Sight for sore eyes
‘Digital eye fatigue’ (yes, it is an actual condition) is eye strain – basically eye muscle-ache. Until now the preserve of office workers and those who were more digitally savvy, it is brought on by intense peering and focusing along with glaring overhead lights, and can lead to headaches and blurry vision. Dry eye syndrome, characterised by dehydrated, burning and sometimes watery eyes, is another symptom. ‘In recent years, we’ve begun to speak of an epidemic of dry eye syndrome,’ says Mr Daniel Ezra, ophthalmic and oculoplastic consultant at Moorfields Eye Hospital. ‘Digital devices are a major part of the problem. So with screen time going through the roof as a result of Covid-19, it’s little wonder the number of people presenting with “computer vision” is increasing further.’
Eye strain isn’t harmful to the eyes, but chronic dry eyes can lead to infection and eye scarring, so it shouldn’t be ignored. The first thing to do, says Mr Ezra, is to take a break from your screen every hour. In addition, says Mrs Shah-desai, for a quick dose of eye rest, look at a distant object 20 feet away for 20 seconds every 20 minutes (the ‘20-20-20 rule’).
The other essential is to make a point of blinking. ‘It’s not radiation or heat from your screen that’s drying your eyes out,’ says Mr Ezra. ‘It’s a reduced blinking rate. Like moths to a flame, we seem to be primed to stare into bright lights, suppressing the blink reflex that coats our corneas with moisture and protective oils.’ It’s been shown that those who play online games frequently blink only twice a minute compared with an average blink rate of 12 times a minute, with predictable results. ‘Lowering the light intensity on your screen will help you blink more – just make sure it’s not so low that you start peering and cause eye strain from that instead,’ advises Mr Ezra. With age (and menopause, particularly, which undermines the body’s self-lubrication system), the quality of the tear film degrades, so we become even more susceptible to the problem. For added lubrication, Mr Ezra recommends using eye drops, but avoiding those with ‘whitening’ agents, which can irritate and dry out eyes even further. ‘You want entirely irritant-free drops that you can use as much as you like; that means they should also be free from preservatives,’ he says. Try Blink Intensive Tears, £4.99 (boots.com). Mr Ezra also recommends using warm compresses on the eye area, as the warmth helps to reliquefy the oils in the natural tear film. Try The Eye Doctor Hot & Cold Eye Compress, £21.99 (boots.com).