery is blocked. This irreversible condition will result in the painless loss of monocular vision and is usually found in patients of 70-years of age and older. Retinal artery occlusion is a very serious condition which results in permanent vision loss.
Wu: Obsessed with "Kings of Glory"
Asia One reports that Wu is a person who is addicted to "Kings of Glory". Friends of Wu claims that the young woman used to spend more than 8 hours a day just for gameplay, and on some days, she even used to skip sleep to complete various levels of the game.
The warning was first signalled when Wu started playing the game after dinner on October 1. After a painful night, Wu was rushed to the hospital on the next morning, where doctors confirmed the seriousness of her condition. According to medical experts, Wu's condition is the result of excessive fatigue in her eyes due to continuous exposure to the mobile phone screen.
A lesson for disobedient kids
Parents insist their children not to watch TV and stare at computer screens for long, as it may damage their vision. Kids often neglect this advice and they continue indulging in the same. The parents of Wu also tried to persuade her to keep the phone down. Her disobedience finally made her partially blind.
"Sometimes I lose track of time, I don't eat even when my parents ask me to. Now I feel afraid and regret not listening to them," Wu told Asia One.
Wu revealed that she used to begin gaming as early as 6.00 am and lasted until 4.00 pm. After taking a short nap, she used to continue playing until 2.00 am.
Tips to protect your eyes
This is not the first time that a case of vision loss due to smartphone usage is getting reported. Previously, on August 2016, a 31-year-old woman faced temporary loss of vision following unending hours of Pokemon gameplay.
A similar incident happened in China on March 2017, where a Chinese woman developed Glaucoma after watching a Korean drama on her tablet.
According to experts, the best way to protect your eyes from smartphone usage is by taking breaks while staring at the screen. Experts advise adopting the 20-20-20 rule to protect your eyes effectively. The basic concept of this rule is to take a break from looking at the screen every 20 minutes for 20 seconds and should look at an object twenty feet away during this interval. It is also recommended to reduce the brightness of the mobile screen in order to reduce the negative effects on the eyes.
