More patients seeking help for eyestrain

June 16, 2021 Staff reporters

Digital eyestrain is becoming more prevalent as employees spend more time in front of their screens since the Covid-19 pandemic began, sparking interest in eyewear as a potential solution.  

 

The US Transitions Optical Workplace Wellness online survey included 1,300 US adults employed full- or part-time. 53% of the respondents said they were spending more time in front of their work computer screens now than before the Covid-19 pandemic and, of those, 85% reported they were experiencing more digital eyestrain as a result.  

 

The most common symptoms reported were headaches (51%), dry eye (48%, up 10% from last year) followed by light sensitivity (29%).   

 

One in three employees (34%) said they would seek information on blue-light glasses, update their prescription (33%) or buy new spectacles (32%). Interestingly, only 24% said they would use a blue-light screen filter while 22% said they would change their computer monitor.