Video Story
Watch VideoAre computers wrecking your vision?
Story By: Bea Karnes
Source: NBC
Computers: We sit in front of them day and night in a sort of love-hate relationship we can't break, and it's showing up in our eyes.
Computer Vision Syndrome, or CVS, is a relatively new, medically defined ailment, and it's growing.
"I have seen some data to suggest that 90 percent of the people who just stare at a computer screen all day long will have some part of it," said Dr. Kathleen Digre of the Moran Eye Center. Dr. Digre says focusing continually on a computer screen triggers a whole host of complaints, including double and blurry vision and headaches.
Cari Megeath says her symptoms began as a sandy, grainy feeling in her eyes. "My eyes would feel tired, and then I felt a burning sensation, so I would have to keep blinking to try and get rid of the burning sensation," she said.
People with dry eyes are more vulnerable to CVS. Lubricating the eyes with artificial tears can help.
"With this computer screen business, just looking away, looking in the distance, relaxing your eyes for a while, blinking, consciously blinking frequently," Dr. Digre suggested.
People who are really sensitive can actually look at their own world through a pair of rose-colored glasses. "It blocks out or filters out a certain wavelength of light, blue or green, that can be bothersome to some people," explained optician Patrick Shaw. Rose-colored blockers also work for eyes that are sensitive to fluorescent lights.
A five-part "office lens," as it's called, relieves CVS by giving the eye a lot of focal diversity. You see the computer up close, then refocus on a clock not too far away, then refocus again as someone walks through the door.
Monitor design has a lot to do with CVS. Ophthalmologists say adjusting the contrast so it's not as bright may also help.
