Digital eye strain or Computer Vision Syndrome is a widespread problem as more people spend hours each day looking at computers, cellphones, iPads, tablets and other electronic devices, Dry eye syndrome is a chronic and typically progressive condition. Depending on its cause and severity, it may not be completely curable. But in most cases, dry eyes can be managed successfully, usually resulting in noticeably greater eye comfort.
The symptoms may include dry, red and irritated eyes, fatigue, eye strain, blurry vision, problems focusing, headaches, neck and shoulder pain.
The Vision Council’s medical advisory board offers these tips to prevent or lessen digital eye strain:
•Take a 20-20-20 break: every 20 minutes, take a 20-second break and look at something 20 feet away.
•Adjust the brightness of your device. Consider changing your background color from bright white to cool gray.
•Adjust your screen so it is directly in front of your face and slightly below eye level. Do not tilt a computer monitor.
•Position yourself or your device, so there is sufficient distance between your eyes and the screen.
•Lessen the amount of overhead and surrounding light competing with your device’s screen.
•When using a computer, first sit in your chair and extend your arm. Your palm should rest comfortably on the monitor, as if you’re high-fiving the screen.
•Keep hand-held devices a safe distance from your eyes and just below eye level.
•Increase text size to better define the content on your screen. Use the settings control to make adjustments that feel comfortable to your eyes.
•Remind yourself to blink more often. Staring at a digital screen can affect the number of times you blink, causing eyes to dry.
•Parents should limit the amount of screen time for children and reduce their screen time in front of children to set healthy standards in the home.
For mild cases of dry eyes caused by computer use, the best dry eye treatment may simply be frequent use of artificial tears or eye drops.
Also, one of the best and most commonly preferred way to reduce eye-strain is the use of computer eye-wear- the glasses have s specialized lens that blocks maximum blue light emitted by the computers, thereby reducing strain.
By: Archa Dave
