Playing with your phone without turning on the lights for a long time may cause glaucoma overnight

Glaucoma is known asVision Thief", because its early symptoms are often not obvious, it is difficult for patients to immediately notice that their vision is quietly losing. However, among them, acute glaucoma is like "Vision Robber"It can be as ferocious as a glaucoma—it can cause blindness overnight, rapidly damaging visual function. Ophthalmologists point out that glaucoma isn't limited to the elderly. Prolonged reading or mobile phone use in dimly lit environments at night can cause a rapid surge in intraocular pressure, triggering an acute attack. Furthermore, winter is a potentially high-risk season for this condition due to the difference in daylight length and the effects of cold medications.

Clinical observations show that glaucoma is mainly divided into two types: chronic and acute. Chronic glaucoma is a more common type, with an insidious course and almost no obvious discomfort in the early stages, but the patient's vision will gradually decline over time, as if "quietly being eaten away." In contrast, acute glaucoma develops rapidly, with symptoms erupting in a short period of time: patients will not only experience redness and swelling of the eyes and obvious pain, but may also experience blurred vision, rainbow halos, severe headaches, nausea and vomiting, and other systemic reactions. From a pathological perspective, chronic glaucoma usually includes open-angle, primary, and secondary types; while acute glaucoma is mostly characterized by angle-closure.

The root cause of glaucoma is the abnormal closure of the anterior chamber angle (the narrow passage between the cornea and iris). This blocks the drainage of the aqueous humor (the clear fluid that maintains pressure in the eye), leading to persistently elevated intraocular pressure and ultimately damaging the optic nerve. When this closure worsens suddenly (as in acute anterior chamber angle obstruction), intraocular pressure can rapidly rise from the normal range (approximately 10 to 21 mmHg) to 40 to 60 mmHg, triggering an acute glaucoma crisis.

Ophthalmologist Li Wanwei further explained that winter is a critical period of increased risk for glaucoma. On the one hand, at night, when light is low, the human pupil naturally dilates to increase light intake. However, this process narrows the anterior chamber angle, obstructing aqueous humor flow and thus increasing intraocular pressure. Furthermore, winter is also a common cold season, and some cold medications may have the side effect of increasing intraocular pressure, further exacerbating the risk of glaucoma. She specifically warned that prolonged use of the eyes in dimly lit environments (such as reading while lying down or scrolling through a phone late at night) significantly increases the risk of aqueous humor outflow obstruction, necessitating extreme caution.

For the treatment strategy of glaucoma, doctors usually adopt a step-by-step approach according to the stage of the disease. The first choice is drug treatment, including eye drops to lower intraocular pressure, oral medications, supplemented by pupil constriction and anti-inflammatory measures to help clear the aqueous humor channels. If the effect of drug control is limited, laser treatment can be considered to improve aqueous humor drainage. For elderly patients, if they also have cataract problems, doctors often recommend cataract surgery to treat the two diseases simultaneously - this type of surgery can not only improve vision, but also help relieve glaucoma symptoms. Li Wanwei shared a real case: an 80-year-old mother-in-law suffered from acute glaucoma in her left eye due to cataracts. The intraocular pressure soared from normal to dangerous levels in just 2 to 3 days.sharp decrease in visionAfter a combination of eye drops and cataract surgery, her vision was successfully restored by approximately 30%. She emphasized, "The golden age of glaucoma treatment lies in early medical attention. The earlier the patient receives intervention, the higher the success rate of visual recovery."

Regarding prevention measures for high-risk groups, Li Wanwei pointed out that those over 40, those with severe hyperopia, small eye structures (congenitally narrow anterior chamber angles), severe cataracts, and a family history of glaucoma are all at high risk for acute glaucoma. She recommends regular eye examinations for these individuals, especially those diagnosed with anterior chamber angle narrowing, who should closely monitor changes in intraocular pressure. Furthermore, for everyday protection for the general public, she specifically urged avoiding prolonged eye use in low-light environments. If using a mobile phone is necessary, it is recommended to increase the screen brightness and enable eye protection mode to reduce the chance of excessive pupil dilation in the dark, thereby mitigating the risk of abnormally elevated intraocular pressure. Early screening and lifestyle adjustments can provide a stronger safeguard for precious vision.