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It is important for patients to understand what digital eye strain is and its causes.
As we live in an increasingly digital world, it’s vital to understand the impact that screen time can have on patients’ overall eye health.
Studies suggest that individuals spend upwards of 13 hours looking at a screen every day. This number is likely to continue to increase with hybrid work environments that require daily video calls and the immediacy of streaming entertainment.
Not taking preventative measures, can potentially cause many negative effects to your patients’ eye health, including dry, burning and itchy eyes, blurred vision, and headaches.
It is important for patients to understand what digital eye strain is and its causes. Blinking rates dramatically decrease when working on a computer, ultimately causing irritating, or even painful, symptoms. The contrast of text against a background on a computer screen can be harmful on the eyes. Though the increase of digital screen time is unlikely to end soon, there are several methods individuals can take to lessen the symptoms of computer vision syndrome.
Here are a few approaches you can encourage your patients to take:
In addition to these tips for preventing digital eye strain, it is important for your patients to implement other eye-healthy habits such as wearing protective eyewear, cleaning their hands and contact lenses properly, maintaining a healthy lifestyle, regularly getting eye exams, avoiding smoking, and being aware of the family’s eye health history. These simple steps can make a huge impact on contributing to patients’ eye overall health.