EFFECTS OF SCREEN TIME ON DRY EYE

April 13, 2020

With increased down time away from work or school, many of us have seen a jump in the number of hours per day on our electronic devices – phones, tablets and computers. These devices are a major contributor to Dry Eye disease. Here are a few tips to ensure you reduce your risk for Dry Eye disease progression:

Remember to blink – our blink rate drops by as much as 50% while we are on electronic devices. Blinking frequently and fully while you look away from the screen is a must to ensure your tears are adequately dispersed across the front of your eyes.
Look away periodically – the “202020 Rule” refers to looking at a distance of 20 ft for 20 seconds, every 20 minutes. The eye muscle complex that engages while on computers is very active, and relaxes as soon as you look at an object far away. Follow this rule to give your visual system a break from time to time.
Keep up your treatment – dry eye symptoms are not consistent, but your therapy should be. Keep up your drops, heat mask, omega 3 vitamins and other treatments as prescribed to keep the chances of a spike in your symptoms to a minimum, even when your symptoms are minimal.
Limit your sessions – avoid spending hours at a time at the computer. Break up your sessions into smaller pieces of an hour or two at a time. Do something else in between that is not so visually intensive – go for a walk or a run, take the dog out, or watch a show.
Ergonomics matter – maintain the right distance from your eyes – laptop screens should be just inside of arm’s length (top of screen just below your line of sight), and tablets and phones at reading distance held a bit lower

Dry eye can cause acute symptoms that can be quite painful. If you suspect you may be suffering from acute Dry Eye symptoms, initiate an online consult with one of our doctors by clicking here.

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