Ocular complaints from students during COVID-19 pandemic

During coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, students were obliged to switch to online learning. Nevertheless, a long time spent in front of the screens is one of the risk factors of dry eye disease (DED).

To evaluate ocular symptoms typical for DED presented by Polish students during online learning and entertainment before and during the pandemic, as well as to assess the prevalence of these symptoms.

The original questionnaire was distributed online via social media (Facebook) to Polish students in November 2020. Three hundred sixty-eight anonymous questionnaires were collected and statistically analyzed.

During the pandemic, online learning and screen entertainment time extended on average by 4 h and 40 min, respectively. Only 8% of students admitted to having no ocular symptoms and 77% reported the exacerbation in previous ocular complaints. Reported symptoms included pain/discomfort of the eyes, itchiness, dryness, red eyes, feeling gritty particles under eyelids, and blurred vision. Actions such as using eye drops, having breaks from studying to have distant vision, consultation with an ophthalmologist, using warm and cold compresses, or none of these were undertaken by 45%, 42%, 8%, 7%, and 19% of students, respectively. Nonmedical students reported worsening of previous symptoms more often than medical students (p < 0.05). A correlation was observed between the number of new/intensified symptoms and the change in screen learning time (r = 0.17, p < 0.05).

Eye complaints are prevalent in the population of students. During the pandemic these symptoms intensified, which may have been caused by the extension of the screen time. There is a need for better education on ocular hygiene to improve visual clarity and awareness of risk factors of DED.