Staring at computer screens and mobile phones for a long time has become a common habit of the general public. Coupled with wearing contact lenses, immune diseases, natural aging and other factors, about 6 million people in Taiwan Province suffer from different degrees of dry eye, regardless of age, increasing at the rate of 10% every year. Dr. Xu from the Department of Ophthalmology, Zhonghe Memorial Hospital, Kaohsiung Medical University, said that the symptoms of dry eye are diverse and ethnic groups are extensive. Not only is it a common disease of young office workers, but the incidence of dry eye in postmenopausal women is 2-4 times higher than that before menopause!
Excessive "overtime" dry eyes, find a young engineer.
Dr. Xu said that modern people's demand for eyes has exceeded the eye load, and dry eye syndrome is rapidly becoming popular. People who have long expected to stay in air-conditioned rooms or commonly used 3C products should feel better about the disease. Once, a young engineer, about 30 years old, went to see a doctor because his eyes were uncomfortable. After the evaluation of dry eye questionnaire, combined with the functional photography of meibomian gland and the examination of lacrimal gland and ocular surface, it was found that long-term use of 3C made the eyes work overtime, the meibomian gland oil secretion was abnormal, and oil-deficient dry eye appeared!
People often go to the doctor because of symptoms such as dry eyes, sour eyes or itching, and their eyes feel uncomfortable, but they don't know that they are suffering from dry eyes. It is easy to mistake dry eye for water shortage, but mixed dry eye (oil-water shortage) is the biggest in clinic. Dr. Xu pointed out that mixed dry eye syndrome is the coexistence of insufficient tear secretion (lack of water) and rapid tear evaporation (lack of oil). Most artificial tears can not improve the acceleration of tear evaporation caused by lack of oil, and patients often complain that using oily artificial tears will make their eyesight unclear. "It's like getting oil stains on the windshield of a car, and dredging the blocked meibomian gland can fundamentally treat dry eye. 」
After menopause, women who claim to be "godmothers" suffer from dry eye as many as 2-4 times.
Dr. Xu further said that with the increase of age and the deterioration of organ function, the elderly are more prone to dry eye. Especially after menopause, because of the change of the hilum, the secretion of tears will decrease, or the melting point of meibomian gland fat will increase, which may lead to poor oil discharge and rapid evaporation of tears. When the eye oil secretion is insufficient, the meibomian gland will be inflamed and blocked, and the proportion of dry eye will be 2-4 times higher than that of premenopausal women!
There was once a woman who had been undergoing laser surgery for more than ten years. During this period, her eyes were in good condition without any abnormality. However, as soon as she reached menopause, she developed severe dry eye symptoms, which not only blocked the oil production in her eyelids, but also caused serious inflammation at the edge of her eyelids. Dr. Xu appealed that menopausal women should pay more attention to their eyes and seek medical treatment as soon as possible if they are uncomfortable.
Eye drops are the key to oil-water balance.
Generally speaking, if the meibomian gland secretes normal oil glands, under normal working or family environment, a person can blink normally enough to squeeze oil. However, if you are in an abnormal environment for a long time and have bad eye habits, oil secretion will be blocked. You must apply hot compress 15 minutes at home every day, twice a day, and then cooperate with external force to squeeze, so as to have certain improvement effect.
Dr. Xu said that in view of the oil blockage of meibomian gland, the traditional treatment would use a pointed needle to puncture the opening of meibomian gland or directly squeeze it with a cotton swab, which would make the patient very painful. But at present, there is a mild heat pulse therapy, which can dredge the meibomian gland within 12 minutes and maintain the therapeutic effect for a period of time. Through the warm and pulsating extrusion of the instrument, the eyelid blood circulation can be increased and the meibomian gland can be dredged, thus achieving fundamental improvement. And can resume daily life after the course of treatment. For busy office workers, it can save time and reduce inconvenience, which is relatively mild compared with traditional treatment methods.
Dr. Xu suggested that the elderly can take oil products rich in omega-3 unsaturated fatty acids such as fish oil and linseed oil, which is helpful to prevent dry eye. Put an extra basin of water in the air-conditioned room to increase humidity, and usually apply more hot compress to promote blood circulation around the eyes and relieve muscles around the eyes; More importantly, we should reduce the use of 3C products and let our eyes rest moderately to maintain the eye health of the elderly.
Source: Health Care Network.