How antiseptic soap, mobile phones can harm your eyes – Optometrist

Chinwe Dike, an Enugu-based optometrist, spoke to PREMIUM TIMES on how the use of laptops and phones can affect the eyes. She also talks about the lingering effects of using antiseptic soaps, cooking wood and eyelashes.

PT: Can staring at a phone or laptop screen for a long time lead to an eye problem?

DIGA: No, it will not lead to blindness unless there are other underlying factors. However, we generally advise those who are always on their gadgets, their phones, to wear what we call protective glasses, they should have what we call anti-glare, anti-reflective and what we call blue tinted lenses coverage. These lenses help reduce light rays that enter the eye. So if someone is always on the phone, you either dim your phone or wear reflective lenses because it’s going to have this anti-reflective coating on it. And there will also be blue-coated lenses, which are for those who are always on their systems. So these lenses will help reduce the rays of light that enter the eye because some of these rays are harmful to the eyes.

This (exposure to gadgets) will cause tension. This will cause what we call asthenopic symptoms that can lead to additional eye problems such as refractive errors and all. You may wake up with sore, red, itchy eyes and a lingering headache.

PT: What about some soap particles, say from an antiseptic soap, getting into your eyes when you shower?

DIGA: May cause allergy. There is something called allergic conjunctivitis and also bacteria can get in through all of that. So you expose your eyes to either allergic conjunctivitis or bacterial conjunctivitis.

Allergic conjunctivitis is due to an allergy, perhaps to soap entering the eye or exposure of the eyes to very strong chemicals such as Dettol and other antiseptics. So if you expose your eyes to all these things, it will cause inflammation, maybe redness of the eye, injections in the eye, and discharge from the eyes, in the case of bacteria. You have to treat it. Failure to do so could lead to a more serious problem. It may clear up by itself, with allergy, but with bacteria, maybe there is a discharge, you need to check the eye to know what medicine to use.

PT: How about rubbing your eyes after waking up from sleep?

DIGA: Well, the questions you need to ask: Are your eyes itchy? Is there something the person is experiencing before that has caused the eyes to rub? Is there a leak? If there is discharge, then there is bacteria and the person should have their eyes checked.

If it’s a habit, as long as you don’t use your fingernails to scratch your eyes, that’s fine. But if you use your fingernails to scratch your eyes and damage the cornea, that’s another risk.

PT: Does working under the scorching sun without sunglasses pose a risk to the eyes?

DIGA: Exposure of the eyes to the sun causes a lot of damage to the eyes. First, we have what is called a cataract. You can develop early cataracts. The person can develop what we call a pterygium – you see growths on the conjunctiva and so many other things it can lead to. So it is recommended that anyone working under the sun always wear what we call sunglasses, or for those who wear prescription glasses, you can wear what we call photochromic lenses with an anti-reflective coating on them.

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PT: We’ve seen a lot of people cooking with firewood. Could this cause any eye problems?

DIGA: Yes. It is harmful to the eyes. In general, it is recommended that everyone avoid using things that cause smoke, especially in the eyes, because it can cause an allergy. It can cause pterygium and everything else. There is a growth in the eyes known as a pterygium. Smoke and dust impair growth. So if someone is using (firewood), the person should wear safety glasses.

PT: Let’s talk about eyelashes, contact lenses.

DIGA: We recommend contact lenses in some cases of very large refractive errors, but not for everyday use.

Many people start abusing beauty products like eyelashes and all. You go to the market and you see the techniques they use to make these things. They are very unhygienic and do not follow the rules of cleanliness that they should follow before going in front of anyone. And after these procedures people fall into allergies or worse situations.

I don’t know what chemicals they use for the eyelashes. We can advise you to protect your eyes. At best, I can only tell the person not to fix (the eyelashes) or if you have to fix, you can fix in a place where they will be very careful with your eyes and not put your eyes at risk. But it doesn’t have to be regular.

PT: There’s a superstition about onions – that when you cut them and your eyes water, it helps to clear your eyes?

DIGA: If the eye tears, it does not mean that the eye is clearing. People have this myth about it and you can’t change that myth because a lot of people believe it. As far as I know, there is really no benefit to the eyes from the tears produced by the onion sensation, as is widely recognized by many. It is part of the traditional eye medicines that people use. I have seen a patient who practiced one of these myths and came here with a melting cornea.