Taping upper edge of mask can prevent harm, says a study by AIIMS doctors
In Covid times, the prolonged use of face masks, particularly N95 by health workers, is leading to the problem of dry eyes, a condition when tears aren’t able to provide adequate lubrication for the eyes and if not treated in time can become a serious health concern.
With masks being one of the most important safeguards against Covid-19, ophthalmologists are seeing an increase in the number of patients coming in with complaints of dry eyes. Against this backdrop, a team of doctors, led by Dr JS Titiyal, chief of Dr RP Centre, AIIMS, Delhi conducted a study on the eyes of 50 healthcare workers regularly using the N95 masks.
And it found out that taping the upper edge of the N95 mask can somewhat solve the problem of dry eye condition and other ocular surface issues in some individuals.
Pre-intervention, ocular surface parameters, subjective dry eye score and visual acuity were assessed at the end of an 8-hour shift when the subjects used an N95 face mask without taping the upper edge.
Next day, the upper edge of the N95 mask was taped to the nasal bridge in all subjects at the beginning of the 8-hour shift, and post-intervention assessment was performed after the shift, said the study published in the American Journal of Ophthalmology.
“Symptom improvement was reported by 68 per cent of healthcare workers after an eight-hour shift wearing an N95. Mask taping may help reduce ocular surface issues during wear that occurs in some individuals,” found the study conducted by the doctors from the AIIMS in Delhi.
The authors explained that the primary mechanism behind the mask-associated dry eye was the mechanical desiccation of the ocular surface caused by inadvertent airflow, resulting from the reversal of the normal direction of exhaled air within the face mask.
The steady flow of warm exhaled air adversely affected the tear film homeostasis by causing increased tear evaporation, they added. Besides Dr Titiyal, the other authors were AIIMS doctors S Nair, M Kaur and Sah R.
Additionally, said the study, the outermost lipid layer plays a key role in maintaining tear film stability and preventing its evaporation and is directly affected by the exhaled air.
“Treatment targeting the augmentation of the tear film lipid layer should be considered in mask-associated dry eye patients, as it may play a key role in altering ocular surface stability.”
“In our study, both assessments were performed at the end of the 8-hour shift. However, the baseline ocular surface status at the start of work shift on both days may not have been exactly same for the participants, which could have potentially affected the measured post-shift outcomes,” according to the researchers.
“While our study demonstrates the advantages of taping the upper mask edge for a relatively short duration of time in normal individuals, the benefits may be even more pronounced when assessed over a longer duration and in known cases of dry eye.
“Further studies are required to establish the long-term efficacy of taping the upper mask edge in normal individuals as well as those suffering from dry eye disease.
“As regular use of face masks is likely to continue for the foreseeable future, we recommend the practice of taping the upper mask edge, especially in professions that require continuous face mask use for long hours,” said Dr Titiyal.
In yet another study, based on investigation during the pre-Covid-19 era on dry-eye disease, researchers from Hyderabad had estimated that based on current incidence rates, 45 per cent or nearly half of India’s urban population is likely to be affected by this condition by the year 2030, roughly translating to a staggering 275 million people.
Even rural India is likely to see 17 million new patients of the dry-eye disease every year. This would make dry-eye disease a serious health concern, even more common than diseases like diabetes or heart disease, the researchers had warned.