With pollution levels reaching alarming levels in the national capital, ophthalmologists have observed a sharp rise in the number of patients suffering from eye problems including allergy, burning and itching. According to Ikeda Lal, an ophthalmologist at the delhi Eye Centre and Sir ganga ram Hospital in New delhi, pollutants and dust in the air is one of the major reasons for causing eye allergy and other related problems.
Due to increasing pollution, there is increase in the incidence of dry eye and ocular allergy. This is causing discomfort even in normal eyes and aggravates the eye complaints in eyes that are prone to dryness and allergies," said Rajesh Sinha, professor of Ophthalmology, AIIMS. "If care is not taken immediately, some of these eyes can have reduced vision due to this problem as well," he added.
Lal also said that people with complains of itching in the eyes are likely to suffer from allergic eye disease. Patients with pre-existing dry eyes may experience excessive dryness, irritation and burning due to ocular surface inflammation.
