VIDEO: Ocular Surface Disease, Better Known As Dry Eye & A Growing Problem

GOLDEN TRIANGLE, Miss. (WCBI) – Too much time in front of your computer or smart device, could be putting serious strain on your eyes.

Golden Triangle Eye Clinic Optometrist, Dr. Lee Ford says it’s the new bad thing most people don’t know about.

It’s called ocular surface disease.

It’s better known as dry eyes and it’s not something to overlook.

“The front of the eye is the most important interface in my opinion, because I’m a little prejudice to the eye, of our body’s contact to the world. There is a very thin layer of tears that connects the visual system to the neural system and when those tears are disrupted, it causes all kinds of problems.”

It doesn’t affect everyone, but a lot of people have it and suffer from different stages.

It’s uncomfortable, not an overnight fix, and requires many eye drops a day.

“Your eyes can become tired. They may feel grainy, kind of like sand or grit, something is in the eye and so you may want to blink more, but that might not be sufficient because if your tear film is out of balance, you may need the additive of an artificial tear to help provide that balance that it needs,” says Dr. Stacie Moore of Eye Clinic of West Point.

Technology is a reason for dry eye.

“When you have people using computers all day, your blink rate drops significantly. When your blink rate drops, it dries the eyes out. When the eyes dry out, you start to have the symptoms and we’re seeing it a lot earlier. I have patients who are preteens, who we’re treating for dry eye,” says Dr. Ford.

Tiffany Haynes is a mother of two young patients.

She also gets treated for dry eye and says the prescribed eye drops really help.

“It’s not something, maybe you’re going to see right off the bat, but it does over time. You can start seeing a difference. The wind is not bothering you. The air conditioning is not bothering you. They’re not as red. It’s really helping us, just to look at my phone when I need to look at my phone and not like in and out.”

Optometrists say many people don’t realize they suffer from dry eye and get use to the pain.

If untreated, the condition worsens, but you can slow down its progress.

“Vision can be blurred as a result of dry eye and it’s just, it could affect quality of life. I have patients, I mean, it can just be debilitating, depending on how bad it is,” says Dr. Moore.

Dr. Ford believes the condition is more common in people over 40-years old.

Both eye doctors say a regular checkup will show if you suffer from dry eye.