Dry eyes from screens: how much you can do yourself, and when to see an eye doctor
Dry, stinging, gritty eyes by mid-afternoon are familiar to almost everyone who works at a screen. Most of it is fixed by habits and artificial tears; some of it is a condition that needs treatment. Here is what you can do yourself, and where the line is.
Why screens dry the eyes
We normally blink 15–20 times a minute; staring at a screen drops that to 5–7, and the blinks are incomplete. The tear film over the eye then evaporates faster than it is replaced. Air conditioning aimed at the face, dry rooms, contact lenses and some medicines (antihistamines, some blood-pressure drugs) make it worse. Women after menopause and anyone over 50 already produce fewer tears.
What works on your own
The 20-20-20 rule: every 20 minutes, look 20 feet away for 20 seconds, and blink fully and slowly a few times. Set the screen slightly below eye level so the lids cover more of the eye. Point the air vent away from your face. Preservative-free artificial tears can be used as often as needed. A warm compress on the lids for 5–10 minutes daily helps the oil glands along the lid margin. Leave contact lenses out on long screen days.
When to see an ophthalmologist
Four weeks of the above with no improvement; red or painful eyes; blurring that blinking does not clear; strong light sensitivity; stringy or pus-like discharge; dry eyes together with a dry mouth or joint pain (a possible autoimmune condition); or needing artificial tears more than six times a day and still not enough. An ophthalmologist measures the quantity and quality of your tears, examines the lid glands, and has drops that treat inflammation, which artificial tears cannot.
