World Sight Day: Excessive screen time can cause dry eyes. What is it?

Did you know that every time you blink a film of tears spreads over the eye? This film keeps the eyes’ surface smooth, clear and moisturised. In fact, this mechanism is important for proper vision. The film is made of three layers: an oily layer, a watery layer and a mucus layer. 

Sometimes, the eyes are not able to produce enough tears, leading to a condition called dry eyes. This can make your eyes feel uncomfortable and cause vision problems. 

In 2019, a study, published in the journal The Ocular Surface, suggested that dry eye disease has become quite common in India and the prevalence of it will be about 40% of the urban population by 2030. 

While the disease tends to be progressive with age, it can become irreversible once there’s corneal damage. Therefore, early diagnosis is important. In India, dry eye disease is hugely underdiagnosed. 

On World Sight Day (October 12), experts shared the signs and symptoms of dry eye syndrome and what are the main causes of it. 

Dr Mahipal Singh Sachdev, Chairman and Managing Director of Center for Sight, said some people, for various reasons, are not able to produce enough tears, due to which they have to face many problems like pain, burning and itching in the eyes. 

“Generally, the problem of dryness in eyes starts with increasing age. But due to the changing daily routine of today, even children have started suffering from dry eye syndrome,” said Dr Mahipal Singh Sachdev. 

Source: https://www.indiatoday.in/