Woman in China develops glaucoma after repeatedly playing mobile games in the dark

Playing on smartphones with friends or even watching other people play tends to be how us gamers get sucked into mobile gaming. The best part is that you can take your game anywhere — in the loo, on the bus, at someone's wedding. It's come to the point we're playing in the dark on our beds as well, right before dozing off.

As such, there have been multiple cases of gamers across the globe afflicted with various disorders — especially after their eyes are constantly blasted by the light emitting from mobile devices in the pitch dark. Like this Chinese gamer who developed glaucoma from her habit of using her smartphone at night with the lights switched off.

Oriental Daily reported that a 29-year-old lady had been diagnosed with worsening optic damage after she grew addicted to playing games with her friends on her smartphone every night before going to sleep. Gradually, she found herself playing until the wee hours of the morning.

Once, after playing till late, she had found herself unable to open her eyes as there had been a stinging sensation. She refrained from playing till the wee hours of the morning for a couple of days, using steam eye patches to treat her eyes.

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Alas, she resumed her harmful habit. Soon after, she noticed her right eye becoming extremely red and bloodshot. A visit to the doctor confirmed that she had glaucoma.

Prolonged exposure to mobile devices in the dark causes dryness, swelling and fatigue to the eyes, advised Dr. Zhu, the deputy director of ophthalmology in the hospital. Repeatedly causing the forced contraction in the ciliary muscles (the muscle in your eye that allows the lens to change shape for focusing) when you use your phone in the dark can cause damage to the optic nerve.

Concurrently, a restriction of blood supply to the eyes occurs, resulting in a rise in intraocular pressure, which leads to glaucoma and even blindness.

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Likewise, another Chinese lady, who enjoys playing mobile games with her friends every night before bed, has a habit of using her smartphone with the lights switched off.

If that ain't enough to scare you, a 21-year-old Chinese lady lost vision in her right eye after playing a mobile game on her smartphone for an entire day back in 2017. She was diagnosed with retinal artery occlusion, a painless loss of monocular vision.

Maybe, just maybe, we should have listened to our parents and gone outside instead of playing video games. Or at least just don't play games on your smartphone in the dark. 

mabelkhoo@asiaone.com