I can remember sitting in class and hearing the teacher saying “Hemingway! Stop day dreaming and looking out of the window!”. Forward many 10’s of years to the weekend just gone and my optometrist saying, “Mr Hemingway, You need to look out of the window more!”

Sitting in front of a computer screen all day has caught up with me. Especially driven in recent times with video calls.

So why look out of the window more, Meibomian Gland Dysfunction (MGD) is when the eyelid glands don’t produce enough oil to stop the watery layer of the tears from drying out. You don’t blink as much when your looking at the screen for a long time. There are a lot of other factors that can play into or cause MGD, however screen time is the most likely for me.

I have a mild case which is treatable with a warm flannel or warmed Eye Bag and some gentle massaging eyelid to help release the tears as its been caught early enough. If left and nothing done could become more serious in time.

The exercise I was given is a 20:20:20 – look out of the window every 20 minutes at something more than 20 yards away and blinking 20 times.

Taking regular breaks is a must, even if to look out of the window regularly.

A timer on the desk now counts every 20 mins so I can get a reminder when head down in a screen concentrating.