“Digital eyestrain is prevalent in 60% of adults and has become a real issue in children and adolescents.” With full access to online streaming and virtual work and school, today’s woman dreamer, Dr. Bharti Gangwani, a pediatric ophthalmologist at Boston Children’s Hospital, shares her top tips to protecting your and your children’s eyes. Inspired by the art of surgery at a young age, Dr. Gangwani shares how she found her passion for the field of ophthalmology. Enjoy her story below!

1) How did you know you wanted to be a doctor? Why ophthalmology?

During early childhood, I had an injury on my forehead after falling down a flight of stairs that required a couple of stitches. I was so fascinated by the art of surgery at that young age that I had always dreamed of becoming a surgeon. I would have been lost if I had not gotten accepted into medical school. After finishing my undergrad, I spent more than half of my internship in general surgery in pursuit of my dream, where I was discouraged every single day that general surgery is not meant for girls/women. I was persuaded by the attending surgeon and couple of my friends to seek Ophthalmology. The specialty of Ophthalmology is clean, has fewer emergencies and allows a good work-life balance. The best facet for me was that it involved microsurgery that was technically challenging, required greater precision and perfection than even general surgery and it was satisfying. This is how I began my journey in Ophthalmology. I finished my Ophthalmology residency and first fellowship in India. It was my first year in practice when I got married and moved to Boston in 2006. 

I left my career just when I had started to grow wings.  But I didn’t forget to get my wings and dreams with me. I was so lost after I moved and was unsure how to pursue my dream. Fortunately I soon got an opportunity to work as a research fellow in Pediatric Ophthalmology in Boston Children’s Hospital. Ella Fitzgerald has said; ‘Just don’t give up trying to do what you really want to do. Where there is love and inspiration, I don’t think you can go wrong.” I kept working hard, gave my licensing exams, did my second clinical fellowship in Pediatric Ophthalmology at Boston Children’s Hospital and then stayed on as a staff physician. I have been in practice since 2013. 

2) Why did you want to be a pediatric eye doctor?

I always enjoy being around children; their pure innocence, happiness, smiles, and giggles make my work day fly by. Though I must admit that it can be challenging at times, and is a true test of patience. For a child, everything is unconditional, no matter what happens if they fall over, they get back up, dust themselves off and move on. I admire their way of looking at the world.

3) What are some common eye conditions you see in the pediatric population and how do you treat them?

Some common eye conditions that we see in children include amblyopia (lazy eye), strabismus (eye misalignment), refractive errors (myopia/near sightedness, hyperopia/far sightedness, astigmatism), eye infections and inflammations. All children are screened for red reflex at birth and at every well child visit until they can do formal visual acuity testing . Absence of red reflex can indicate serious conditions such as retinoblastoma (malignant tumor of retina), cataract (clouding of lens), or glaucoma (high pressure in the eye) that require prompt treatment. The treatment varies from glasses, patching, contact lenses, eye drops or surgery depending on the diagnosis. If your child has any eye issues, please talk to your pediatrician so you can get a prompt referral to see a pediatric ophthalmologist. 80% eye growth occurs in first 2 years of life and the vision development is complete by age 7-8 years. Early diagnosis and treatment is crucial for pediatric eye conditions to ensure vision development.

4) What are some effects of extended screen time and eye strain since kids spend so much on screen time with online schooling, gaming etc.?

The children and adolescents of this generation have unlimited access to personalized media including popular TV shows, Youtube, Netflix, video games, and social media keeping them engaged and involved for hours, making them loose track of time. The screen time increased exponentially with online school during the pandemic. Digital eyestrain is prevalent in 60% of adults but became a real issue in children and adolescents. The eyes do not blink as frequently when looking at digital devices, which causes faster disruption and evaporation of tear film that protects the surface of the eye. This can lead to dry eyes causing burning, stinging, itching and redness. All activities that involve prolonged near concentration, especially on small screens such as cell phones and tablets can cause myopia to progress faster. It also puts an extra burden on the muscles that change the power of the lenses which help the eye focus causing them to fatigue and spasm, causing the distance vision to become blurry.

5) What are 3 ways to protect your and your children's eyes from eye strain?

1. Take frequent breaks while using digital devices. Use the 20/20/20 rule: For every 20 minutes of usage, look away for 20 seconds and focus on something 20 feet away.

2. Balance the type of activities, between reading, using screens, and spending time outdoors. Increased outdoor time has been found to be effective in preventing the onset of myopia as well as in slowing the myopic shift.

3. Additional measures include use of a larger computer monitor, increasing the text size on devices to see screen content more easily, and reduced overhead lighting to minimize screen glare. And don’t forget sunglasses to protect your eyes from UV light when outdoors.

Thank you Bharti for sharing your story with us! We are excited to have you in our global women’s network!

Bio: Bharti Gangwani (Bharti Nihalani), MD is a Pediatric Ophthalmologist, and works as an Assistant Professor in the department of Ophthalmology at Boston Children’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School. She is actively involved in clinical research and is the Director of Clinical Research. She has published more than 50 articles and book chapters in ophthalmology journals and books. She is a co-editor of a Pediatric Ophthalmology text book “Learning strabismus surgery - A case-based approach”. Her primary areas of clinical research are pediatric cataract and pediatric uveitis. She serves on Pediatric Uveitis committee of American academy of pediatric ophthalmology and strabismus (AAPOS). She is involved in community work and serves on Board of Directors of Vision-Aid Inc. USA, a NGO that provides rehabilitation services to visually impaired people. She loves to spend time with her family specially her 2 children. She enjoys long walks, nature photography, painting, hiking, yoga, baking and reading in her free time.