New Year 2023: Three common eye-damaging mistakes

Since the COVID-19 pandemic struck our country, our working pattern has changed drastically. While WFH and hybrid working (Work From Home) is the preferred working model used by companies for their employees. Especially while working from home, Washing your eyes with warm water, overusing eye drops, or rubbing the eyes are common mistakes that may also cause more damage to your eyes.

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Spending extended time on digital screens causes immense damage to our eyes. Continuous use of laptops, mobile phones, tablets, and even television for long hours, may cause eye strain, dry eyes, headaches, blurred or double vision, and even neck or shoulder pain. 

Sometimes, a person may also face difficulty concentrating on their work and disturbance in sleep patterns. Besides work, our relaxation activities like scrolling through social media, watching a movie, or playing online games have, unfortunately, got limited to screen. Washing eyes with warm water, overusing eye drops, or rubbing the eyes roughly, are common mistakes that may create more damage than any help. Here are the three main mistakes you need to stop doing right now from this year itself.

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1. Glued to screens:

Whether it’s a laptop, smartphone, or television, staring at digital screens for too long can damage the eyes. Because electronic screens emit blue light, these can cause eyestrain and damage the retina leading to serious vision problems, such as macular degeneration.

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2. Using artificial eye products:

For instant relief from pain and irritation in the eyes, many people tend to use artificial eye drops or saline solutions. These might prove to be beneficial but can leave your eyes even drier. Sometimes we mistakenly also use expired eye drops that leads to irritation, inflammation, and even an eye infection.

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3. Not using an eye mask:

Hot or warm compress eye masks might provide comfort. But are harmful to your eyes. Because they block exposure to light. It can limit the release of melatonin (a sleep-inducing hormone) and lead to insomnia. A sleep mask can put pressure on your eyes and cause blurred vision.

Some simple tips to take care of our eyes are taking breaks while using your laptop, desktop, or mobile phones. This is applicable if you work remotely from your home. Using oil-based eye drops for longevity purposes. Wash your eyes frequently with cold water to soothe irritation.