Beware of health disorders from use of smartphones, PCs
While cancer still looms large as the main cause of death in Korea, some new chronic illnesses have taken a hold in our lives. This is the first of a series of articles on what plagues modern Koreans these days. ― ED.
By Kim Da-hee, Lee Han-soo
Yang Yeo-sun, 29, always packs a vial of artificial tears in her bag. To Yang, who works at a nongovernmental organization, “dry eyes” are more common than a cold. Dry eyes is a condition in which tear ducts are unable to keep the eyes moist and lubricated.
“I can’t recall when I started having dry eyes, but I think staring at computer screens and my smartphone all day has contributed much to it.”
She is not alone. Surrounded by computers, smartphones and other electronic devices that strain our eyes, many people today suffer from dry eyes.
“Almost all of my friends use artificial tears because of dry eyes,” said Lim Ha-kyung, a 23-year-old university student. “I think people today have chronic dry eyes because we spend a lot of time on smartphones and computers.”
Indeed, the number of patients with dry eyes reached a record 2.1 million in 2015 according to the Korean Ophthalmological Society, snowballing from only 970,000 in 2004. The number of patients in their 30s and 40s affected by dry eyes increased by 207 percent over the past decade, while patients in their teens increased by 195 percent.
The reason for the significant increase in the number of dry eye sufferers is the excessive exposure to electronic visual display terminals (VDTs) such as smartphones and computers. The prolonged interaction with VDTs leads to the decreased frequency of blinking and overexposure to blue lights, which, in turn, harms the function of lacrimal glands, the compound gland that secrets tears, by increasing the rate of tear evaporation, which leads to dry eyes with ocular fatigue.
“The most common reason patients visit an opthalmologist is dry eyes,” Dr. Hong Ji-won, a director of Yebon Eye Network in Jongno, central Seoul, told The Korea Times. “Along with the increased amount of time focusing on VDTs, people do not blink as much as they need to, which prevents their eyes from being lubricated.” Hong said dry eyes can also deteriorate eyesight because the increasing rate of tear evaporation causes more scarring on the cornea.
Dry eyes is just one of symptoms of VDT syndrome, induced by the excessive exposure to VDTs. According to Health Insurance Review & Assessment Service (HIRA) nearly 48 million people suffered from the syndrome during the five year period between 2010 and 2014.
Carpal tunnel syndrome
Dry eyes isn’t the only health problem that plagues technologically inclined people. Carpal tunnel syndrome, which used to affect mainly housewives in their 30s to 60s caused by repetitive housework, such as dishwashing and cleaning, now also affects many people who use computers and smartphones on a daily basis. According to HIRA, patients treated for carpal tunnel syndrome has increased 40 percent between 2009 and 2013. Although, the majority of the patient population is still largely in their 50s the population span in growing.
Lee Jun-hun, a 31-year-old programmer at an IT firm in Seoul, spends his days off and weekends visiting hospitals. “Dry eyes is only one of the problems I have; I also suffer from other disorders related to VDT syndrome.” His long hours in front of computers and doing repetitive tasks on his keyboard have deteriorated Lee’s right hand and wrist. “The numbness I can bear,” Lee said.
“But the stabbing pain I feel when I type repetitively has become unbearable; I initially thought it would go away, but the pain became worse,” Lee explained.
“Since carpal tunnel syndrome is a disorder that is related with the excessive repeated use of our hands, it is important to rest them whenever you can. If that is not possible, surgery is another option,” Moon Soon-young, an orthopedist who runs his own practice in Geumchun-gu, Seoul, told The Korea Times. However, Moon said surgery should only be the last resort and early treatment and self-care were the most important. “Regular stretching and applying heat packs can ease the pain and help greatly in preventing carpal tunnel syndrome,” he added.
Disk disorders
Song Dong-hwan, a 28-year-old who works at an advertising company, says long hours at work have had a negative effect on his body.
“I was diagnosed with herniated cervical nucleus (HCN) a year ago, and even though I have had treatment when I feel stressed or worn out, the pain seems to get worse,” Song said.
“When I’m tired, the pain is unbearable to the point where I almost want to break my neck to stop it from hurting. But long hours mean that I don’t get to sleep a lot, so the problem becomes an endless cycle of pain and discomfort,” he said.
While HCN is just one of the most common disk disorders related to VDT syndrome. Another common disk disorder related is a herniated lumbar intervertebral disk. Disk disorders are commonly caused by bad posture or accidents and are worsened by mental factors, stress and chronic fatigue.
“When our body balance collapses, our body secretes stress hormones to recover. But when the balance is significantly off, one can suffer from bone weakness, indigestion and nerve damage, which can lead to spinal disk problems,” Moon said.
Moon believes the most important factor in minimizing stress and preventing these disorders is satisfaction in our daily life. “Physical issues are important, of course, but they are not everything. Sometimes, the mental aspects make the disorder or illness much more painful than it actually is,” he said.