As winter approaches, dry and cold weather brings a lot of body discomfort, and in addition to increased skin dryness, eyes can also feel "dried out". Dry weather and occasional powerful cold air comes, thus bringing about an increase in the number of patients with glaucoma.

Dr. Guo, director of the Department of Ophthalmology at the People's Hospital of the Tibet Autonomous Region, explained that winter brings a high incidence of dry eye syndrome. This is partly due to the human body's immune system. On the one hand, the general dry eye syndrome can occur during any of the four seasons and on the other hand this is a matter related to eye usage. He explained that staring at cell phone or computer screens for long time can cause detrimental effects inside the eyes. It can also cause different types of inflammation in the eyes. The disorder is even more easier to get especially when it is dry and when winds are stronger.

Glaucoma is a common eye disease in this season. With the temperature being low in the winter, the cold can stimulate sympathetic nerves, and intraocular pressure can rise sharply in short time easily inducing glaucoma.

Patients with glaucoma are prone to headache, eye pain, vision loss and other symptoms. Sometimes it can be accompanied by nausea and vomiting etc.. Yet precisely for these reasons, the symptoms suggesting that someone has glaucoma tend to be overlooked. Therein, sometimes people mistakenly believe that they were suffering from a cold or stomach sickness, which inevitably delays proper diagnosis and treatment that should be delivered during the optimal period.

"In fact, Tibet is more so suffering from cataract issues, especially in pastoral areas. When asking the reason why the winter season brings a high incidence of eye disorders, in fact, it does not necessary mean that during this time eye disorders increased, and instead it is often due to the fact that only during the winter slack season do many people from pastoral areas have time to go and see a doctor," Dr. Guo said.

The doctor suggested that because of the special geographical position of Tibet, the firstly UV protected sunglasses is a must for all to wear all four seasons of the year. At the same time, pay attention to avoid looking for too long periods of time at computers, TVs. This requires taking a break and standing every half an hour or hour, overlooking a distance at natural greenery, or simply by closing one’s eyes every few minutes. Next, applying a hot towel to the eyes also can alleviate eye fatigue. Blinking the eyes can be conducive to the secretion of tears and general moisture distribution, thereby protecting the eye. In the end, the most important thing is that when the eyes are not comfortable, you should receive timely treatment, not delaying.