Posts Tagged ‘Computer Vision Syndrome’

Blinkrate: Why It’s Important.

Thursday, January 19th, 2012
parker reading 006cropped 248x300 Blinkrate: Why Its Important.

even 2wk old Parker Beach forgets to blink while reading

Have you ever noticed how often you blink your eyes?   You might now that I’ve planted the seed, but most of us go about our daily lives and never realize that we may blink our eyes as many as 17,000 to 20,000 times a day.   This amounts to a normal blinkrate of about 12-14 blinks per minute.

Why do we blink so often?   Really, the purpose of the blink is to redistribute moisture across the surface of the eye.   As the eyelid blinks down on the eye, it spreads tears secreted by the lacrimal gland from the upper outside corner of the eye down towards the inner nasal side of the eye.   This brings new moisture onto the surface and pushes older moisture towards the drainage ducts.

This should occur about 12 times a minute.   But, when we visually concentrate on something this blink rate can be cut in half or more.   This is certainly the case when we are working on computers or reading books.   (click here to see out posts on Computer Vision Syndrome).   We simply concentrate more and blink less.   And this means less moisture being introduced and spread across the surface of the eye.

This leads to Dry Eye Syndrome, which can be felt as redness, dryness, sandy-feeling, itching or moderate pain.    The dryness can also cause fluctuating or blurry vision.

It would be great if we could set up a “blinking alarm,” that would go off every 5 seconds to remind us to blink while we’re on the computer.   But that would probably be a little annoying and impractical.   Yet, there are some ways to compensate for a lowered blink rate.   Artificial tears are a great supplement.    Prescription eye drops, such as Restasis, may also be very effective.    And, tear savers or punctal plugs are another great option for retaining ocular surface moisture to combat the effects of a lowered blink rate.   The best plan is to discuss your computer use and related symptoms with your optometrist so that a treatment can be tailored to your individual needs.

As always, thanks for reading and don’t forget to blink!

Dr. Beach

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Surfing the web on your smartphone? Recent study shows 2 causes of increased eye strain.

Sunday, July 10th, 2011

Chances are good that many of us have smartphones.   And, if you’re like me, you’ll find yourself using these modern marvels of technology to surf the web for various iphone safari web browser 162x300 Surfing the web on your smartphone? Recent study shows 2 causes of increased eye strain.information.   But an interesting study, published in July’s “Optometry and Visual Science,”  reviewed the visual demands created by viewing websites on your phone and found two surprising conditions that set the stage for eye strain.

First, the study found the average font size of a website viewed on a smartphone was about 30% smaller than newspaper print, but could range as small as 70% smaller than the type in your local newspaper!

The second finding was that patients held their smartphones much closer than the recommended reading distance of 16 inches.   On average, the smartphone reading distance was found to be about 12 inches, with many patients viewing their smartphones as close as 8 inches away from their eyes.

Unfortunately, both of these conditions create a much higher focusing demand on the visual system and very commonly can create headaches, blurry or fluctuating vision, and significant eye strain.

Of course, this doesn’t mean it’s time to throw away your iPhone or Android device.   Instead, here’s a tip for reducing these eye-strain conditions:   use the pinch-zoom function on your smartphone to magnify the website print.   If you can, try to magnify the font size enough to allow you to read your smartphone comfortably at a viewing distance of about 16 inches.    Also,  try to do heavy web surfing on a larger screen, such as a tablet or home-computer and be sure to give your eyes frequent breaks no matter what size screen you use.

Hope this helps, and be sure to check out our previous posts about Computer Vision Syndrome.   And, as always, we’d love to hear your comments or questions over on our Facebook fan page.

Take care,

Dr. Beach

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Computer Vision Syndrome

Monday, March 15th, 2010

VSComputerWebFlyer 300x174 Computer Vision Syndrome

It is estimated that nearly 140 million Americans use a computer at work, home, or school on a daily basis.   While computers have dramatically improved our lives over the last 20 years, they haven’t been quite so kind to the eyes viewing them.    Millions of people, using the computer more than 2 hours a day, have experienced Computer Vision Syndrome (CVS).

What is Computer Vision Syndrome?

CVS is a combination of visual and physical symptoms due to the stress placed on the eyes with extended and chronic computer use.     It is most often accompanied by:

  • Headache
  • Loss of focus
  • Burning/tired eyes
  • Blurred vision
  • Shoulder/back aches

What Causes CVS?

In my experience with many CVS patients, there appears to be 3 main contributing factors:

  1. Constant contraction of the near-focus muscles of the eye: this produces fatigue, headaches, fluctuating or decreased focus.
  2. Glare from the computer screen:  interferes with clear vision, producing eye strain and uncomfortable vision.
  3. Decreased blinking of the eyes:   results in greater evaporation of moisture from the eyes which then causes dryness, burning, redness and further blurry vision

Solutions for CVS

The best approach to CVS is a two-pronged treatment plan.   The first step is prescription Computer Glasses, based on careful testing of your visual tendencies when focusing up close.   This will relieve the focusing demand & stress created by chronic computer use.   Computer glasses will also incorporate Anti-Glare Treatment, which will free your eyes from computer glare and will allow for clear AND comfortable vision.   The second aspect of treating CVS is to address the physical symptoms created by reduced blinking.   Careful assessment of your ocular surface will allow for recommendations of artificial tears specific to your situation.   In some cases, complete relief may require prescription eye drops or the installation of tear duct plugs to retain your own natural tears.

If you find yourself in front of the computer on a daily basis, make sure to discuss any of these issues with your optometrist or schedule an appointment to see us.    Your eyes don’t have to suffer from CVS !

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