BENGALURU: With the temperature soaring, you might just want to get back home and put on the air conditioners, while working professionals sit glued to their seats in an AC environment. But opthalmologists say a big no to the use of ACs as they have seen a rise in cases of dryness in the eyes.
Doctors have been getting a minimum of 15 cases relating to this. “Air conditioners reduce the humidity and causes evaporation of the tear film. If cool wind flows without any humidity in the room, the cornea starts burning, itching and the person gets the irritating feeling of a foreign particle entering the eye,” said Dr Lavanya Marineni, consultant opthalmologist at Agarwal Eye Hospital, Yelahanka.
Dr Leistle Ravi Kumar, consultant opthalmologist at Vikram Hospital pointed out that back in the days, dryness in the eye was only seen in adults who were above 30, but now, even those lesser than 20 years face the issue. “It is summer holidays now and many children relax at home under ACs and many are always on their phone, which causes more dryness. Lubricant drops are prescribed to reduce the dryness,” said Kumar.
Dr Nitish S Shetty, consultant Vitreo, Retinal Surgeon mentioned that the ones who are working in offices with ACs are also facing dry eye. “Dry eyes can sometimes be indicative of more serious underlying medical conditions like rheumatoid arthritis or thyroid problems,” he said.
Measures to avoid dry eye