Computer vision syndrome

Computer vision syndrome- An emerging occupation hazard

Computers have revolutionized our lives in such a massive way that it has become unavoidable in the life of the common urban population. The average number of people using the computers especially the internet is increasing exponentially year after year.

A huge chunk of computer users have the habit of gluing themselves to their consoles till other chores demand their attention. This is specifically true for the soft ware engineers, people working in the BPOs, KPOs and other fields that move on with the help of desktops. Little do they know that it spells trouble in the form of computer vision syndrome! - An emerging occupation hazard.

Though some of us have already gone half way through this syndrome, yet most of us are holding on at the lower end of the rope that takes us to the top of this silent occupational health hazard.

We have been designed by god in such a way that we are most relaxed when focusing on distant things- both in life and vision. But when we view the personal computers, our eyes tend to constantly focus on the letters and figures on the screen without giving any room for focusing on far away objects. This in turn leads to the reduction in the blinking rate of the eye as well causes the convergence fatigue of the eye muscles.

Another disheartening fact is that this syndrome can arise in anybody who uses visual display units for more than 2 hours a day. This means that your kid who plays computer games as well as the people, who are addicted to the internet, has the risk of acquiring this chronic issue.

It usually presents with dryness of eyes, watering and redness. Other symptoms include eye irritation, strain, light sensitivity, squinting, blurred or double vision, temporary inability to focus, headache, neck and shoulder pain and fatigue.

Though the problem may look inevitable, but an alteration of the work culture would do a lot of good. Self prevention is the mantra here. You can go for LCD monitors rather than CRT for reducing the incidence of this issue. Have appropriate background lighting and also minimize glare and reflections. The center of the screen should be 4-8 inches below eye level and at a viewing distance of 20-28 inches. Set your pc in good brightness and contrast, black on white text and an adequate font size that take the strain off your eyes.

After every twenty minutes of viewing the screen, look at a distant object and blink for sometime to water your eyes. And if these don’t work and you end up with this syndrome, then the solution is simple- a visit to the ophthalmologist.