Human civilization has made immense strides in ensuring a better quality of life for all. With innovations in science and technology, mankind has been able to overcome not only the major hurdles to a healthy and productive life, but also many of the niggling irritants of day to day living. However, this freedom to focus on creating true value with our lives with the help of science and technology, has brought with it a new set of health challenges – health problems that never existed before the modern age. Here are some health conditions that our forefathers never had to worry about, conditions that have arisen from the very science and technology that promises us healthier and happier lives.
1. Computer Vision Syndrome
Man has evolved from being a hunter-gatherer to the man today, and so have his eyes. The musculature and the structure of the eye, its socket, and the connections to the brain have been designed keeping the need to look near and far, rapidly scan large tracts of horizon, and to quickly adjust between different viewing conditions. The modern age, with its abundance of computer or TV related activities, that demand that the eye be held at a fixed focus for prolonged periods of time, has gifted mankind with Computer Vision Syndrome or CVS. This is a condition that results from long hours before the computer, or the television and is characterized by headaches, dry, red or inflamed eyes, blurry vision, double vision, increased sensitivity to light, etc. Some simple steps that can be taken to address this include setting your monitor about two feet away from the eyes and just a little below your eye level, eliminating glares or reflections on your monitor, taking breaks from looking at your monitor, and by doing simple eye exercises such as left to right tracking, and alternately focusing on near and distant objects.
2. Earbud Related Hearing Loss
The advent and growth of portable digital music players has led to an explosion of in-ear headphone speakers which reproduce the music at very high levels. This high decibel output – comparable to very loud rock concerts, are fed right into the ear canal very close to the eardrum. This causes hearing damage as well as structural damage to the tympanic membrane and other inner ear structures because of the proximity of the vibrating source of noise. In the short term, people may experience hearing impairment temporarily after being exposed to such noise levels, but as the use continues over months and years, the hearing impairment becomes chronic and acute. Symptoms include ringing in the ear, hearing a buzzing sound and inability to hear higher frequency sounds. The first step in addressing this is to reduce the volume at which you listen to music and the amount of time spent using in-ear headphones. If you are already having hearing impairment, see an audiologist or an ear specialist at the earliest. Using noise cancellation headphones may help in cutting out background sounds so that you can listen to your music at a lower volume.
3. E-Thrombosis
This is a condition that arises from prolonged sitting in cramped positions while dealing with e-life of the modern age. First noticed among passengers of long distance flights who were found to develop deep vein thrombosis as a result of sitting in one position for long periods of time, this condition results from a clot or a thrombus forming in the deep veins, typically the leg veins. While this might not pose a risk by itself, this can become a fatal condition when the clot dislodges and travels through the circulatory system to reach the heart. In the modern age, with careers and jobs revolving around long hours spent sitting at a computer, this becomes a reason to worry. Some steps that can be taken to avoid this include, taking frequent breaks to get up and stretch your legs, avoiding compression on the top of your thighs, eliminating sharp edges in your seat, fidgeting in your seat, and doing foot and leg exercises while seated.
4. Generalized Anxiety Disorder
This is a psychiatric condition that has been making news in the last few years, as the modern age gives us more to worry about, and as more and more people adopt isolated lifestyles and cut them off from traditional support systems and networks. With recessive trends, natural disasters, unemployment, inflation and cost of living, crime, delinquency, all on the rise, modern age people have more things to worry about than things that they can be certain of. Added to this, is the fact that people are becoming increasingly isolated from natural support systems such as extended families, and social groups, depending more on online social networks and information on the internet as sources of hope, comfort and support. Characterized by restlessness, fatigue, fearfulness, and insomnia, this condition can cripple a person and rob him of all functionality. In addition to medication prescribed by a professional, meditation, reconnecting with support systems, and aiming to bring balance back into daily living, have been found to be useful to deal with generalized anxiety disorder.
5. Orthorexia Nervosa
You may have heard of anorexia and bulimia, but the new kid on the block is orthorexia, an abnormal preoccupation with healthy eating. Derived from the words ortho (straight or normal) and rexia (appetite), this condition is characterized by an unnatural obsession with eating right, spending time planning menus and sourcing food items, preparing their own meals and fretting whether all the nutritional requirements are being met. While eating healthy is the focus, these people usually derive their pleasure and their self worth from the fact that they are doing all they can to eat healthy rather than from the act of eating healthy itself. Often, they end up being underweight from their strict diets. They also tend to neglect other aspects of life since they spend all their time focusing on their diets. Their insistence on adhering to their strict diets also leads to social isolation, since it is not possible to prepare such meals other than at their own homes. Though officially not recognized as a disease, people with this debilitating focus on eating right usually find benefit from consulting with psychiatrists and professionals specializing in treating eating disorders.
