There are plenty of things that can cause dry eyes. Dry, winter weather, allergies, or meibomian gland dysfunction are all common things that come to mind. A minor amount of dry eye therapy is often enough to relieve the symptoms.
But with the rise of digital screen use, people are beginning to wonder if blue light can aggravate dry eye symptoms, and whether a pair of blue light glasses can help.
Unfortunately, no evidence suggests that blue light glasses will help with dry eyes because they cannot reverse the damage. Still, it’s important to consider the benefits they may provide. These specialty glasses can help minimize your chance of experiencing digital eye strain and could potentially prevent dry eyes from digital screen use.
What Causes Dry Eyes?
Dry eye syndrome or disease is often referred to as dry eye. It’s characterized by a lack of lubrication in the eye. This could be because of a lack of tears (aqueous deficiency) or premature evaporation (evaporative) of the tears.
Some people deal with the uncomfortable symptoms of dry eye seasonally, whereas others experience them all year round. There is some variance in what causes each type of dry eye, but there is a lot of overlap in causes.
A comprehensive eye exam is the only way to accurately determine the cause of your dry eyes. Still, some common causes of dry eye include:
- Dry air, dust, or smoke
- Allergies
- Allergy medicine (and some other medication, read side effects carefully if you’re dealing with dry eyes)
- Other health conditions, such as a vitamin A deficiency, autoimmune disorders, or Sjorgen’s syndrome
- Age
- Preservatives in lubricating eye drops
- Not blinking enough
- Meibomian gland issues
Digital Eye Strain
To understand why blue light glasses won’t necessarily help fix dry eyes, we need to quickly explore digital eye strain. This condition is also known as computer vision syndrome. With how much we rely on digital screen use, people will unlikely stop experiencing this condition.
Digital eye strain doesn’t feel all that different from regular eye strain. The primary difference between these conditions is the cause. Digital eye strain is typically the result of poor posture, poor lighting, poor viewing distance, or any combination of these.
A significant factor that contributes to connecting blue light glasses and dry eye is that dry eyes can be a symptom of digital eye strain. So, the logic assumes that maybe these glasses would help with dry eye symptoms.
What Do Blue Light Glasses Do?
As mentioned above, blue light glasses won’t help with eyes once they’re dry. In a situation like this, one of the best things you can probably do is take a break and use lubricating eye drops. The 20-20-20 rule is a great tool at times like this. Every 20 minutes, take 20 seconds to look 20 feet around you.
Unless they have other coatings or a prescription, the only job of blue light glasses is to filter out blue light and block it from entering your eyes. There is really no scientific evidence that suggests blue light blockers will prevent dry eye.
But there is some research that suggests blue light can lead to other things like sleep issues, age-related macular degeneration, or digital eye strain. And one thing these conditions share is the possibility of dry eyes. So, in a round-a-bout way, the blue light glass may help prevent dry eye.
Tips to Reduce the Effect of Digital Eye Strain
It’s almost impossible to prevent digital eye strain 100% of the time for most people. We simply live in a time where almost everything we do involves some form of electronic screen.
For those who must spend a lot of time on computers or phones, there are a few things you can do to reduce the effects of digital eye strain:
- Ensure the room has adequate lighting—bright enough, but not too bright.
- Adjust the computer screen to be approximately 15–18 inches away from your face and slightly below eye level.
- Position your chair to sit straight with both feet on the ground.
- Practice the 20-20-20 rule—every 20 minutes, take 20 seconds and look 20 feet around you.
Discuss Dry Eye Therapy with Us
You don’t have to suffer alone if you’re one of the millions affected by dry eye. You can try several home remedies like over-the-counter eye drops, warm compresses, or improved eyelid hygiene. Blue light glasses won’t hurt anything, and you may find them beneficial. But they aren’t the answer to your dry eyes.At Signature Eye Care, we’re proud to offer effective dry eye therapies that may provide benefits that home remedies simply don’t. Give us a shout today and let our professional team answer your questions or get you in to see the eye doctor.
