Abstract
BACKGROUND: The widespread use of various video display terminals (VDTs) always had a detrimental impact on ocular health. Prolonged use of smartphones has been one of the leading causes of dry eye (DE) and asthenopia. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to find a simple and effective strategy to combat screen-related DE and asthenopia. METHODS: A group of healthy participants aged 18 and above were randomly assigned to three groups and tasked with a 2 h smartphone reading task. After 1 h of usage, each group adopted different methods of rest: no rest (Group A), a 10 min eye-closed rest (Group B), or a 10 min eye-closed joint artificial tears rest (Group C). Ophthalmological examinations and questionnaires were administered to all participants before and after the 2 h reading task. RESULTS: 90 qualified volunteers, including 29 males and 61 females, were randomly assigned to three groups. Group A demonstrated a significant increase in the severity of DE and asthenopia as evidenced by all the evaluated indices. On the other hand, Group C did not exhibit any notable change in DE and asthenopia symptoms, with an improvement in corneal fluorescein staining (CFS) results (P > 0.05) when compared to the pre-reading values. Group B showed a significant increase in ocular surface disease index (OSDI) (P ≤ 0.05) and a decrease in critical flicker frequency (CFF) (P ≤ 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Close-eye rest with artificial tears may be a convenient and effective prevention strategy for screen-related DE and asthenopia.