Reduce time spent on phone to prevent dry eyes syndrome
Lydia Ezit
Technology
An Optometrist at the Christian Eye Centre in Cape Coast, Dr Emmanuel Ekow Ampiah, has cautioned the public against excessive use of mobile phone devices to avoid the dry eye syndrome.
According to him, constant browsing with phones, laptops and computers had a negative effect on the eyes and it was necessary for people to limit the use of such devices.
Dry eye syndrome
Dry eye syndrome (DES), also known as keratoconjunctivitis sicca (KCS), is the condition of having dry eyes. Other associated symptoms include irritation, redness, discharge and easily fatigued eyes.
DES occurs when the eyes do not produce enough tears or when the tears evaporate too quickly.
Tears
Dr Ampiah, in an interview with The Mirror, explained that tears are necessary for maintaining the health of the front part of the eyes and also for providing clear vision.
“So when your eyes are exposed to the screen, your blink rate reduces and that does not help in lubricating the eyes so you will start experiencing dry eyes.
“Dry eye syndrome is the condition where there isn’t enough tears to lubricate the eyes. Spending too much time on phone screens is a common cause of dry eye syndrome,” he explained.
When this happens, he said the eyes become itchy which will eventually result in an uneasy sensation.
“You can also develop myopia or be short-sighted. This is because you are always on your screen and that means you are always looking at ‘near’ objects and not looking far so your eyes are now adapted to objects close to you and objects far from you become blurred.
“In treating kids who have myopia, we have to take them to a park to let them see from afar and also reduce their use of gadgets such as smartphones, iPads and other handy gadgets for a period. And we do this twice a week” he explained.
