Saturday, June 15, 2013

Upcoming illnesses - have you heard of NOMOPHOBIA, RINGXITY ??

New Mobile Illnesses

Up till now the debate has been whether mobile radiations can cause brain cancer or not. But of late a new spectrum of diseases related to mobile use has come to the notice of medical profession and it is anticipated that ten years from now they will take an epidemic shape.
1.      Computer vision syndrome – it happens in 90% of the cases who use computer for more than three hours at a stretch. It leads to drying of eyes and headache. Prevention is to take a 20 seconds break after every 20 minutes and look by a distance of 10 feet for these 20 seconds.
2.      Blackberry thumb –This is a pharyngitis inflammation of the thumb leading to pain. This can be prevented by alternatively using fingers while texting using Blackberry phone.
3.      Stiffneck occurs due to constant use of mobile in one hand with neck flexed. The prevention lies in alternative shift of phone from one hand to another.
4.      Cellphone elbow is a pain in the elbow because of the stretching of ulnar nerve  because of use of mobile phone in a flexed position. The prevention lies in using hands free set.
5.      Nomophobia – It is present in 50% of the mobile users and is a type of mobile addiction. In literal meaning it means ‘no mobile phobia’ which means that all the time one is having a fear of losing the phone.
6.      Ringxity – It is a resultant anxiety of not getting a phone in the last 30 minutes. It is present in the 30% of the mobile users.
7.      Phantom ringing – It is present in 20-30% of mobile users and presents as someone feels that mobile is ringing when actually it is not.
8.      Social site addiction – With the use of smart phone, one is addicted to facebook, internet, Twitter and other applications. They can end up in insomnia, fragmented sleep, etc.
9.      After TV facebook is the number two cause of relational disharmony within the family and is present in 20% of the houses.
10.     Smart phone is a cause for parent-child conflict in 30% of the cases. Often children get up late and end up going to school unprepared. On an average, people spend 30-60 minutes in the bed playing with the smart phone before sleep.
Here are a few steps that may help to reduce these upcoming dreaded diseases !
1.     Electronic curfew means not using any electronic gadgets 30 minutes before sleep.
2.     Facebook holiday – One should go for a facebook holiday for 7 days every three months.
3.     Social media fast – Once in a week, one should avoid use of social media.
4.     One should use mobile phone only when mobile. One should not use computer for more than three hours in a day.
5.     Mobile talktime of not more than two house a day.
6.     One should not recharge mobile battery more than once in a day.
7.     Mobile can also be a source of infection in the hospital setup, therefore, it is disinfected everyday.
Full Disclosure : I suffer from Phantom Ringing Syndrome on a regular basis, and sometimes from CVS - Computer Vision Syndrome too :)

No comments: