About Video Games and Eye Problems

In today's gaming world, many parents are concerned about the amount of time that children play video games. In addition to obesity and aggressive behavior, children that spend an extended amount of time playing video games may also experience visual problems.

Focus issues

The eyes focus on a video screen differently than on a flat surface. For example, if a child is looking at a piece of notebook paper or other printed material, the brain and eyes understand exactly what distance to focus at. When looking at a video screen, however, the eyes are constantly changing focus due to the rapid movement on the screen. This makes the eyes tire out quickly. In addition, the eyes tend to become locked to the screen when a child plays video games. This has a long-lasting effect and makes it hard for the eyes to focus on other objects, even after the child is done playing the video game.

Irritation

When children are engaged in video games, the concentration level involved leads to less blinking. This affects the tear ducts which can result in dry, itchy eyes and cause irritation and redness. 

Solutions

Parents with children that have video game consoles and systems should encourage them to take frequent breaks. One way to ensure that this gets done is to use a timer and set it for an allotted time. Once the buzzer goes off, the parent should have the child engage in another activity that does not involve looking at a screen of any kind. This includes the television and computer. Another idea is to make sure that children sit far away from the video screen. Most eye doctors recommend a distance of 6 feet for console games, such as PlayStation, Game Cube, Xbox or Wii. Establishing these guidelines for children will help prevent the negative affects on the eyes that result from prolonged video game play.