Computer Vision Syndrome
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Your Screens May Be Affecting Your Sight
Your eyes let you see the world, and if you’re like most people, you do much of that seeing through computer and phone screens. However, spending too much time staring at these screens could affect your sight for the worse.
If you’re in Alice, TX, see an optometrist at Alice Family Eye Center for tests and treatments to help protect your eyes against computer vision syndrome and digital eye strain.
How Digital Eye Strain Occurs
It’s easy to forget that when you stare at a screen on a desktop or laptop computer, a tablet, or a smartphone, you’re staring at a light source. These particular light sources contain much of the blue light spectrum, which helps wake up human brains – but too much exposure to blue light sources can lead to sleep and vision problems, including cataracts and macular degeneration.
Studies also show that people tend to blink less when staring at screens, and blinking less limits moisture replenishment on the eyeball’s surface. This can lead to irritation, discomfort, and other dry eye symptoms.
Fortunately, you can prevent these issues in a couple of ways. One is to ensure you look away from your computer or phone screen every 20 minutes or so. Focus on something far away, and make sure to blink several times. You might also try computer glasses, which have a special coating designed to block out extra blue light. They’re available without a prescription and can help avoid digital eye strain.
Another way to help protect your vision is to avoid staring at your phone in bed as you wind down for the night. That final blast of blue light will tell your brain to perk up just when it’s supposed to be going to sleep, which can affect the quality of your rest.
Protect Your Vision
At Alice Family Eye Center in Alice, TX, our optometrist will test your eyes and see whether digital eye strain is affecting your sight. We’re also ready to discuss blue-light lenses and other ways to ensure you can keep your eyes healthy for years to come.
Call us at (361) 668-3937 to schedule an appointment today!
Computer Vision Treatment
Squinting at computer, tablet, or mobile screens for hours at a time is a normal part of our lives in the 21st century. Unfortunately, eye problems associated with this activity are also on the rise. Even if you have never had eye problems before, you may have noticed computer vision syndrome symptoms after two or more hours of screen time.
Signs include:
- Blurry vision
- Eye strain and discomfort
- Headaches
- Dry, scratchy eyes
- Neck and/or shoulder pain
Even if your symptoms are mild, they can worsen and cause other vision problems if not addressed. Our optometrist, Garza, can help.
Diagnosis and Treatment of Computer Vision Syndrome
The severity and length of computer vision syndrome symptoms depends on how long you stare at the computer, your posture, lighting, glare, the angle of the monitor, and whether or not you have other diagnosed or undiagnosed vision problems. If you already suffer from astigmatism, farsightedness, presbyopia, aging eyes, and/or diabetic eye problems, your computer vision symptoms may worsen. This can even be the case if you already have prescription contacts or glasses. Many regular eyeglasses and contact lenses are not designed to deflect the problems caused by computer screens.
Garza will take your symptoms, pre-existing conditions, and potential undiagnosed conditions into account as he performs the following eye tests:
- Visual acuity—Measures the quality of your current vision.
- Refraction—Tests the potential lens prescriptions that would optimize your vision.
- Focus and Eye Coordination—Tests how well your eyes work together and how quickly and accurately your eyes are able to focus on objects and varying distances.
From these measurements, Garza can design a treatment plan to help relieve your symptoms. For people with otherwise normal eyes and vision, a set of specially-designed glasses used during the time you are working on the computer can be very helpful. For patients already wearing contacts or glasses, new, more computer-friendly prescriptions are available. In addition to these treatment options, there are many things we can suggest to cut down on computer eye strain problems:
- Computer setup—Adjust your monitor so that it is about 15-20 degrees lower than your eye level when seated between 20-28 inches away from the screen. Reference materials can be placed on a document holder between the monitor and keyboard, or to the side, but positioned for as little head movement as possible. Also invest in an anti-glare screen for your monitor to help reduce glare from surrounding lights. Be sure to sit and work with proper posture.
- Adjust Lighting—If you can, reposition any lighting (or your computer) to minimize glare and use natural lighting whenever possible.
- Eye Rest and Blinking Breaks—Every 20 minutes during your work, look away toward a distant point for 20 seconds to refocus your eyes, and give them a 15-minute break after each 2-hour computer session. Also remember to blink more frequently to keep your eyes moist.
With a combination of the proper optometry care and self-care, you can minimize computer eye syndrome and other modern-day vision problems. Contact us for an appointment today.