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Dry eye syndrome

A dry eye is a set or symptoms, which arises due to insufficient moisturizing of the cornea. This is usually caused by decreased generation of tear fluid or poor quality of tears.

Most people only suffer from mild complaints. The eyes seem more tired in the evening, this is the only symptom observed. In the case of a more severe dryness, redness and tear flow may occur. In such cases, an ophthalmologist should be contacted to avoid formation of an inflammation, which may develop into damage to the cornea.

Most patients suffering from dry eye syndrome cannot be successfully cured. It is, however, possible to alleviate the uncomfortable feeling in the eyes and prevent more serious damages to the cornea. The condition is usually harmless, albeit bothersome, which must be treated for the whole lifetime.

Symptoms:

  • irritation of eyes – red, dry, itchy, or watery eyes;
  • tiredness of eyes;
  • focusing difficulties;
  • headaches.

The symptoms may be passing or chronically repetitive. If the amount of tear fluid decreases further, the dry eye may cause conjunctivitis (inflammation of the conjunctiva), corneal ulcer, or other more serious eye diseases. An ophthalmologist should be contacted if the symptoms persist for more than a week or appear as soon as you start working at a computer.

Causes:

  • looking at the computer screen or TV continuously, in which case one tends to forget to blink;
  • generation of tears decreases and their quality deteriorates as a person ages;
  • too dry or air conditioned air in work rooms;
  • using contact lenses. The feeling of dryness may increase in the case of incorrect maintenance of the lenses, using the lenses after the expiry date, etc.
  • hormonal changes may cause decreased secretion of tears in the case of women;
  • feeling of dryness in the eyes may occur in the case of rheumatism, rheumatoid arthritis, and other systemic diseases, it can also be related to other eye diseases and the condition after an eye surgery;
  • dry eyes may be a side-effect of many medicinal products, such as nose unblocking medicines, painkillers, sedatives, birth control.

How to alleviate or prevent the dry eye syndrome?

  • Blink your eyes regularly and as frequently as possible (those watching the computer screen or TV blink twice less frequently than other people);
  • if your eyes are stinging or feel dry, use preservative-free artificial tears and lubricants (Suitable options include Aquify drops, Tears Naturale drops. Visine-type eye-drops are not suitable, as they cause addiction in the case of regular use and irreversible damage to the mucosa in the worst case.);
  • place the computer screen 10-20° below the direct line of vision of your eyes – this way the eye is more covered with the eyelid and tear fluid does not evaporate from the surface of the cornea too quickly;
  • use spectacle lenses with anti-reflective coating and of special colour, if necessary, even if you normally wear contact lenses;
  • choose a computer screen with higher resolution – the better the resolution of the picture, the less stress on the eyes;
  • use moderate lighting for working at a computer and prevent the light coming through the window reflecting back from the computer screen;
  • avoid strong contrasts between the computer screen and the work room;
  • make sure that the air humidity level in the work room is within normal range;

If you feel that you are suffering from the complaints described above, come to Norman-Optika – we will check the condition of your eyes and advise you what to do.

For computer users

Quick tiring of eyes, stinging, and headaches accompanying continuous work at a computer are, on the one side, caused by prolonged exertion of the eyes without breaks, frequent changing of the viewing distance (viewing the screen, the keyboard, documents on the desk), excessive brightness of the screen, etc.

On the other hand, such complaints are certainly also influenced by the position of the screen with respect to person working at the computer, the locations of lights (general as well as spot lighting), the position of the workstation with respect to windows, the colour of the walls, etc.

Continuous computer work stresses the vision organ, which results in overburdening ocular muscles and consequent tiredness. Eyes do not get tired because of the electromagnetic fields or radiations of the computer, but due to overburdening. The potential reasons for this include: incorrigible vision, sitting too far away from the screen, personality traits (inability to continuously concentrate on the screen).

Advice for computer users:

  • Use proper lighting.
  • Overburdening of the eyes is often caused by excessive tiredness and bright indoor light. When working at a computer, the light surrounding you should be a half less bright than what is used in most offices. Remove the light from outside by using a curtain or a blind. Use a few light bulbs or tubular fluorescent lamps to illuminate the workstation or use light bulbs and lamps of lower intensity. If possible, place your monitor so that the window is located on the side, behind or in front of it.
  • Minimalize blinding light.
  • Light from the walls and glossy surfaces (including the light reflecting back from the screen) may put additional stress on the eyes. You can install an anti-reflective monitor and, if possible, paint white walls in a bit darker shade. Get a pair of spectacles with anti-reflective coating. They eliminate the so-called “light noise”.
  • Adjust the brightness of your computer screen.
  • Try to tune it so that it is similar to the surrounding light by using the buttons on the monitor. When adjusting, view a text on white background, if it seems like a bright source of light, the brightness is too high, if it appears dull and gray, the brightness is too low. Also, make sure that the text size and colour are optimal for your eyes.
  • Blink more frequently.
  • Blinking is very important for computer users, it moisturizes your eyes and prevents dryness and irritation of the eyes. Computer users blink about five times less than others. As a result of failure to blink, the layer of tears dries from the surface of the eyes quickly, causing dry eyes.

A suitable position for a computer user:

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