Tired Eyes from Staring at Screens? Try Bog Bilberry!

The single best herb in the world for eye health is bilberry (Vaccinium myrtillus). Bilberry helps cataracts, macular degeneration, glaucoma and diabetic retinopathy. It can help with near sightedness, eye strain and with adjusting to light and dark.

A northern relative of bilberry and blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum) is Vaccinium uliginosum, also known as bog bilberry, bog blueberry or bog whortleberry. A new double-blind, placebo-controlled study put bog bilberry up against eye strain from staring at computer and smart phone screens. . . .

Asthenopia, or eye strain caused by excessive work, is a growing complaint in a world of computers and smart phones. Common symptoms include dry eyes, eye fatigue, pain, blurred vision and headaches.

When you stare at electronic screens you actually blink less, causing dry eyes and increased eye discomfort. 64-90% of computer users develop a condition called computer vision syndrome (CVS): asthenopia caused by computer use. People who work on computers for more than 4 hours—and that’s many of us today—have been shown to have significantly worse eye discomfort (Ann Med Health Sci Res 2014;4(2):179–85). People who use e-readers instead of books also have increased eye fatigue (PloS One 2013;8(12), e83676).

The study included 59 people between the ages of 20 and 65 who spent at least 2 hours a day looking at the screen of a smart phone, computer or television. Half of them were given a placebo and half were given 1000mg of bog bilberry a day for 4 weeks.

At the beginning and end of the 4 week study, everyone’s eye strain was measured after watching a tablet computer screen for an hour. At the beginning of the study, the bog bilberry group had worse eye strain: their eye strain scores got significantly worse after watching the tablet, but the scores did not get worse in the people who would later be assigned to the placebo. This difference suggests that the bog bilberry group might have been the tougher group to treat. After taking the bog bilberry for 4 weeks, though, watching the tablet did not lead to worse eye strain scores. In the placebo group, scores worsened but not significantly.

After the 4 weeks, eye strain scores were 2.42 out of a possible 6 in the placebo group but only .46 out of a possible 6 in the bog bilberry group: that’s a significant benefit. There was significant improvement in the bog bilberry group in 8 out of 10 symptoms: tired eyes, sore eyes, irritated eyes, watery eyes, dry eyes, eye strain, blurred vision and visual discomfort. In the placebo group, there was significant improvement in only 2: tired eyes and irritated eyes. Scores for dry eyes were significantly better in the bog bilberry group than in the placebo group.

This study found that the anthocyanin antioxidant rich bog bilberry significantly relieved eye strain from all the staring at screens we have to do these days.

BMC Complement Altern Med 2016;16:296

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The Natural Path is intended for educational purposes only and is in no way intended for self-diagnosis or self-treatment. For health problems, consult a qualified health practitioner for a comprehensive program.