My eyes are on fire while working from home. How can I cure dry eyes?

Working at a desk for a long time at home, sometimes we feel dry eyes, maybe "dry eyes" have quietly found you. What are the symptoms of dry eyes? How should we use our eyes properly when working at home for a long time? Let's take a look.

Compiled by New Media Editor Lai Tianying

Recently, due to the epidemic, many students are taking online classes at home and office workers are working from home, and the use of mobile phones, computers and other video terminal products for a long time has increased significantly.

In the hot summer, after working at home for a long time, we sometimes feel dry eyes and a foreign body sensation. In most cases, we think it is eye fatigue and don't take it seriously, but maybe "dry eyes" have quietly found you.

So, what are the symptoms of dry eyes? How should we use our eyes properly when working from home for a long time? Let me tell you about it today.

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Dry eyes - chronic eye disease

In the era of mobile Internet, more and more people are suffering from dry eye. As an extremely common ophthalmic disease, it is a kind of ocular surface tissue damage caused by abnormal tear quality, quantity or dynamics, which is caused by unstable tear film. It is also accompanied by eye discomfort symptoms and visual function damage. At present, it has become the first category of common diseases in ophthalmology clinics, accounting for 70% of all eye diseases.

(Image from: pixabay)

Normally, there is a very thin tear film on the surface of a normal person's eyes, which can keep the eyeball moist and improve the eye's refractive system. The tear film consists of three layers: the outermost layer is the lipid layer, which serves as an oily outer film to keep the surface smooth and prevent the evaporation of other layers; the second layer is the aqueous layer, which keeps it moist and repels invasive bacteria; the third layer is the mucin layer covering the surface of the corneal epithelium, which is highly hydrophilic and can stably adhere the tear film to the surface of the eye. Problems in the quality or quantity of any of the above levels will lead to unstable tear film, causing eye discomfort or decreased visual function, and dry eye syndrome will occur.

(Image from: International Journal of Ophthalmology)

Our eyes protect themselves by blinking, and blinking once every 5-10 seconds will smear tears on the eyes to protect the eyeballs. However, when we stare at the screen all the time, the frequency of blinking will be greatly reduced, resulting in long exposure time of the eyes, and the tear film on the surface of the eyeball is extremely unstable. The eyes feel dry and have a foreign body sensation, which is the symptom of dry eye syndrome.

In the "Chinese Dry Eye Expert Consensus (2020)" published in the "Chinese Journal of Ophthalmology" in 2020, the definition of dry eye is explained as follows: Dry eye is a chronic ocular surface disease caused by multiple factors. It is caused by abnormalities in the quality, quantity and dynamics of tears, resulting in tear film instability or imbalance of the ocular surface microenvironment. It may be accompanied by ocular surface inflammatory reactions, tissue damage and nerve abnormalities, causing a variety of ocular discomfort symptoms and (or) visual dysfunction. Among them, there are five types classified according to the main components or functional abnormalities of tears, namely, water-deficient dry eye, lipid abnormal dry eye, mucin abnormal dry eye, tear dynamics abnormal dry eye, and mixed dry eye, among which mixed dry eye is the most common.

▲The outermost layer is the lipid layer, the middle water layer is the main body, and the innermost layer is the mucin layer (Image from: Eyedolatry)

Studies have found that the prevalence of dry eye syndrome in Asian people is about 17% to 33.7%. People who frequently wear corneal contact lenses, use display terminals (computers, etc.), have systemic immune diseases and systemic diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, rheumatoid arthritis, Sjögren's syndrome, and people who take certain medications for a long time, including antidepressants and analgesics, are more likely to suffer from dry eye syndrome.

Therefore, if we experience symptoms such as dry eyes, itching, foreign body sensation, visual fatigue, blurred vision, photophobia, burning pain, etc., and they cannot be relieved after rest, we are likely to suffer from dry eye syndrome. At this time, do not ignore it and go to the hospital's ophthalmology department or dry eye clinic for examination in time.

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How to deal with dry eyes?

So if we already have symptoms of dry eyes, what should we do in our daily lives?

First of all, we need to pay attention to eye hygiene. Wash your hands frequently, be careful not to rub your eyes with your hands, avoid bacteria entering the eyes, and maintain good eye hygiene habits.

In addition, you should pay attention to your diet. Eat more fresh vegetables and fruits, pay attention to increasing your vitamin intake, and keep your body hydrated and drink plenty of water.

