Many comrades have this feeling: after long-term use of mobile phones and computers, they feel dry and swollen eyes. However, for military personnel, whether they are staring at radar screens or working on computers, it is inevitable to spend long periods of time watching electronic screens. How to scientifically protect the eyes in this situation? Li Chaohui, director of the Ophthalmology Department of the People's Liberation Army General Hospital, has compiled some eye care knowledge and shared it with everyone. The main cause of screen damage to the eyes is not the light itself, but "continuous focusing+environmental pressure", and its core damage mechanism includes excessive fatigue of the ciliary muscle and rapid evaporation of the tear film. When the eyes are focused, the ciliary muscle continues to contract, which can lead to excessive fatigue of the ciliary muscle. Without resting for 2 hours, it can induce pseudomyopia; When staring at the screen for a long time, the blink frequency decreases by 75%, leading to a shortened tear film rupture time and a higher risk of dry eye syndrome. Some people have misconceptions about the issue of screen damage to their eyes, which may harm them. Misconception 1: When watching electronic screens at night, using eye protection mode will not damage the eyes. The eye protection mode can only reduce about 20% to 30% of blue light and cannot improve ciliary muscle fatigue caused by prolonged focusing. If the eye protection mode is used alone at night, it may lead to excessive pupil dilation, increasing the risk of dry eye syndrome and glaucoma. Therefore, comrades who watch electronic screens at night still need to rest their eyes in a timely manner while turning on eye protection mode. Misconception 2: When relaxing your eyes, you can stare at the green forest image on your phone. People generally believe that looking at green plants in the distance can relax their eyes. In fact, green itself cannot relax the ciliary muscle. The eye protection effect of green plants in the distance mainly lies in the combination of "long-distance viewing+dynamic changes in natural light". Still looking at static green images is still for close range use, but it may be due to the overly bright color and the emphasis on fatigue. An effective way to relax your eyes is to engage in 2 hours of outdoor activity every day, allowing your eyes to receive natural light "calibration". Misconception 3: The smaller the screen, the more harmful it is to the eyes, while a larger screen is not harmful to the eyes. Some comrades believe that the smaller the screen, the more likely it is to cause visual fatigue. In fact, visual fatigue is not directly related to screen size, but to the clarity and viewing distance of the screen display. The mobile phone screen display is relatively delicate, but it needs to be used up close (usually less than 30 centimeters); The TV screen display is relatively rough, but the viewing distance is far (usually greater than 2 meters). There is not much difference in the clarity perceived by the eyes when watching these two types of screens. Choosing appropriate equipment and usage methods can help protect the eyes. For example, when processing text work, you can choose a 27 inch 4K high-definition monitor and maintain a viewing distance of 50-70 centimeters. But if the font size is set too small or the contrast between the text and the background is not obvious, it can also easily lead to visual fatigue. Misconception 4: The higher the screen brightness, the clearer it is and the better it is for the eyes. High brightness screens can cause pupil constriction in dark environments. If you watch a high brightness screen for a long time, it may accelerate the oxidative stress of visual cells in the macular area and increase the risk of macular degeneration. It is recommended that comrades turn on the automatic brightness function of the device when watching electronic screens to achieve adaptive brightness adjustment (i.e. make the screen brightness ≈ ambient brightness). Misconception 5: If you feel uncomfortable with your eyes, drop some cool eye drops. Some comrades may drop some cool eye drops when they feel uncomfortable in their eyes. Cooling eye drops usually contain ingredients such as menthol and ice flakes. When dropped into the eyes, they stimulate nerve endings and create a cool feeling, making people mistakenly believe that the eyes have been soothed, but it does not truly solve the problem of eye fatigue or dryness. If these cool eye drops are used for a long time, it may overlook real eye health issues and delay the timing of treatment. Some eye drops contain preservatives, and long-term use may cause damage to ocular surface cells and even lead to chronic ocular surface diseases. The key to eye protection lies in using the eyes scientifically and choosing appropriate products. It is recommended that comrades blink more frequently, keep their eyes moist, and choose preservative free artificial tears when they feel dry, to avoid long-term use of cool eye drops. If the symptoms of dry eyes and fatigue persist or worsen, seek medical attention promptly. Scientific eye protection not only requires cracking the misconceptions and mastering the secrets of eye use, but also ensuring proper eye protection. Targeted eye protection in different environments and scenarios can help protect vision and prevent eye damage. Reduce strong light reflection when doing homework at night. Strong light reflection is one of the main causes of eye fatigue. During night work, officers and soldiers can stick polarized anti glare film on electronic screens to reduce the interference of external light on their eyes. Optimize screen settings and environment for daily office work. It is recommended that comrades who need to stare at their computer screens for a long time adjust the screen background to a light sandy color, which can reduce eye fatigue and relieve the pressure of prolonged eye use; Adjust the screen brightness according to the lighting to avoid being too bright or too dark; Maintain appropriate indoor air humidity to prevent dry eyes. In addition, comrades can use magnetic goggles during training in desert environments, which can resist sand and dust and significantly improve nighttime target