Prolonged Computer Use Can Cause Computer Vision Syndrome
BALTIMORE (WJZ)—If you spend at least a few hours a day in front of the computer, your eyes are probably paying the price.
Monique Griego has more on computer vision syndrome.
A lot of people spend their days typing and clicking away in front of a computer.
"I spend between 8 and 10 hours a day staring at computer screens all day, every day," said Michael Koehler.
And soon Koehler's vision paid the price.
"I started noticing my eyes were getting tired toward the end of day. It was starting to get a little dry, and I started having trouble focusing a little bit, and it actually made work harder," he said.
Koehler had CVS or computer vision syndrome. It's a broad term to describe various problems associated with spending three or more hours a day in front of the computer screen.
"It is all over the place. I would say it's something that affects all age groups," said Dr. Lauren Gormley.
Gormley says CVS makes it hard for your eyes to focus and can cause dryness.
"The big one that people notice the most is that their eyes will get very tired when on the computer all the time," she said.
Gormley says simple things, like taking a 20 second break, can help prevent CVS.
"You can address the dryness by putting in eye drops," said Gormley.
You can also grab a pair of Gunnar lenses, which are tinted yellow to cancel out the blue light in most computer screens.
Koehler got the glasses. And while he admits they're not exactly stylish, they get the job done.
"There comes a point where you have to decide what's more important: getting work done or looking handsome while you do it," he said.
Doctors say an easy thing to remember is the 20-20-20 rule, which is every 20 minutes take a 20 second break to look at least 20 feet away.
