Woman Temporarily Loses Eyesight Due To Smartphone Addiction: What We Know

A major change was observed in Manju’s condition after she reduced her screentime.

(Photo: Garima Sadhwani/FIT)

A 30-year-old woman from Hyderabad temporarily lost her eyesight due to an over usage of her phone at night, in the dark. 

Here’s all you need to know about the case.

Dr Sudhir Kumar, Neurologist, Apollo Hospitals, Hyderabad, in a Twitter thread warned people about the cons of using a smartphone in the dark. He cited the example of Manju (30) who was diagnosed with Smartphone Vision Syndrome (SVS), also known as Computer Vision Syndrome or Digital Vision Syndrome.

Manju’s symptoms included a vision problem and seeing

• Floaters

• Bright flashes of light

• Dark Zigzag patterns

The doctor revealed that the major cause behind her being diagnosed with SVS, which can potentially lead to a loss of eyesight, was her using her smartphone “for several hours daily, including >2 hours at nights with lights switched off.”

To be fair, doctors have been warning against this condition for a few years now. In a 2016 study published in The New England Journal of Medicine, the authors had mentioned two cases of women suffering from temporary blindness, which again was caused by using their phones in the dark.

The condition was termed Transient Smartphone Blindness. In fact, a 2023 study published in the American Academy of Opthamology journal stated,

"Transient Smartphone "Blindness" (TSB) is a recent phenomenon characterized by acute, painless, transient vision loss associated with smartphone usage while lying down in the dark. While it is usually monocular, it can rarely present bilaterally. As it can masquerade serious, more well-established pathologies, it is important to rule out ischemic retinal and optic nerve disorders, when evaluating a patient with painless, transient vision loss for TSB."

But, as it appears, the cause was the solution as well. A major change was observed in Manju’s condition after she reduced her screentime. Dr Kumar wrote on Twitter,

“At 1-month review, Manju was absolutely fine. Her vision impairment of 18 months had gone.”

Prevention Better Than Cure? Dr Kumar advises trying to minimise your screentime or at least taking frequent breaks to look away from the screen. That white light coming out of your screen isn’t helping you in any way after all.

Follow This Mantra: 

“Take 20-second break, every 20 min, to look at something 20 feet away, while using a digital screen (20-20-20 rule).”

Dr Sudhir Kumar, Neurologist, Apollo Hospitals, Hyderabad

But wait, there are other disabilities as well that can be caused by high screentime. Retina damage, blurry vision, partial loss of eyesight are all possible conditions that can be caused by the light coming out of your phones.