GREENSBORO, N.C. — Have you noticed your eyes are red, itchy or watery lately? It may not be from allergies, it could be dry eye disease.
Ken Jeong, Greensboro native, actor and comedian has struggled with this for years and is hoping to bring more awareness to it.
He said he's been wearing contacts for over 35 years and when he was a medical professional he started noticing symptoms of dry eye like redness, feeling as if something was in his eye and irritation.
"Once I became a full time actor, I'm on sound stages, reading off a teleprompter and now I live out here in LA, which is dry weather, and all those factors seem to contribute to my dry eye and that's when I contacted my doctor," Jeong said.
Jeong has teamed up with Dr. Ashely Brissette, an ophthamologist, to campaign about dry eye disease.
She said it is pretty common, but more people have experienced problems in the last year.
"I saw a big uptick in patients being assessed for dry eye disease and symptoms during the pandemic because our world has really increased screen time," Brisette said.
Brisette said the following are common symptoms of dry eye disease:
- discomfort
- irritation
- foreign body sensation or feeling like something is in your eye
- redness
- tearing
- blurry vision
She recommended trying the 20-20-20 rule. Every 20 minutes look 20 feet away for 20 seconds.
Also, remember to blink! Dr. Brisette said we don't blink as much when we're looking at a screen.
Jeong has loved sharing his story in hopes to help others experiencing dry eye disease, but he also has a heart for the Triad!
The actor grew up in Greensboro and is a News 2 fan! Check out what he had to say below.
