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Knowing if you have Computer Vision Syndrome
Do you always work at a computer for hours? Do your eyes also feel the tiredness and strain? Are the eyes red and irritated after working there for an extended period of time, and do they seem to brun> Does the vision become blurry after many hours. If you encounter these, you may be suffering from Computer Vision Syndrome.
Computer Vision Syndrome, or CVS, is a combo of eye and vision problems coming from extended computer use. With computers pervading over the work place and society as a whole, eye care professionals help people to look for ways to manage CVS better. A lot of times, individuals encounter problems with blurry vision, tension headaches, eyestrain, dry eye and redness and fatigue by the end of the day.
The solution for each sufferer has to be tailored to the individual case and would usually involve multiple remedies, as Computer Vision Syndrome is composed of different problems. There are some simple steps people could take to improve visual and ocular comfort when working on the computer.
- You need to take short visual breaks. The eyes will have to relax to look into the distance, however, they also need to actively focus to view things up close. Focusing up close can be done using a small muscle within the eye that will have to work constantly while looking at a computer display 25 to 30 inches away. When you have to maintain such a continuous effort for hours at a time, the muscle may experience fatigue. As with the other muscles in the body, this will be more than enough for causing muscle spasms.
For most people this would result in blurry vision after looking up from the direction of the computer after several hours of work. This could take minutes of hours to clear up ; sometimes, it would be hard to refocus or maintain focus on the computer. Stress of maintaining the eye's focus on the display terminal for the whole time in a day, could be one reason a person would feel the eyes are fatigued as well as strained by the end of the day. Basically, what we are trying to say is that by taking a brief break from focusing the eyes throughout the day may work wonders. Take 20 seconds for every 20 minutes to look up from the compute and out into the window or across the room. This will aid in the relied of spasm of the ey's focus and help in the relied of blurry vision, fatigue or strain. - Take time to blink. Many people who work all day with a computer notice that their eyes can start to burn and experience an irritation after several hours. In other words, their eyes are becoming dry. Dry eye could be a complex condition and there are many reasons given why the surface of the eyes dry up, including decreased blinking. One purpose for that human blink reflex is to rewet and redistribute the tears over the eye surface.
- Undergo lubrication therapy. A lot of homes and offices tend to use air conditioner during the summer. As we live in a relatively dry environment and air conditioners make the air drier., blinking and visual breaks are not often enough. Having a small bottle of artificial tears at the workstation for use every now and then may be quite helpful in keeping the eyes comfortable. Any product that specifically tries to address redness may not be advisable as it contains chemicals that could make redness and dryness worse with continued use.
The average person would blink about 21 times per minute. It has been revealed that a person who is working at a computer has a reduced blink rate of around 7 times a minute. As the day is capped, the person working at the computer for 6 hours would have blinked only 1/3 of the normal amount. The result would be that the tear layer over the eye evaporates, would not be as stable, and the eyes would get dry. This could cause redness, burning and irritation. Having a visual break for seconds each 20 to 30 minutes for looking away and blinking could help in improving the dry eye that takes place with extended computer work. A conscious trial in blinking could also help. - Try lowering the monitor. It is suggested that the top of the display unit is at eye level. This could make it so that the person at the computer screen will look 10-15 degrees down in reading the monitor. Studies reveal that there is less stress on eye muscles while reading and at the same time looking down. Also, when looking down the eyelids cover more of the front surface of the eys, and there would be less exposed surface area to dry out. Looking down at the monitor would also facilitate blinking.
Just remember that there are additional factors that could affect vision and eye health along with computer work. Conditions including astigmatism, uncorrected farsightedness, dryness as a result of physiologic changes or related to contact lens wear, eye allergies and age-related near vision problems have a role inComputer VisionSyndrome and would need a more specialized solution with an eye care expert.