DIGITAL EYE STRAIN AND MASK ASSOCIATED DRY EYES DURING COVID-19 PANDEMIC IN LEBANON

To study the contribution of quarantine with online work and education to exacerbating digital eye strain and causing possible refractive changes. To illustrate the prevalence of mask associated dry eyes and potential increase use of contact lenses.

Advanced Eye Care Hospital - Lebanon

This is a questionnaire-based cohort study including patients visiting a central specialty eye hospital in Lebanon during the period between July 1 and October 1, 2021. The questionnaire consisted of 10 multiple choice questions in both Arabic and English languages. The included age group was between 5 years and 50 years old.

The total number of questionnaires was 100. The mean age was 25.8 (6-49) years.70% of the participants where 31 years and younger and 53% were females.  73% of patients were involved in online work or education during COVID pandemic and these were divided into subcategories: online school education (25%), online university education (18%) and online work from home (30%). 83% of the patients reported an increase in screen time during quarantine. Furthermore, 59% declared worsening of their dry eye symptoms, developing dry eyes, had ocular fatigue and/or headache secondary to increased screen time (70% of the participants had an existing chronic dry eyes).

Crosstabulation analysis showed that out of the patients who reported increased in digital eye strain symptoms, 83.1% had online work or education (28.8% had online school classes, 18.6% had online university classes and 35.6% were involved in online work) while 16.9% weren’t involved in any online activity. This difference was statistically significant (P=0.011)

28% of patients reported started wearing or changing their eyeglasses due to adjustments in their refractive error in the past 2 years. 44% of patients confirmed experiencing mask associated dry eyes. 20% of participants preferred to wear contact lenses instead of eye glasses to avoid the fogging effect secondary to face mask wearing.

Patients who switched to online work and education during COVID-19 pandemic had significantly higher incidence of digital eye strain. These patients were of a younger age group. However, no significant change in refraction was noted as compared to patients without online work and education. Mask associated dry eyes was noted in a large number of patients. Our results were consistent with other studies from other countries. Ophthalmologists and health care professionals should be aware about these findings when examining patients with eye strain and dryness during the pandemic.