Visual health and lockdowns

The Covid Pandemic has necessarily altered our habits. Let's take the case of a second-year high school student who, since March 2020, has taken the last classes of the high school and the first of the University from home. Or also the case of a retired woman, who has been socially distanced and locked up for months. Despite facing confinement and subsequent restrictions with different needs and being in distant life stages, both share a habit that has skyrocketed in the last year and a half: overexposure to screens.

The confinement and the pandemic have caused a series of physical and psychological sequelae, to which must be added the negative impact on visual health. Whether it's for online classes, telecommuting or video calls, we've mostly lived through computers, mobile phones, television and tablets. The hours in front of these devices have multiplied, many times in poorly lit rooms, in small spaces, with the view always concentrated and with less access to sunlight or the outside.

Worse eyesight

You must have suffered some of the effects. A headache at the end of the day, dry eyes, red eyes, problems with eye focus or, in more extreme cases, blurred vision. According to a survey of the first study on the visual health after the lockdown (which dates from the summer of 2020) half of the participants describe a headache and a quarter, redness of the eyes. It's a common problem that affects us all.

This post-confinement study of visual health puts on the table some alarming data, such as the visual deterioration of 57% of the population as a direct consequence. 6 out of 10 adults have worse vision and in the case of young people (from 18 to 34), the percentage soars to 77.4%.

Some experts also warn about the increase in cases of myopia in minors due, once again, to the excess time spent in front of screens and the lack of long-distance focus. Myopia is becoming a global problem; remember that according to the W.H.O. in 2050 half of the world's population will be short-sighted. The pandemic has only accelerated this trend.

The solutions

How can we solve these undesirable consequences? The solution is to check your eyesight. Most of the symptoms can be treated, and a timely remedy prevents these visual problems from becoming cysts or even worsening into more serious disorders.

At El Graduat we carry out free reviews. We opened the optic shop with the intention of performing comprehensive visual examinations on each of our patients with a state-of-the-art Zeiss optometry cabinet of unparalleled precision. Once finished, we will explain visual health guidelines, what your condition is and if intervention is necessary, what your options are. We will also automatically set a notice for 12 months from now, where we will invite you to a new check to monitor your progress.

We emphasize: all these reviews are a free service of El Graduat. Depending on the correction you need, we will provide you with quality glasses and lenses fitted through a rigorous process, regardless of your purchasing power. We were born in the midst of difficult times and we are very clear that sight is fundamental for everyone and being well-corrected cannot be a privilege. If you need anything, please feel free to contact us.

See you next time.