recognition ability; In the cold environment of the plateau, artificial tears can be dripped regularly to reduce the incidence of snow blindness; When in the cabin of a ship, the screen can be wiped daily with a cotton pad soaked in distilled water to avoid glare caused by salt crystallization and maintain screen clarity. In addition to taking eye protection measures for different environments, comrades should also develop good habits of using and protecting their eyes in daily life. Director Li Chaohui suggested that comrades should adhere to the "20-6-20" golden rule of eye protection and use appropriate eye protection methods in their daily lives. The "20-6-20" golden rule for eye protection is to focus on the screen for 20 minutes and look at objects 6 meters away for 20 seconds. This eye habit can effectively prevent the occurrence of visual fatigue. Appropriate eye protection measures include hot compress, supplementing eye nutrition, etc. Hot compress can effectively relieve visual fatigue, equivalent to giving the eyes a SPA. Especially after prolonged eye use, applying hot compress to the eyes can help them quickly regain a comfortable state. Apply a warm wet towel or steam eye mask to the eyes. Suggest 1-2 times a day, 10-15 minutes each time. Eye nutrition mainly includes lutein, Omega-3, and zinc elements. Lutein is an important component of the macular area of the retina, which can filter harmful blue light, resist oxidation, and protect the retina from damage; Omega-3 is an important component of the tear film, which can improve dry eye symptoms and help alleviate eye inflammation; Zinc is an essential component of various enzymes in the retina, which can promote the absorption of vitamin A, help maintain night vision, and prevent macular degeneration. These elements can be obtained from foods such as egg yolks, corn, deep-sea fish, pumpkin seeds, beef, etc. Eye health problems often occur unconsciously, and ignoring early warning signals of eye diseases can lead to serious consequences. When comrades experience eye discomfort symptoms, they should seek medical attention promptly to avoid irreversible damage. Here, we will introduce several common eye problems and early signs. Retinal detachment is a serious ophthalmic emergency that, if not treated in a timely manner, may lead to permanent loss of vision. Early signals are sudden visual field defects, characterized by the sudden appearance of dark spots, shadows, or flashes in the field of view. The early symptoms of glaucoma are not obvious, and once they occur, they may lead to irreversible visual impairment. Early signals mainly manifest as persistent headache, eye swelling, blurred vision, reduced field of view, and black borders when looking at things. Dry eye syndrome is a common eye disease, with early signs mainly manifested as continuous redness and dryness of the eyes, and visual fluctuations after prolonged use of the eyes. If left untreated after suffering from dry eye syndrome, it may lead to corneal damage and even affect vision. Corneal injury may also lead to infection or vision loss, with early signals mainly manifested as persistent eye pain, photophobia, tearing, sudden loss or blurred vision. In short, everyone should use their eyes scientifically, take reasonable protective measures, and actively respond to eye discomfort to prevent eye diseases and protect eye health. Health Link: What to Check for Eye Health Examination? As one of the most delicate organs in the human body, the health status of the eyes directly affects the quality of life. In the annual physical examination, eye examination is more likely to be overlooked by comrades. Some comrades believe that normal vision is sufficient and there is no need for excessive attention. In fact, having good eyesight does not necessarily mean absolute eye health, as many eye diseases are discovered during physical examinations. The ophthalmic examination in the annual physical examination is mainly a basic examination, including vision examination, intraocular pressure measurement, fundus examination, and slit lamp microscopy examination. Vision examination is a combination test of far and near vision, which can timely detect refractive problems such as myopia, farsightedness, presbyopia, etc. Eye pressure measurement can detect early warning signals of glaucoma. It should be noted that 30% of glaucoma patients still have intraocular pressure values within the normal range, and comprehensive judgment should be made in conjunction with other examinations. Fundus examination is a visual observation of the retina, recording the morphology of the optic nerve and macular area through a fundus microscope. Slit lamp microscopy can clearly examine lesions such as corneal opacities, aqueous humor opacity, and lens opacity (cataracts), and can also detect hidden conjunctival stones or meibomian gland dysfunction. Basic examination is a "full body physical examination" for the eyes. Through these basic examinations, it is possible to maximize the judgment of whether the examinee can "see clearly, judge accurately, and adapt quickly", thereby preventing and intervening in eye injuries in a timely manner. If doctors discover suspicious lesions during basic examinations, they also need to perform in-depth examinations such as corneal topography, fundus photography, fundus angiography, and optical coherence tomography based on the patient's condition to clarify the diagnosis. When undergoing an ophthalmic examination, comrades should pay attention to the following points: avoid wearing contact lenses. If they usually wear contact lenses, they should be removed and replaced with frame glasses some time before the vision examination; Before undergoing a vision examination, it is important to rest thoroughly and avoid prolonged eye use; When doctors inquire about their vision, they should answer truthfully and not conceal or falsify information. Modern ophthalmic examinations have formed a three-dimensional evaluation system of "morphology+function". The comrades in arms should pay attention to the ophthalmic examination during the annual physical examination, especially for high-risk groups such as diabetes patients. It is recommended to recheck every six months to guard the "window of mind". (New Society)