Computer Vision Syndrome

Many Hours at Your Computer Will Worsen Your Vision - - Unless You Know These Secrets

Computers are now a way of life, something that you cannot do without. As the number of people working on computers continues to grow each year, the number of people encountering temporary vision problems due to computer use also increases. Computers do not harm your eyes, but often cause temporary problems.

Human eyes were meant for hunting and farming and even I we have moved far ahead with technology, our bodies still have to catch up on the metamorphosis from far work to fixed close work. When you look in the distance, your eyes are relatively relaxed and at rest. But while doing near work, such as reading your computer screen, muscles in your eyes have to work harder to keep a clean near focus. These muscles get tired after extended use, resulting in eyestrain, neck pain, blurry near vision, headaches or difficulty changing focus. Dry eyes can also occur because we tend to blink less as we concentrate on our computer screen and keep our eyes wide open when working at the computer, resulting in drying up of the tear film.

Squinting while looking at a computer screen is not only uncomfortable, it can lead to dry eye. This is because squinting causes people to blink less often, and the less you blinked, the more you experience aches, burning and sensations of dryness, irritation and tearing in your eyes.

In fact, squinting even cuts your blink rates in half -- from 15 blinks a minute to 7.5 blinks a minute. Only four blinks per minute.

Many reasons can result in this condition:

• Poor position in relation to the computer.
• Lighting that produces glare or reflections, fuzzy images or images that are too dim or too bright;
• Failure to blink often enough to moisten the surface of the eyes;
• Use of glasses that are inappropriate for the user's position and distance from the screen;
• Minor visual defects such as astigmatism that might go unnoticed unless intense computer use exaggerates them.

The following steps can help alleviate your symptoms:

• Lower your computer screen so that the centre of the screen is 4-8 inches below your eye level and at a viewing distance of 20-28 inches.
• Use a document holder placed next to your computer screen. It should be close enough so you don't have to swing your head back and forth or constantly change your eye focus.
• Change your lighting to lower glare and harsh reflections. Glare filters over your computer screen can also help.
• If you are seated in a draught or near an air vent, try to change your seating or position and direct the draught away from your eyes.
• Low humidity or fumes aggravate a dry eye condition.
• Concentrate on blinking whenever you begin to sense symptoms of dry or irritated eyes.
• Take frequent breaks. Follow the 20-20-20 rule. This simply means every 20 minutes, look away beyond 20 feet and blink 20 times.
• Use artificial tears as recommended by your doctor to re-wet and lubricate your eyes.

While complaints of eye fatigue and discomfort are common among computer users, these symptoms are not caused by the computer screen itself. Computer screens give off little or no harmful radiation (such as x-rays or UV rays). All levels of radiation from computer screens are below levels that can cause eye damage such as cataracts. Fatigue, dry eyes, bad lighting, or how you sit in front of the computer can cause eyestrain. Symptoms of eyestrain include sore or irritated eyes and difficulty focusing. You may also have symptoms of eyestrain if you need glasses or a change in your glasses.

Talk to your ophthalmologist if you suffer from any of these symptoms as you may benefit from a simple prescription.