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For a growing number of millennials, regular visits to an optometrist may yield a surprising piece of advice: wear reading glasses.
And it’s not just because millennials are approaching middle age, with the oldest in their 40s.It could also be the result of spending most of their lives looking at screens — especially after 18 months of the pandemic with nothing to do.
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“We’ve definitely seen changes in patients’ eyes,” said Kurt Moody, director of professional education for Johnson & Johnson Vision North America.”We spend too much time on digital devices – tablets, computers, mobile phones – which negatively affects the eyes.”
Fortunately, eye care companies are launching a new line of products designed for a generation of contact lens wearers who don’t want to give up on them as they approach middle age.
Of course, screen usage isn’t new.But for most people, screen time has increased during the pandemic.”More and more people are taking up optometry and complaining about screen discomfort,” said Michele Andrews, vice president of professional and government affairs for the Americas at CooperVision.
There are several different reasons for this discomfort.One is that their eyes are too dry.Staring at a screen can cause people to blink less often or half-blink so they don’t miss anything, which is bad for the eyes.Stephanie Marioneaux, a clinical spokeswoman for the American Academy of Ophthalmology, said that if oil is not released during blinking, the tears that keep the eyes moist can become unstable and evaporate, leading to what is often mistaken for eye fatigue. Various discomforts.
Another reason could be eye focus problems.”As people get into their early 40s — which happens to everyone — the lens in the eye becomes less flexible…it doesn’t change shape as quickly as you can when you’re in your 20s,” Andrews said.This can make it harder for our eyes to make the same adjustments as easily as they used to, a condition called presbyopia.Presbyopia can occur earlier than age 40 (called premature presbyopia) due to some other medical condition or medication, but some studies have shown that spending a lot of time close to work, including staring at a computer, can play a role.
In children, excessive screen time is associated with progressive myopia.Myopia is a condition where the eyeball grows differently from the space allotted to it, which can make things in the distance appear blurry.The condition progresses over time; if so-called high myopia develops, patients are at a higher risk for vision-threatening eye conditions such as retinal detachment, glaucoma or cataracts.Myopia is becoming more common – research suggests it could affect half of the world’s population by 2050.
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For almost all of these problems, simple precautions can make a big difference.For dry eye, remembering to blink often helps.”Now because people spend their entire lives in front of a screen, everyone is very good at suppressing the blink response,” Marioneaux said.To help avoid nearsightedness, keep the material at least 14 inches apart—“at a 90-degree angle to the elbow and hand, keep that distance,” Marioneaux adds—and take breaks from the screen every 20 minutes, Stare 20 feet away.Encourage children to spend at least two hours a day outdoors (research shows it can help slow the progression of myopia), limit screen time, and consult their eye doctor for other treatment options.
Post time: Apr-09-2022
