Increase in dry eye disease in children likely due to excessive screen time

Research has shown prolonged exposure to screens could be causing rising cases of dry eye disease in young people, and some optometrists are warning they're seeing more children presenting with this condition. Optometrist at Eyecare Plus, Mermaid Beach Dr Shaina Zheng joins Sky News Australia to discuss how excessive screen time can cause dry eye disease. “So dry eye disease is a chronic condition where the front surface of the eye is not adequately lubricated and this can cause discomfort, pain and in severe cases vision loss. I'm seeing about one to two young people a week with dry eyes,” Ms Zheng said. “It's increased over the last few years and typically you wouldn't expect a young child to have dry eyes or for young people to develop it. “I do think it's because of the increase in digital device usage. When we're on a screen we don't blink as often as we should and this leads to reduced tears over the eyes and this leads to your symptoms of dry eyes.”