Staying up late to watch TV series and play games for a long time, the young man born in the 2000s almost went blind due to retinal detachment

Xiao Wang (a pseudonym), 20 years old this year, is a junior in college. With fewer and fewer courses and no longer "constrained" by teachers and parents, Xiao Wang began to "let himself go", staying up late in his dorm every day to watch TV series, play games, and read novels. Unexpectedly, this "staying up all night" actually caused his retina to fall off.

Last week, Xiao Wang suddenly felt some mosquito-like insects flying in front of his right eye, and he couldn't get rid of them no matter how hard he tried. And no matter where he looked, it seemed like a black hand was blocking his eyes. At first, he thought it was visual fatigue caused by staying up late, so he didn't pay much attention to it. But after rubbing his eyes and resting, the symptoms did not improve, so Xiao Wang rushed to the Aier Eye Hospital affiliated to Wuhan University for treatment. After examination, it was found that he had a large area of ​​retinal detachment in his right eye, which was on the verge of macula. If not treated in time, it would cause irreversible vision loss or even blindness.

How could Wang, who is young and has a low degree of myopia (100 degrees in the left eye and 300 degrees in the right eye), have retinal detachment? After detailed inquiries, Zhang Rui, deputy chief physician of the Department of Ophthalmology at the Aier Eye Hospital affiliated to Wuhan University, learned that Wang had often stayed up all night to watch TV series, play games, and read novels in recent months. His work and rest schedule was very irregular, and his eyes were seriously overloaded.

"Myopic patients are at risk of retinal detachment. Although Xiao Wang's myopia is not high, he has been staying up late for a long time using electronic products, which leads to excessive eye use and visual fatigue, which to a certain extent leads to retinal detachment." said Associate Chief Physician Zhang Rui.

Professor Wu Jianhua, the dean of the hospital, led a team to perform retinal detachment cryosurgery + episcleral compression surgery on Xiao Wang's right eye. After the surgery, Xiao Wang's vision in his right eye was preserved.

"I always remind myself to go to bed early at night, but every night, even when I'm already in bed, I can't control myself and have to take out my mobile phone and tablet to 'stay up' for a few more hours. I chase TV series, play games, and read novels. I simply can't stop." Xiao Wang regretted his experience of staying up late.

Zhang Rui introduced that in recent years, there are many young patients among the "Internet detachment" patients admitted to the hospital. Almost every year, patients with eye diseases caused by excessive use of eyes such as excessive watching TV series and playing games can be encountered. In mild cases, vision drops sharply, and in severe cases, it leads to retinal detachment. He reminded that retinal detachment requires immediate surgical treatment. The longer the waiting time, the less vision can be restored. Regardless of gender, age or status, you should try to avoid excessive use of your eyes. Generally, you should rest for 5 to 10 minutes after using your eyes for 40 to 60 minutes. People with high myopia should not engage in strenuous exercise to prevent retinal detachment. Once symptoms such as black shadows and flashes appear in front of your eyes, you should go to the hospital for treatment in time.