The longer the time, the better the effect? ​​Don’t wear steam eye masks blindly!

Reviewer: Liu Dongbao

Chief Physician of Ophthalmology Department, Shenyang Red Cross Hospital

As soon as winter arrives, steam eye masks become a hot item on major shopping websites and recommendation apps. The small heat-generating design, various scents, simple and convenient operation, and the experience of a small eye spa all enhance the presence of steam eye masks, making them a "relaxing good thing" for countless busy office workers.

Source: Sohu.com

However, although steam eye masks are known as "good things", they are not suitable for all uses. In addition, is it true that steam eye masks can relieve eye fatigue? Let's get to know "steam eye masks" together today.

Can a steam eye mask relieve eye fatigue?

Almost all promotions for steam eye masks are linked to "relieving eye fatigue and removing dark circles." Relieving eye fatigue is easy to understand, but how does it remove dark circles?

In fact, the principle of the steam eye mask is not complicated, and it can be regarded as a "modern advancement" of the traditional towel hot compress . The raw materials in the steam eye mask generally include water, heating element (activated carbon, iron powder) and mineral salts. The heating principle is that the heating element in the eye mask produces a chemical reaction and releases heat when it encounters oxygen in the air. At the same time, the water in the eye mask evaporates due to the heat, and the water vapor turns into small water droplets. With the breathable material used in the steam eye mask, people's eyes are relaxed in a "wet and hot" state.

Source: pixabay

From the personal experience of steam eye mask buyers, using it does give the eyes a "refreshed" feeling. Therefore, it is true that steam eye masks can relieve visual fatigue, but this relief is only "to a certain extent". For example, many businesses' promotional terms such as eliminating dark circles and delaying myopia are a bit exaggerated and lack credible scientific basis.

In fact, when people use steam eye masks to force their eyes to rest, they are actually soothing their eyes. At the same time, hot compresses dilate blood vessels, promote blood circulation, increase blood supply to tissues around the eyes, and allow the eyes to get more nutrition, which naturally improves the problem of visual fatigue.

Source: Shangguan News

It is worth noting that eye fatigue is often accompanied by "dry eyes", and the symptoms are "the more tired, the drier, and the drier, the more tired". As one of the most common diseases in ophthalmology clinics today, dry eyes are also known as keratoconjunctivitis sicca. Patients have different symptoms, such as easy eye fatigue, dryness, itching, blurred vision, foreign body sensation, burning sensation, etc., and sometimes accompanied by sticky secretions.

Source: Xinhuanet

Some experts pointed out that the steam eye mask was initially developed to treat dry eyes, because the meibomian glands of patients with dry eyes are in a pathological state, and the oil is solid at room temperature and difficult to discharge. By applying a steam eye mask to heat the eye tissue, the temperature can be raised, promoting the softening and discharge of the oil in the meibomian glands. However, this does not mean that the steam eye mask can treat dry eyes, and even wearing it for a long time can easily cause eye damage after low-temperature burns.

Therefore, people with dry eyes still need to use professional eye fumigation equipment in the hospital for regular fumigation to promote the flow and discharge of meibomian gland meibum and improve symptoms.

Steam Eye Mask, How Much Do You Know About Wearing It?

According to the instructions of regular and qualified steam eye masks on the market, their heating range is generally between 40℃ and 45℃, and the continuous heating time does not exceed 15 minutes, so normal use will not burn the eyes. However, some counterfeit and inferior products have problems such as too high heating temperature and too long heating time, which can cause burns to our delicate and sensitive eye skin.

There is no shortage of such news on the Internet - consumers have suffered from conjunctivitis, corneal burns and other incidents due to improper use of steam eye masks. Therefore, when using steam eye masks, you must choose products from regular manufacturers , do not choose "three-no products" because of low prices, and do not superstitiously believe that "the longer the time, the better the effect." In terms of usage time, for normal office workers, you can use steam eye masks at noon to relieve eye fatigue from facing the screen for a whole morning.

Source: Shangguan News

Of course, steam eye masks are not suitable for everyone. If you have eye inflammation or eye wounds, it is not recommended to use them. If patients with eye inflammation use steam eye masks, it will stimulate inflammation, increase secretions, and even cause allergic conjunctivitis.

In addition, it is not suitable to use when wearing contact lenses , which can easily cause eye infections and conjunctivitis, and the heating function of the steam eye mask will affect the material of the contact lenses and cause damage to the eyeball. It is also wrong to use the steam eye mask immediately after applying eye drops. Generally, you should wait until the eye drops are absorbed by the tissue (about 10 minutes) before using it.

Source: Xinhuanet

Nowadays, we are living in an era surrounded by both "big screens and small screens". The prevalence of electronic products has also brought about the frequent occurrence of eye problems. Although using steam eye masks can indeed relieve visual fatigue, if you really encounter eye problems, you still have to go to the hospital's ophthalmology department for treatment. When you have problems such as dry eyes, itchy eyes, frequent blinking, foreign body sensation, tearing, photophobia, unbearable eye swelling, etc., you must not treat them casually and just "apply" them.