Computer Vision Syndrome
As you sit in front of your computer for hours on end, your
eyes get dry and your vision starts to blur. Sound familiar?
Doctors actually have a name for it: Computer Vision Syndrome.
It
seems these days everyone is glued to the computer. If not
surfing the Net for fun, computers are the norm in every office
across America, and they're causing quite a strain on the
eye.
Colleen
Kretzschmar is a human resources specialist at Providence
Hospital, and she, like millions of Americans across the country,
sits in front of her office computer glued to the screen and
her eyeballs are strained to the max.
"Sometimes I'll just have to take a break for a couple of
minutes," she says.
Opthamologist
Dr. Joel Pelavin of Saint John Hospital says in this Internet
driven age, he sees a lot of patients who complain of computer
eye strain. Pelavin has some advice for people who have eye
strain.
"The easiest thing to do is to limit your time on the computer,
take breaks," he says.
Dr.
Pelavin says one and a half to two hours is a lengthy time
to sit in front of the computer. His advice is to limit your
time on the computer to prevent headaches and if you wear
contacts and experience dry eyes like Colleen.
"He
did give me drops for it, but I don't have to use them that
often," she says.
Many
people are concerned that computer eye strain will cause permanent
damage, but Dr. Pelavin says it won't.
"It's
fatiguing, but no deterioration of the vision," he says.
