Computers and Eye Care

While complaints of eye fatigue and discomfort are common among computer users, these symptoms are not caused by the computer screen itself. 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. 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.

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.

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