Secondly, you should consciously blink more often. The number of times you blink directly affects the amount of tears. For example, when using a computer, driving, or reading for a long time, you should remind yourself not to be too focused and take some time to blink. Generally, you should blink once every five seconds, which means about 20 times per minute. At the same time, when blinking, you should pay attention that the upper eyelid must touch the lower eyelid to complete a complete blink; blinking exercises need to be performed 15 times a day, and after about 3-6 weeks, you will develop a good blinking habit; the blinking frequency must meet the standard, 6 times per minute; through blinking exercise exercises, you can develop a good blinking habit and restore the stability of the tear film.

(Photo from: Health World)

Here we would like to remind you that the treatment of dry eyes cannot be achieved overnight, because dry eyes are a chronic ophthalmic disease that affects the patient's life and work, and even affects his or her mental state. It requires long-term, standardized treatment. Therefore, patients with dry eyes must be mentally prepared for long-term treatment, intervene as early as possible, follow the doctor's advice, and prescribe the right medicine. During the treatment process, they also need full cooperation, develop good eye habits, and maintain a good attitude.

In addition, many people like to use eye drops for dry eyes. In fact, the treatment of dry eyes cannot be solved with a bottle of eye drops. Some "Internet celebrity" eye drops on the market may contain preservatives, and long-term use may cause damage to the surface of the eyes.

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Working from home for a long time, there are some tips for eye protection

Wei Wenbin, director of the ophthalmology department at Beijing Tongren Hospital, said in an interview with the media that long-term use of the eyes while working from home can easily cause eye discomfort. Time should be arranged reasonably during work. It is recommended to rest for 10 minutes after working for half an hour to an hour. You can look into the distance, blink or close your eyes to let your eyes rest and relax. You can put a pot of green plants next to your computer and look at the greenery during work breaks to relieve visual fatigue and tension. Pay attention to your work and rest time, go to bed on time, ensure 7-8 hours of adequate sleep, and reduce the time spent chasing TV series and watching movies online. Don't stay up late to play games or stay up all night on the Internet.

▲ Reasonable use of electronic devices (Photo from: Visual China)

Use electronic devices correctly. It is recommended to adjust the lighting in the room. The light should be appropriate, not too dark or too glaring. When using a computer or watching TV at night, turn on the light and dim the screen brightness to 30%. You can set a green background screen saver wallpaper to relieve visual fatigue.

Maintain a correct sitting posture, arrange the computer and keyboard properly, try to keep the distance between your eyes and the computer screen at about 40 cm, so that your eyes are looking level with the computer screen or slightly downward. The heights of the computer desk and chair should match, so that your chest and the center of the screen are at the same height, and your body is relaxed.

▲ Ensure good sitting posture (Photo from: Visual China)

Strengthen indoor exercise. For professionals who work from home, the high intensity and pressure of work are not only bad for eye health, but also easy to reduce the body's resistance. You should use the breaks between work to strengthen exercise. You can choose yoga, running on the spot, squats, sit-ups, dumbbells and other strength training indoors, which can not only enhance physical fitness, but also benefit eye health.

▲Wearing contact lenses properly (Photo from: Visual China)

Wear contact lenses properly. If there is an inflammation of the eyes, such as conjunctivitis, keratitis, and dacryocystitis, you should stop wearing them immediately. After your eyes recover, please choose contact lenses that are suitable for you under the guidance of a professional doctor. Do not use eye drops that are not specifically designed for contact lenses when wearing glasses. Because when using eye drops that are not specifically designed for contact lenses, the ingredients of the liquid medicine will be adsorbed into the material of the contact lenses, which will not only cause the lenses to stain, but also block the molecular gaps of the lenses, affect the oxygen permeability of the lenses, and accelerate the aging or discoloration of the lenses, causing damage to the lens materials. At the same time, the high concentration of liquid medicine in the lenses can also cause damage to the eyes. During the epidemic lockdown, if the contact lens care solution is used up, it cannot be replaced with tap water, purified water, etc.

(Content sources: The Paper, China National Radio, Metz Medical, Rednet, Shangguan News, People's Information, CCTV-1, Xinhuanet, Health Times, Health World, etc.)

Produced by: Science Central Kitchen

Produced by: Beijing Science and Technology News | Beijing Science and Technology Media

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