Tips for good eye practice when using screens

Maintaining good eye care is crucial, especially when using screens for extended periods. The 20-20-20 rule is a widely recommended practice to reduce eye strain: every 20 minutes, shift your gaze to look at an object at least 20 feet away for 20 seconds. This helps reset your focus and gives your eyes a necessary break.

Additionally, ensuring proper lighting can prevent glare, which contributes to eye strain. Use indirect or natural light when possible and consider anti-glare screens or glasses with anti-reflective coating. To enhance eye comfort while using your device, you can adjust the screen brightness to a comfortable level, too much brightness can strain your eyes, especially in low-light conditions. Many devices offer a blue light filter or night mode. Enabling this feature reduces blue light emission, which can help prevent eye fatigue and improve sleep quality. You can schedule it to activate automatically during evening hours.

Regular eye exams are essential to monitor eye health and update prescriptions as needed. For those who experience dry eyes, blinking more frequently and staying hydrated can provide relief. Ergonomic adjustments to your workspace, such as positioning the screen at eye level and at an appropriate distance, can also help minimize strain. Incorporating these practices into your routine can lead to better eye health and comfort.

UKZN Medical Scheme offers a basic optometry benefit, which is funded from available funds in the General Benefit Pool, when this is depleted, then it is funded from the Medical Savings Account.

You can get up to 20% off on your frames and eyeglass lenses when you visit an optometrist in the Discovery Health Optometry Network. The discount is only applicable to hardware items such as frames and eyeglass lenses and excludes contact lenses and professional services (consultation and eye examination fees).

For cash payments, you get the discount immediately and you pay the amount at the till. Once you have paid, you must submit the proof of payment to us and we will pay the claimed amount as shown on the invoice, subject to the benefit limit.