She went to urgent care. The physicians did a complete blood work and CT. All of the results were negative.
Two days before an overseas trip, she went to follow up with Doc. During the examination, the patient stated that she had a check up with her ophthalmologist 6 months prior. She denied having any nausea, weakness, or vomiting.
Doc then inquired about her daily habits. The most pronouned activity that piqued Doc's interests was her Netflix watching. She said that she used her ipad for about 2-3 hours every night before she goes to bed. As a result, Doc decided to check the patient's eyes.
She had completely mature cataracts. Doc could not even see the retinas.
But how could a patient develop completely mature cataracts in six months after an eye exam? Most likelyi:
1) It had gotten worse since her check up with the ophthalmologist.
2) Her Netflix habits aggravated her symptoms watching ipad and were straining her eyes to the point of cataracts.
However, it is important to note that cataracts are not caused by straining of the eyes. Cataracts develop mainly from sun exposure and the normal process of aging.
The baseline of the original symptoms--the chronic headache--were caused by binge-watching Netflix.
I too need to use the ipad less in bed at night. But Netflix just added a couple of my favorite tv shows...
Terrible,Can such Ipad and computer habits cause such harms to our eyes,I am a regular user of computer that too continuously for 4 to 5 hours minimum.as far no issues .Initially I had headache ,body pains but now not
ReplyDeleteA lot of people binge watch Netflix. I know I use it in place of paying for cable. I recently read that cataract surgery was the number one surgery performed in the U.S
ReplyDeleteIt seems a little far fetched to believe that Netflix would be the only other medical option for advanced cataracts. There has to have been another underlying symptom involved. And if Netflix from the IPad is what worsens the symptoms she should just begin watching it on her television.
ReplyDeleteIt is very frustrating knowing that the things which make us happy cost our health. Everybody should know about this and somehow adjust there lifestyle.
ReplyDeleteIn today's generation, technologies expose us more to radiation through the gadgets that we're using everyday. I guess, cataracts will be rampant nowadays.
ReplyDeleteoh god.. I sleep only hours after playing on my tab at night. I must stop this habit too! Another show called House M.D. also gives a lot of medical knowledge!
ReplyDeleteI love Netflix but I don't own an iPad so I watch it on TV. As a woman of her advanced age, she should know better. My mother used to tell me all the time don't sit so close to the TV.
ReplyDeleteiPads have much smaller screens so we tend to hold it closer to see better. Plus the glare from the screen also adds to the eye strain. I guess having eye problems - whether young or old - is the bane of technology involving screens.
ReplyDeleteThis kind of eye strain seems to be an issue for a lot of people who look at the smaller screens for extended periods of time. It's amazing that it took only 6 months for the patient to not only get cataracts but also extreme strain on the eyes caused the chronic headaches sending her to the doctor in the first place.
ReplyDeleteI know using gadgets (e.g. cellphones, tablets, etc.) can really cause eyestrain, but cataracts? I'm not quite sure about that. However, we should really refrain from using these gadgets too much. Who knows what other medical problems these might bring us.
ReplyDelete