In this podcast, Sharmin Habib, OD, optometrist, Co-Founder of Umay, delivers an interesting overview of her work and the negative impacts of digital eye strain.

Habib’s company uses thermal therapy as a means to improve eye health. The doctor provides some background on how she launched Umay with her brother. She discusses those daily symptoms many of us suffer from, such as red, burning, itchy, or dry eyes, which point to possible digital eye strain. Today, more than ever, we need a solution, as the daily average for digital screen time per person is a staggering 10+ hours. As Habib explains, digital eye strain stresses the oil glands along the eyelid margin and staring into screens reduces our blink rate by up to 70%. This is not a good situation as our blinks pump healthy oils that keep tears from drying out. Heat is the answer, she says, to get those oil glands working more efficiently again, to do the job they were intended to do—protect our eyes.

Habib talks about warm compresses for the eyes and the usual problems that arise such as regulating temperature, messiness, and inconvenience, all factors Habib and her brother considered in the design of Umay’s device. Umay, as she states, has developed a better way to let thermal therapy work efficiently and easily, such that anyone can use it whenever they need it.

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