July 2, 2007
Computer and cell phone screens strain the eyes
This article from Asbury&Park Press hit home with me as my eyes have been hurting of late.
"Anyone who spends long hours reading and writing on video screens, big and teeny, can suffer from computer vision syndrome.
Sufferers experience such problems as: Headaches / Eyestrain and aches inside the eyes / Dry, irritated eyes / Blurred vision / Neck and shoulder pain / Sensitivity to light / Temporary inability to focus at a distance, sometimes called pseudomyopia.
While computer vision syndrome isn't a diagnosed disease, such as glaucoma, the term is useful for communicating what some patients experience daily, says Kent Daum, associate professor of optometry at the University of Alabama-Birmingham.
Computer vision syndrome began to emerge in the mid-'80s when computers got popular, and by the '90s it was recognized as a serious issue in the work environment.
The eyes react well to most printed material that consists of solid black letters on a white background.
But on a video display screen, the image isn't as good as printed copy. "The blacks aren't as black and whites aren't as white. You can't focus as well, and your eyes get tired quicker," Kent Daum, associate professor of optometry at the University of Alabama-Birmingham says.
The characters on a computer screen, called pixels, are brightest at the center and diminish in intensity toward their edges. This makes it difficult for our eyes to maintain focus and remain fixed on these images.
But that's just one way computers tax our eyes.
"The position of a screen is really different than if you were reading a book or newspaper," Daum says. "We are used to looking down to read."
... Now, we are challenged not only by the use of desktop computers and laptops, but also by the intense use of tiny-screened electronic gadgets such as PDAs and cell phones.
These small devices have the potential to accelerate the onset of computer vision syndrome, Jeffrey R. Anshel, an optometrist in California, says.
The one advantage of hand-held devices is that they can be held at a comfortable reading distance and looked down on as you would when reading a book. Anshel and Daum say some people tend to have worse problems with computer vision syndrome.
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