Strain • Angela
O’Brien and Ben Hooker work to
edit Dig magazine, which puts them
in front of the computer for hours
at a
time. Tracey Roman / Online Forty-Niner
Monitors put strain on eye focusing abilities
By Nai Saephan
Online Forty-Niner
Contributing Writer
Students who spend countless hours in front of their computer monitors doing
homework or surfing the Internet face the possibility of suffering from eyestrain,
which can lead to headaches and tension.
“
We are not meant to focus at 20 inches [in front of a computer] for eight hours
at a time,” said Dr. Michael P. DeCarlo, a Long Beach optometrist. “Our
eyes are at rest when looking in a distance and they work to look up close. Eyestrain
happens when you look up close and can cause headaches, brow aches [and] tension.
Computers give us eyestrain and dryness because when you’re staring or
reading, your blink rates goes down. You do not blink as often. So your tear
layer dries up and you get the dry, burning red eyes.”
“
Anytime you experience symptoms like headaches, eyestrain, blurred vision, eye
irritation, double vision, excessive tears or dry eyes, pain in the eyes or excessive
blinking or squinting, you should visit your doctor of optometry for a comprehensive
eye examination,” said Susan Thomas, associate director of public relations
for the American Optometric Association. “And when you do, be sure to tell
the doctor about your computer work that you do.”
There are two conditions that affect eyesight. Farsightedness, also known as
hyperopia, is when people can see objects in a distant incredibly well, but have
difficulty seeing objects that are close. By contrast, nearsightedness, also
known as myopia, is the opposite.
Near Point Stress (NPS), or Computer Vision Syndrome, is the complexity of eye
and vision-related problems associated with the use of computers, DeCarlo said.
Individuals who are farsighted have more of a problem using their eyes to focus
on near by objects. Instead, someone who is nearsighted, has an easier time using
his or her eyes to focus on objects that are closer.
James Sheedy, an associate professor at Ohio State University believes there
is little prevention for eye- and vision-related problems. He blames aging as
a factor. DeCarlo said a prescription for the proper eyeglasses or contact lenses
would give patients a better focus distance for individuals dealing with near
point stress (NPS). Both Sheedy and DeCarlo agree work environment contributes
greatly to the reduction of eye and vision relation problems, as well.
According to DeCarlo, choosing the right computer monitor can reduce he amount
of eyestrain.
“
The old terminal [CRT] monitors have a lot of glare. The images from a CRT are
dot matrix and it never really gives you a clear image. So your eyes are constantly
trying to clear the images, which causes more eyestrain,” Decarlo
said. “Flat monitors are really nice, they reduce glare and have solid
images.”
For starters, the right computer monitor is only one step in helping to reduce
eyestrain and/or other eye-related problems.
“
I like my computer because it helps me with school, but I can’t stare at
it for more than two hours before my head starts hurting,” said Sergio
Cacho, a senior kinesiology major.
“
I have not noticed it lately, but I did need to get away when I did use
the computer,” said Wade Axup, a freshmen marine biology major. He said
when he was in high school he noticed his eyes would hurt when he was using the
computer. However, he has not found the need to use his computer as much lately
and is only on the computer for roughly one hour every day.
|
