24-05-2025
Survey finds students, retired professionals & homemakers among those suffering from dry eye symptoms
Pune: A survey conducted by an eye institute on 3,000 of its patients over six months found close to 37% of them suffering from dry eye symptoms caused by prolonged exposure to digital screens.
They were mainly students, retired professionals and homemakers, who remain glued to screens for about 3-4 hours daily.
The survey was conducted by Pune-based National Institute of Optahlmology (NIO) between Nov 2024 and April 2025.
The survey found that most dry eye cases were linked to screen exposure, commonly known as computer vision syndrome (CVS).
A significant number of patients presenting with dry eye symptoms were regularly exposed to prolonged screen time averaging from 6.3 hours to 8.3 hours per day.
46% of patients that reported the symptoms were IT professionals aged 25-56, followed by students (19%) and office employees (11%) aged 26 to 45 yrs. The survey also revealed that 10% of patients were homemakers aged 35 to 70 years and 8% were retired individuals aged 68 to 75 years.
Patients of this age group clocked in a screen time averaging up to 4.6 hours per day.
Dr. Aditya Kelkar, director, NIO Super Specialty Hospital that conducted the survey, said, "These numbers reflect the undeniable strain digital devices place on our eyes.
Dry eye is no longer just a condition seen in older adults alone. We are increasingly seeing younger individuals, especially those working in technology sectors, suffering from this problem. More than 40-50 patients visit the hospital daily for dry eye symptoms related to CVS.
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Prolonged exposure to digital screens also lead to other complicated problems, ophthalmologists said. Dr. Naina Chaturvedi, consultant, department of ophthalmology, Dr.
D.Y. Patil Medical College, Hospital and Research Centre, Pimpri said, "In today's digital age, prolonged exposure to screens has become an unavoidable part of daily life. Whether it's professionals spending hours on computers or homemakers engaging with smartphones for entertainment or communication, the result is a growing prevalence of CVS.
It is characterized by symptoms such as eye strain, eyeache, and tired eyes.
Individuals also complain of burning, dryness, redness, gritty sensation, watering and irritation. These issues stem from poor lighting, screen glare, and improper viewing distances. Other symptoms include shoulder pain, neck stiffness, headache, backache, sleep disturbances and neuro-psychiatric issues like daytime sleepiness, fatigue and irritability. The symptoms reported in children with prolonged history of screen exposure include reduced attention span, poor academic performance and behavioural problems."
Dr Kelkar added that the survey highlighted the urgent need for lifestyle changes and increased public awareness regarding the risk of unregulated screen exposure. He said, "Among all dry eye patients surveyed, 89% required lubricating eye drops, while all were recommended 20-20-20 rule i.e. taking a 20-second break to look at something 20 feet away after every 20 minutes. We have launched an awareness campaign called #BlinkOkPlease.
As part of this campaign, the hospital is conducting several activities such as awareness seminars, screen-free zones and awareness walkathons to help patients reduce screen exposure in their daily activities.
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