TL;DR
Get workout gear delivered free — and shop member deals
- Fast, free delivery on millions of items
- Access to Prime Big Deal Days deals on October 6–7
- Prime Video, Amazon Music and more included
Ayurvedic medical student Joey Dua says his eyes began burning after long study days spent reading on screens. In a personal essay, he describes trying simple pauses and distance gazing, while cautioning that he cannot say these practices are proven therapies.
Ayurvedic medical student Joey Dua says recurring eye burning during exam preparation led him to reconsider what he called focus: he had been studying on screens for 12 to 13 hours a day while overlooking rest, his surroundings and conversations. In a personal essay published by Tiny Buddha, Dua describes changes to his routine but says he cannot establish that the eye practices he tried are proven therapies.
Dua writes that his eyes began burning at about 9 p.m. each night during his second year of Ayurvedic medical school. His lectures, reference books and practice questions were all on digital devices. He says he initially rubbed his eyes and returned to studying, even as his coursework covered factors that can aggravate the eyes, including prolonged close focus, dryness and staying up late.
A brief episode after a power flicker unsettled him: when the lights returned, he had trouble focusing on the far wall for a few seconds. He says his vision sharpened again and describes the episode as not medically dramatic. What stayed with him was realizing he could not remember the last time he had looked at the view beyond his desk, including a neem tree and evening light over nearby rooftops.
Dua says he began trying practices described by his professors: warming and cupping his hands over closed eyes, looking at distant objects, splashing his eyes with cool water and closing them fully during the day. He writes that these pauses made him more aware of tension and shallow breathing. Those are his personal observations; the essay does not report clinical evidence that the practices treat eye strain or improve attention.
Screen Study and the Cost of Narrow Focus
Dua’s account describes how extended screen use can become part of a wider routine in which meals, messages and calls receive only partial attention. He says he ate at his desk without tasting much, skimmed friends’ messages and continued scrolling while his mother spoke. The essay’s central point is personal: he came to see eye discomfort as a prompt to pause, rather than a signal to push through.
The account may resonate with students and other people who spend long periods on close-up digital work, but it is not a study of screen use or a measure of how common these experiences are. It offers a first-person perspective on noticing strain and making room for breaks, without showing that distance gazing or palming prevents or resolves a medical condition.
From Ayurvedic Coursework to Daily Habits
Dua connects his experience to Shalakya Tantra, which he identifies as the branch of Ayurveda concerned with the eyes and head. He says the subject covered factors such as too much close focus, too little rest, dryness, grief and late nights. His essay describes a mismatch between what he was studying and how he was living during exam preparation.
The source identifies Dua as a BAMS student who runs Darakhtveda, an Indian Ayurvedic brand whose first product is I-Care Eye Drops. That affiliation is relevant context for his writing about eye care. The essay does not provide clinical findings about the product, and its account of practices is not presented as medical research.
“I was not paying attention. I was narrowing it.”
— Joey Dua, writing in Tiny Buddha
What the Essay Cannot Establish
The essay does not say whether Dua sought an eye examination, received a diagnosis or measured any change in his vision. It also does not establish what caused the burning or the brief difficulty focusing after the lights returned. No clinical outcome data or comparison with other approaches is provided, and Dua explicitly says some of the practices he tried have been little studied.
The source also does not give the essay’s publication date. Readers therefore cannot use it to determine when the described events occurred beyond Dua’s account that they took place during his second year of medical school.
A Routine Built Around Brief Pauses
Dua says he remains a student and continues to use screens. When his eyes start burning, he now closes them for a while or goes to look at the neem tree, he writes. The essay does not announce a formal study, a treatment plan or a further milestone; it closes with his account of trying to be at the window for the short period of evening light.
His next steps beyond those personal habits are not specified. The account leaves open whether the discomfort will change, whether the practices will make a lasting difference, and what role professional evaluation might play.
Key Questions
What happened to Joey Dua’s eyes?
Dua says his eyes began burning around 9 p.m. during exam preparation, when he was using screens for 12 to 13 hours a day. The essay does not give a medical diagnosis.
What practices did he try?
He describes warming and cupping his hands over closed eyes, looking at distant objects, splashing his eyes with cool water and closing them fully during the day.
Does the essay say these practices are proven treatments?
No. Dua says he cannot call them proven therapies and notes that some have barely been studied. His reported effects are personal observations.
What remains unknown about his experience?
The essay does not identify the cause of the burning, report an eye examination or diagnosis, or say whether his vision or symptoms changed over time.
Source: rss
Fall Picks
fall essentials
As an affiliate, we earn on qualifying purchases.
