Determining the Best Management Strategy for Preventing Short-Term Effects of Digital Display Use on Dry Eyes

To assess and compare the effectiveness of four main management strategies for preventing short-term effects of digital display use on dry eye signs and symptoms.

The ocular surface, tear film, and visual fatigue of 47 healthy individuals were assessed before and after reading on a laptop computer for 20 min under five different experimental conditions: control, instillation of artificial tears, taking a brief break, using a blue light screen filter, and blink control. Measurements included the Ocular Surface Disease Index (OSDI) Questionnaire, 5-item Dry Eye Questionnaire (DEQ-5), tear meniscus height (TMH), noninvasive keratograph break-up time (NIKBUT), bulbar conjunctival redness, and pupil size.

Worse results were obtained after the control and blue light filter conditions in all variables (P≤0.037). A higher post-task DEQ-5 score (P=0.013) and TMH (P<0.0005) were obtained when taking a brief break compared with pretask, although the increase in symptoms was significantly smaller than that observed in the nonmanagement control condition (P≤0.036). Similarly, a smaller increase in OSDI and DEQ-5 was obtained with the use of artificial tears and blink control in comparison with the control condition (P≤0.008), whereas a greater increase in DEQ-5 and decrease in NIKBUT was obtained for the blue light filter condition in comparison with the instillation of artificial tears (P=0.017) or blink control (P=0.008), respectively. Finally, a significantly lower post-task pupil size was obtained for all the conditions (P≤0.027).

The instillation of artificial tears and blink control were the best management strategies for preventing short-term effects of digital display use on dry eyes. Conversely, using a blue light filter did not offer any benefits.