HOLLYWOOD, Fla. – The overuse of digital devices is increasing the number of people experiencing “eye fatigue," a condition especially common in children who are spending more time in front of computers to participate in distance learning.
Complaints of blurry vision are on the rise among school-aged children and vision experts say it’s directly related to the “blinking response." Simply put, kids forget to blink during long periods of staring at a digital screen, according to eye experts.
”Blinking is essential to allow the proper tear formation to occur and for the corneal surface to be properly lubricated, so you can imagine if you are on the computer for an extended period of time, you forget to blink — this leads to dryness, it leads to surface inflammation and this is what primarily leads to eye fatigue,” said ophthalmologist Dr. Inna Ozerov.
Ozerov is also seeing the condition in adults.
She suggests people take breaks from devices every 20 to 30 minutes and use over-the-counter moisturizing eye drops if needed.