Your eyes are drying for a break

How often have you felt your eyes screaming for some rest while you are working away for hours on your laptop or in front of your desktop screen. Often? Then you are among a majority of workers across India Inc. who are turning a blind eye to eye fatigue. At the leading eye care facility Shroff Eye Centre in Delhi, the number of cases triggered by long exposure of eyes to computers is on the rise. "People are increasingly coming with severe eye fatigue problems," says Dr Noshir Shroff, medical director at the centre.

The problem is simply because you forget to blink as much as you should. Normally, the eyes blink 16-20 times a minute. Blinking helps keep the eyes lubricated and clears dust particles that can settle on the eyeball. But the rate of blinking slows to six or eight times a minute when a person is staring at the computer monitor, working on projects, writing innumerable mails and meeting tight deadlines. "When you are staring at a computer screen, the ciliary muscle gets tired. That's the beginning of eye strain," says Dr Shroff.

The ciliary muscle adjusts the shape of the lens in the eye, helping it focus. He prescribes a simple 20-20-20 rule to rest eyes. "You should look away 20 feet for 20 seconds every 20 minutes." While some workplaces may not have 20 feet of clear view indoors, the rest of the 20-20 rule is easy to follow.

An irritated or dry eye is a direct fallout of not blinking. Other problems that follow are occasional headaches, pain in the eyes, burning of the eyes and blurred vision. Eye fatigue is inevitably accompanied with strain to the neck and wrist. When the ciliary muscle gets tired, we have a problem refocussing. "When your eyes look at a distance, they are totally relaxed. When the eye looks at something close, the muscles come under stress. That's when refocussing problem occurs," says Dr Shroff. This, typically, results in headaches.

While it's best to prevent dry eyes, if your eyes are often irritated doctors prescribe using eye drops called "artificial tears". "These work as lubricants and are available over the counter," says Dr Shroff. However, any recurring problem in the eyes calls for a checkup. "More so if a person is approaching 40," he cautions. That's because at that age, your seemingly common eye problems like blurred vision or headaches could be pointers to bigger issues like diabetes.

Beyond fatigue, how your office is lit plays an important role in how stressed your eyes are at the end of the day. "Glare is extremely harmful while you are working on computer screens," says Dr Shroff. If you sit under direct glare, it's time to ask your organisation to remove direct lights and reduce the glare.

WARNING SIGNS

• Headache
• Pain in the eyes
• Burning of the eyes
• Dry eyes
• Blurred vision

THE 20-20-20 RULE
When in front of a computer:

Look away 20 feet...... for 20 seconds...... every 20 minutes.