Work, Work, Work, Work, Work: How to Overcome Dry Eyes in The Office

Most people are back at the office and while this may come as a change of routine for some, it may also be a change of routine that affects your eyes! Bright lights, dry environments, and long exposure to screens can cause unpleasant ocular symptoms. Uncomfortable, dry eyes in the office are quite common; here’s how to navigate and mitigate dry eye symptoms when they arise.

Dry Eyes at Work: Causes

Screen Time

Working in a job that requires long bouts of screen time can be hard on the eyes. Staring at a screen typically means less blinking is occurring and therefore exposes the eyes to less moisture and increased evaporation. This phenomenon can be defined as digital eye strain, where painful ocular symptoms can arise. In fact, dry eye from computer use is quite common, seeing as it’s easy to get caught up in screen time, meaning, long periods of time occur without giving your eyes a break. This constant eye strain can cause dry eyes and lead to even more uncomfortable symptoms, such as headaches. It’s important to understand the importance of taking breaks and conducting proper screen time measures to ensure headaches and dry eye symptoms don’t arise. This phenomenon has another name, computer vision syndrome (CVS).

Source: https://www.aoa.org/healthy-eyes/eye-and-vision-conditions/computer-vision-syndrome?sso=y

Environment

Since offices are typically big open areas, it’s common for them to feel very bright, either too hot or too cold, and dry. But can air conditioning cause dry eyes, and can dry air cause dry eyes? And if that’s the case, can fluorescent lights cause dry eyes too? The answer to all these environmental facts is in fact, yes. Dry eyes and light sensitivity are closely related, along with dry, windy air that can come from different heating and cooling systems. Not exclusive to offices, there also is the question if dust can cause dry eyes since that too can be considered an environmental factor. All these triggers can wreak havoc on the ocular surface, seeing as they all have an impact of the eyes ability to stay moisturized, either by promoting more evaporation or by irritating the tear film. [1]

Dry Eyes at Work: The Template for Relief

Adjusting Your Workspace

As alluded to above, there are ways to reduce eye strain at work. Known as the 20 20 20 rule, it involves taking a break for every 20 minutes of work, to look away from a screen (look at something approximately 20 ft away) for 20 seconds. Additionally, it’s important to maintain an ergonomic work set up that prioritizes your body. Also, be mindful of the settings of your device, such as glare, the angle of your device, the brightness of your device, and if you require glasses or contacts to consistently wear them when using devices.

Lifestyle

Personal health and hygiene are also key. Making sure your eyes are clean and hydrated throughout the day is essential. Implementing an ocular hygiene routine with I-LID ’N LASH? makes sure that your eyes start and end the day clean and hydrated. In terms of lifestyle changes throughout the workday, making sure you are hydrated and drinking an adequate amount of water throughout the day is key. If you do suffer from dry eyes, an omega-3 for dry eyes supplement is a great addition to your daily routine to help promote ocular health.

Everyday Solutions

Environmental factors can sometimes be hard to navigate, seeing as they are typically elements that are inherent to the office space, but there are solutions available to help mitigate harsh symptoms. Eye drops for dry eyes are a convenient and effective way to get instant hydration throughout the day. I-DROP? from I-MED Pharma is an incredibly effective artificial tear to consider using, and due to its unique formulation, fewer daily applications are required. Although environmental factors are one of many dry eye risk factors, an eye mask for dry eyes is great to have on hand as a way to relax your eyes at the end of the day using heat therapy. Useful for cold therapy, I-RELIEF? HOT & COLD THERAPY EYE MASK WITH THERMABEADS? is also able to help relieve pain from headaches.

Do you think you might be suffering from dry eye?

TAKE THE DRY EYE TEST

Originally published May 21st, 2024 at imedpharma.com.

[1] Williams, Sarah? C.P., and Whitney Seltman. “How Does Your Environment Affect Dry Eye?” Climate, Environment and Dry Eye, WebMD, 3 May 2023, www.webmd.com/eye-health/dry-eye-irritants.