There has been a drastic rise in the number of people suffering from vision impairments and eye problems due to digitalisation and extreme working hours. This number is not restricted to the adult population but many kids and teenagers are also increasingly getting issues pertaining to vision.

In this health blog, we would understand all about eye care and health from Dr Leena Doshi, a leading ophthalmologist who specialises in cataract and LASIK. She is among the panel of doctors in ONGC and is also a medical officer for class I and II eye examinations for pilots. Dr Leena Doshi is an active participant in various live TV shows and eye health forums. She is also a part of the telemedicine team in Nanavati Super-speciality Hospital.

There has been an increasing awareness about eye health and healthy vision in recent times. We have become more health-conscious and don’t want to feel crippled by spectacles and eye impairments.

”Majority of the concerns I deal with are pertaining to symptoms related to digital eye strain that has gone up in recent times.”

Digital Eye Strain and Computer Vision Syndrome

In today’s active work life, digitalisation has become inevitable and so has the stress on the eyes and vision. We are constantly exposed to digital gadgets and laptops on a daily basis. With even education going digital, your kids are now prone to eye impairments and vision disabilities. Thus, there has been a growth in the number of kids requiring optical assistance for their eyes as well. In order to prevent such complications at such an early stage, you need to ensure that your kids are regularly taken to an eye doctor and their eye health is constantly monitored.

”Taking a child to the eye doctor doesn’t necessarily mean he/she will get glasses. This is something all parents must clearly understand”.

The growing stress to the eyes due to excessive and prolonged exposure to laptop, tablets, mobile and computer screens leads to a condition called digital eye strain and it further complicates the computer vision syndrome. The vision syndrome occurs due to repeated back and forth movement of your retina on the screen which requires constant focusing and refocusing. Your eyes tend to become hypersensitive to changing images and fonts that tend to exhaust your eye muscles.

”The number of hours people are putting into looking at screens has drastically gone up in the recent times”.
Incidence of Vision Impairments and Doctor Visits

While anyone who is exposed to digital devices is prone to vision-related issues and must keep a regular check on their eye health, if you have a history of glaucoma, diabetes  and high blood pressure, you need to have a constant check on your overall eye health. This is especially true if you or anyone in your family has a history of diabetes. Diabetes tends to pose an array of serious eye-related complications like diabetes retinopathy, glaucoma and cataracts. Inform your doctor if you have any history of allergy to medicines (if experienced in the past).

”If vision impairment runs in the family, it could mean an early onset for you and hence you need to be regularly checked.”
General Tips to Keep Your Eyes Healthy-

To keep the eyes healthy, it is advised to follow the following tips:

• Drink plenty of water and stay hydrated at all times.
• Ensure adequate lighting in your place of work while reading and looking at your device screen.
• Follow the 20-20-20 rule of work and rest. You need to take 20 minutes of break after every 20 minutes of work and focus on something which is 20ft away from you.
• You can alternatively work for 20 minutes and close your eyes for 35+ seconds. This will cut off all input to your eyes and you feel refreshed faster.
• Maintain a healthy sitting posture that doesn’t put too much strain on your eyes.
• Use sunglasses to protect your eyes from the sun’s harmful UV-A and UV-B rays. Exposure to harsh sunlight can cause cataracts and macular degeneration. Wearing sunglasses that prevent at least 99-100% of the damaging rays from entering your eyes directly, can save you a lot of trouble.
• Avoid smoking as much as you can. Smoking can be detrimental to your optic nerve and can cause serious eye problems.
• If you are someone who regularly wears contact lenses, then make sure that you are following all the steps advised when the lenses were prescribed to you. Wearing the contacts for an extended period of time can prove to be seriously hazardous to your eyes.
• Use protective eye gear whenever you are engaging in activities or work that has the potential to cause damage to your eyes for example: sports, factory duties, construction job, diy projects at home or repair work.

Eat at least 5 servings daily of fruits and vegetables, don’t smoke, take regular breaks while doing computer work and other tasks that mostly involve your eyes, wear your glasses, wear sunglasses when outdoors that protect your eyes from UVA and UVB rays.

Dr. M.G. Kartheeka, MBBS, MD

Read more on Eye Health Tips

Healthy Nutrition for Healthy Vision

Your eyes demand strong nutrition as well and correct oral health is rudiment to maintain a healthy vision.

”Just because some diet worked for someone doesn’t mean it will work for you.”

Tips for eating right for your eyes:

• Eat a balanced diet that is rich in all nutrients to ensure good overall health.
• Eat food rich in Vitamin A like papaya, carrot, kale, sweet potato, spinach, beef and broccoli.
• Ensure that you get adequate amounts of Vitamin C, Zinc, Vitamin E and Omega 3 Fatty acids in your diet.
• Get your daily dose of antioxidants.
• Don’t forget to drink loads of fluids every day.

Age-related macular degeneration, glaucoma, cataract and diabetic retinopathy are very commonly diagnosed conditions in patients visiting an Ophthalmologist, identifying and reporting the symptoms like vision changes, painful eyes, and redness of the eyes is important for an early diagnosis.

Dr. Ashish Bajaj, M.B.B.S., M.D.

Also Read: 10  Best Foods For Eye Health

”Overall nutrition something which is really important for everyone”

In Conclusion

Vision has both quantitative and qualitative parameters. While reading a chart is the quantitative part and reading it fully with ease is qualitative and defines how good your vision is. Visiting an eye doctor, visiting an optician and getting your vision checked are two different things. One must not confine to just checking the vision and must get a full report of the overall eye health.

Also Read: Misdiagnosed Eye Conditions: Is it Pink Eye or Something Else?

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