Is too much screen time contributing to your dry eye?
With digital devices dominating our lives, dry eye symptoms are increasingly affecting more of us. But relief is in sight.
Dry eye is a common condition that occurs when your tears can’t adequately lubricate your eyes.1
It can be difficult, with symptoms ranging from stinging sensations to blurry vision,2 and may impact your work and productivity.
While in the past, dry eye has typically been a condition that affects us as we age, it is starting to affect more young people, thanks to widespread digital screen use.3
During the pandemic, many of us spent longer on screens4.
And, it turns out, this wasn’t great for our eyes, with research from 2022 showing 85 per cent of Aussies had experienced dry, irritated or watery eyes, up 8 per cent from 2020.5
Researchers have suggested a likely explanation for the link between screens and dry eye is that screen time alters blinking patterns, resulting in ocular dryness.6
What are the symptoms of dry eye?
Red, scratchy, sore or itchy eyes, burning or stinging sensations and a feeling of having something in your eye are all symptoms of dry eye. Others include crusty eyes, blurred vision that changes after a blink, eyes that feel heavy, tired or fatigued, watery eyes and sensitivity to light.7
Sight for sore eyes
Looking for dry eye relief?
Take regular breaks from your digital devices and consider using lubricating eye drops.
NovaTears Eye Drops and NovaTears + Omega-3 Eye Drops are a lubricating eye drop and tear film stabiliser designed to help prevent excessive tear evaporation.
They have a lubricating effect on the surface of the eye and also form a protective layer across the lipid layer of the tear film to help stop precious tears from evaporating.
Use them on their own to relieve dry eyes or, if needed, with water-based eye drops to help prevent artificial or natural tears from evaporating.
Because NovaTears contains no water, they have a much smaller droplet size than most water-based eye drops, which helps minimise messy spillover when applying.
They also have a silky-smooth warm feel when applied, spreading quickly and easily across the eye’s surface.
NovaTears Eye Drops use patented water-free technology called EyeSol®, allowing the eye drops to be produced preservative-free in a multi-dose bottle that can be used for up to six months after opening.
NovaTears + Omega-3 Eye Drops contain plant-based Omega-3 and can be used for up to eight weeks after opening.
Simply apply one drop of NovaTears in each affected eye up to four times a day.
If you’re not getting the relief you need, swap to NovaTears – it could prove quite the eye opener!
*This post is brought to you by NovaTears Eye Drops and NovaTears + Omega-3 Eye Drops. Always read the label and follow the directions for use.
1 Mayo Clinic, Dry eyes, retrieved June 2024 from https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/dry-eyes/symptoms-causes/syc-20371863
2 Better Health, Dry eye, retrieved June 2024 from https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/conditionsandtreatments/dry-eye#symptoms-of-dry-eye
3 Vision 20/20 Australia, Screen time leading to dry eyes in children, retrieved June 2024 from https://www.vision2020australia.org.au/news/2019-02-27/screen-time-leading-to-dry-eyes-in-children/
4 Deakin University, Lockdowns meant long hours of screen time and less activity for families, retrieved June 2024 from https://www.deakin.edu.au/about-deakin/news-and-media-releases/articles/lockdowns-meant-long-hours-of-screen-time-and-less-activity-for-families
5 2022 Vision Index, Optometry Australia, retrieved June 2024 from https://www.optometry.org.au/wp-content/uploads/GVFL/Vision_Index/2022-Vision-Index-Report.pdf
6 Al-Mohtaseb et al, 2021, 15: 3811-3820, retrieved June 2024 from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8439964/#:~:text=A%20likely%20explanation%20for%20the,engaged%20on%20digital%20screens%20for. Work and editorial support was funded by Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation, East Hanover, NJ, USA
7 Better Health Channel, Dry eye, retrieved June 2024 from https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/conditionsandtreatments/dry-eye
