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Increased Screen Time During COVID Causing Eye Issues

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) - If it seems like your vision has gotten worse these past few months, there's a good chance it has.

The pandemic is causing eye issues that have nothing to do with COVID and everything to do with how we are spending our time.

Whether it's working from home, or schooling from home, socializing from home on video chat or binging TV at home, screens are the common denominator.

Like many, Roseville great-grandmother Barbara Bray has been seeing her grandkids less and looking at her devices more.

"I discovered some new games on my iPad which I don't need," she said. Bray mentioned her screentime is way up.

Something else she doesn't need is the eye discomfort that comes with the excess screen time.

"All I can say is it feels like you have sand in your eye and scratchy and your vision can blur a little bit it's another sign that you've perhaps had too much screen time," she  said.

Bray's doctor is seeing a rush of pandemic-related eye issues. Ophthalmologist Dr. Geoffrey Emerson is Medical Director at Allina Health's Phillips Eye Institute.

He says so much screen times is causing eye straining: blurriness, headaches and irritation and its causing dry eye syndrome.

"If we were sitting across the table and talking to each other we normally blink about 15 times a minute. But if we are staring at a computer screen we blink like 5,6 or 7 times a minute," he said.

Fewer face-to-face conversation and more screen-time also throws focus off and kids are especially susceptible.

"If we focus up close for prolonged periods of time, the focus of the eye is out of balance. The eye starts to think it's natural to be nearsighted and that might eventually squeeze a change in the eye that makes an eye more nearsighted over time," Emerson Said.

So Emerson said there are some quick things we can do to make sure our eyes are rested and vision is clear.

"I say the simple answer is take a break. We talk about the 20-20-20 rule which says every 20 minutes take a break for 20 seconds and look at something that's at least 20 feet in the distance," he suggested.

He says taking a short walk is also healthy for the eyes.

"I think getting outside is good because we tend to blink more and look in the distance more," he added.

As for Bray, she's using artificial tears and trying to look less at her screens and more toward her future,.

"I'm looking forward to seeing the grandkids, my friends," she said.

Emerson says some people are asking about blur blocker glasses. He says there is no conclusive data that they help but some people say they've seen positive results from wearing them.

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