July is Healthy Vision Month and you may have noticed you're staring at a screen a lot more than you used to – which can impact your eyes.
Ophthalmologists say dry eyes can cause symptoms like redness, blurry vision, and itchiness. Many people also seem to notice the issue more so towards the afternoon or end of the day after they've been looking at a screen for a while. The good news is dry eyes usually won't cause any kind of long-term damage.
So, what can someone do to help protect their eyes? Doctors say to start, make sure you have a comfortable work set-up. The top of your computer or laptop should be at eye level with you. You may want to consider getting a bigger monitor that sits farther away. That way you're not having to focus so intently on your screen. They also suggest using the 20-20-20 rule.
"Every 20 minutes of screen time or reading, take a 20 second break and look at something that's at least 20 feet away, and during that time you'll find that you are blinking a lot more and you're relaxing your eyes a lot more and that will help out some of the eye strain issues that some people encounter," suggested Dr. Craig See, Cleveland Clinic.
Dr. Craig See says you could also use artificial tear drops or a warm compress on your face if you notice your eyes are really starting to dry out. And if that doesn't seem to work, he recommends going to see your physician.
