COMPTURE VISION SYNDROME

Computer vision syndrome is a type of eye strain that happens when you spend a lot of time using computers, smartphones or other digital devices. Computer vision syndrome isn’t serious, but it’s uncomfortable. Treatment can help manage your symptoms. Over the long term, though, recurrent symptoms can affect work productivity That’s why it’s important to learn what puts you at risk and how you can prevent or manage this common problem.

Eye-related: 

• Eye fatigue, dryness, irritation, burning, redness, tearing, and blurry or double vision.

• Other symptoms: Headaches, neck pain, shoulder pain, and general fatigue.

Causes:

• Screen use: Extended, uninterrupted periods of focusing on digital screens, which puts a constant strain on eye muscles. 

• Environmental factors: Poor lighting, screen glare, and reflections from the screen. 

• User factors: Incorrect posture or viewing distance, uncorrected or poor vision, and decreased blink rate, which leads to dry eyes. 

• Amblyopia (Lazy Eye): The most significant risk is the development of a lazy eye, where the vision in the squinting eye becomes permanently reduced. 

• Double Vision: The brain struggles to process images, which can lead to double vision. 

• Reduced Binocular Vision: This affects the brain's ability to use both eyes together effectively. 

Prevention and Management:

• 20-20-20 Rule: Every 20 minutes, look at something 20 feet away for at least 20 seconds to relax your eye muscles. 

• Proper workstation setup: Position your screen correctly, adjust screen brightness, and minimize glare from windows or lights. 

• Frequent blinking: Make a conscious effort to blink more often to keep your eyes moist. 

• Eye care: Get regular eye check-ups to ensure your prescription is up-to-date and to discuss options for computer-specific glasses if needed. 

• Ergonomics: Maintain good posture, and ensure your computer is at an appropriate distance and angle from your eyes. 

• Reduce your screen time. Try to use digital devices for fewer than four hours per day.

• Take breaks often. If you rely on digital devices for work or other reasons, aim to take a 2-5-minutes break every two hours. During that break, don’t look at any screens. Plus, to give your eyes a break from close-up vision, try the 20-20-20 method. Every 20 minutes, look at something at least 20 feet away for about 20 seconds.

• Find a comfortable position. Set up an ergonomic workstation. This can help you avoid straining your eyes from bending forward or stretching your neck to see your screen.

• Limit reflections and glare. Light from windows or bright lamps can reflect on your computer screen and cause eye strain. Lower your blinds if there’s bright sunlight coming in. 

• Adjust screen brightness and contrast. The brightness of your screen should be about the same as the level of brightness in the room around you. This might mean you need to adjust your screen’s brightness depending on the time of day. A screen contrast of around 60% to 70% should feel comfortable on your eyes.

• Make text bigger. Don’t try to read super small fonts. If a font isn’t at least size 12, zoom in. Also, when possible, adjust your settings so you’re reading dark print on a light background.