Blinking Exercises Improve Dry Eye Symptoms and Eyelid Function: Study

A new study published in the journal of The Ocular Surface showed that just 3 days of blinking exercises significantly increased palpebral fissure height and improved tear breakup time and incomplete blink rate. Both dry eye and non-dry eye patients experienced benefits, suggesting blinking exercises may enhance eyelid function and relieve dry eye symptoms.

An automatic movement necessary for the health of the ocular surface and visual comfort is blinking. No studies have measured increases in eyelid opening, despite the fact that blinking exercises have been demonstrated to reduce symptoms, enhance non-invasive tear film breakup time (NIBUT), and reduce incomplete blink rate (IBR) in individuals with dry eye. This study assessed how blinking exercises affected tear film-related metrics, subjective symptoms, and palpebral fissure height (PFH).

After receiving artificial tear drops five times a day for three days, participants were randomized to either the "blinking exercise group," which engaged in blinking exercises, or the control group, which solely utilized artificial tear drops. Scores for dryness, eye strain, ocular pain, blurred vision, foreign body feeling, dullness, and difficulty opening the eyelids were recorded using the Visual Analog Scale (VAS) and the Standard Patient Evaluation of Eye Dryness (SPEED). Lipid layer thickness, blink interval, PFH, IBR, fluorescein staining, tear meniscus height, NIBUT, and fluorescein breakup time (FBUT) were among the parameters taken before and after the research.