It’s Not Just You: Face Masks Make Your Eyes Dry and Itchy
For the first time in history, people have
been wearing face masks daily on a global scale for months. Of course,
people who live in highly polluted urban environments have been wearing
face masks outside for years and many professionals, like doctors and
miners, are required to wear protective masks when conducting specific
procedures or working in dangerous environments.
But Covid-19 made literally everyone put on
a mask, and this global trial shed light on the issues mask wearers
face on a daily basis. These issues can be mundane, like aching ears,
skin irritation, or glasses that keep fogging up, and we’ve tackled
these issues in our article 6 Practical Tips to Make Face Masks More
Comfortable. However, there is also a newly emerged health issue
associated with face masks - dry eye syndrome.
Indeed, ophthalmologists across the world
have observed a surge in patients complaining of having red and
irritated eyes, a burning sensation in the eyes, as well as blurry
vision in the past few months. All these are symptoms of dry eye
syndrome, also known as keratoconjunctivitis sicca. At first, eye
doctors couldn’t understand why more people started experiencing dry eye
symptoms, but then they noticed a pattern - many of the patients spent
more time in public spaces and wore face masks more often, in addition
to mostly working from home. Thus, the term MADE, or “mask-associated
dry eye” came into existence.
What Causes Mask Related Dry Eye?
So yes, you’re not just imagining it - wearing a face mask can irritate
your eyes and can even contribute to dry eye. That said, most medical
experts point out that mask-wearing alone is rarely if ever the cause of
dry eye, and there is typically another factor that’s causing the
condition, such as spending a lot of time glued to screens or reading
for hours on end. Common symptoms of dry eye syndrome include eye
fatigue, discomfort, discharge, redness, and blurred vision, and the
condition is more likely to occur as we age.
If you experience any of these symptoms and
you wear a mask daily, you may have MADE. At the same time, doctors
state that having dry eye is not a reason NOT to wear a mask, as the
symptoms of the condition are easily preventable and treatable, and in
many cases, stopping to wear a mask won’t help on its own anyway.
“The real reason for bringing this to people’s attention is to say,
‘Hey, if you notice this, this is why it’s happening and let’s help you
manage your dry eye while you continue to wear your mask,’ ” stated
Lyndon Jones, director of the University of Waterloo’s Center for Ocular
Research and Education in Canada in a statement.
Research shows that the eyes may become dehydrated because the air
escaping from the top of the face mask dries out the tear film, a
protective fluid layer on the surface of the eye. As this film becomes
depleted, we begin to experience discomfort in the eye area. In
addition, the mask may be causing inflammation of the oil glands in the
eye area, which can also contribute to dry eye syndrome, although aren’t
clear on how exactly this may happen.
How to Prevent and Treat Mask Related Dry Eye Syndrome
1. Make sure your mask fits properly. Since
it’s likely the air that escapes from your mask that’s contributing the
issue, wearing a face mask that fits tightly in the nose area is key.
To test if your mask fits properly, simply put on the mask and then a
pair of glasses. If the glasses fog up within a few minutes, you need a
better fitting mask. For example, surgical masks are a good option in
general because they have a moldable wire on top that will help you
adjust the fit.
2. Practice eye hygiene. Eye dryness isn’t caused by your face mask
alone, and it’s important to practice beneficial habits that will help
reduce and prevent dry eye. One such habit is the so-called "20-20-20
rule": when working at the computer, watching TV, reading, or browsing
your smartphone, look 20 feet away every 20 minutes for 20 seconds. This
trick will give your eyes a mini-break and rehydrate the surface of the
eye.
3. Don’t rub your eyes. We’ve been warned, and rightfully so, that eye
rubbing can potentially introduce you to the dangerous novel
coronavirus, but this is actually not the only reason to do so. It turns
out that eye dryness and a number of other eye issues, such as
inflammation and micro-abrasions in the cornea can also be caused by
rubbing your eyes.
4. Get hydrating eye drops to treat dry eyes. Artificial tear drops are
effective at relieving symptoms of dry eye syndrome. The eye drops are
available over the counter, but they shouldn’t be confused with
anti-redness drops, such as Visine, which eye doctors do not recommend.