Computer Vision Syndrome

More common in patients who do a lot of computer work

Symptoms include strain, fatigue, irritated, red eyes, blurry vision or double vision

A mild dry eye or eye allergy may become more bothersome when working on a monitor for many hours a day

In many cases, adjusting your workplace ergonomics may be all that you need to do

Proper lighting, anti-glare filters, ergonomic positioning of computer monitor and regular work breaks may help improve visual comfort

Lubricating eye drops help to relieve dryness or itchiness

The 20-20-20 rule recommends taking your eyes off of your screen every 20 minutes and focus your eyes 20 feet away for 20 seconds

Computer Progressives Can Improve Computer Ergonomics

For patients with more than a +1.75 reading add in their eyeglass Rx (usually around 52 years old)

When you look straight ahead through your progressive lens to a desktop computer, you are looking through the distance portion of your progressives, which will be blurry on the computer

When you raise your chin up and look through the green portion of your progressives, you are looking through the intermediate portion, which will be clear, but might lead to neck strain and general tension while on the computer for long hours

The computer progressive seeks to solve this problem by giving you clear focus for the intermediate distance when you look straight through the lenses, but they typically do not have any distance viewing Rx on the lens; which means that you might need one pair of progressives for everything besides computer use