The Hindu : Metro Plus Bangalore : Eye care. Do you?

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Jun 14, 2006

Metro Plus Bangalore

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Metro Plus Bangalore Chennai Hyderabad

Eye care. Do you?

Considering tens of thousands of our young people are in the IT industry, SUBHA J. RAO warns that working long hours on the computer can leave them with dry eyes and blurred vision

PHOTO: C.H. VIJAYA BHASKAR

COMPUTER, THE CULPRIT Even children who sit before the PC for long hours are susceptible to dry eyes

Harish, a software engineer, recently landed his first job. His work involved staring at a colour monitor all day long in an air-conditioned office. Soon, his eyes started itching, and he experienced a feeling of dryness. Alarmed, he rushed to an ophthalmologist, only to be told he had a condition called dry eye.

Millions of computer users across the world experience this problem some time or the other in their career. You are also likely to suffer from this condition, if you stare at a computer for more than six to eight hours a day. The solution is, however, simple. Regular application of artificial tears, frequent blinking (12-18 times a minute) and brief breaks between long hours on the computer can set right matters to a large extent. Like it did for Harish.

He now wears anti-glare glasses and is back to being comfortable working on the computer.

There are many like Harish but it takes time to treat the condition because they come in late. "If left untreated and when coupled with Computer Vision Syndrome (CVS), routine work gets affected because of soreness in the eye," says Kalpana Narendran, a senior specialist associated with a famous eye hospital.

CVS is characterised by headaches, loss of focus, burning sensation in the eyes, blurred vision and shoulder and neck pain. It occurs because the eye and brain react differently while reading the computer screen. Printed matter has well-defined edges, but characters on the monitor don't. So, the muscles of the eye strain to maintain focus, resulting in burning sensation and eye fatigue.

Long lines, lines that are too close for comfort, very small fonts and use of bright colours add to the problem. A reason why some hospitals have set up clinics to deal with this category of patients. D. Ramamurthy, Medical Director, The Eye Foundation, Coimbatore, says besides specific eye wear, advice is given on ergonomics, seating, positioning the computer, keyboard and general lighting.

Working in an AC office can worsen matters. It can increase dryness, leading to grittiness. However, Dr. Ramamurthy says, there is no link between contact lenses and CVS.

Dry eye is also not restricted to adults. Children sit before PCs for long hours without break and who use badly designed computer tables also face this problem.

Y. Umesh, an eye specialist, says computer users should blink as frequently as possible. And, use artificial tears to re-wet the cornea. For relaxation, he advises them to close their eyes for a while or focus on a distant object for 20-30 seconds.

Symptoms of CVS

Headaches

Loss of focus

Burning sensation in the eyes

Double/blurred vision

Neck and shoulder pains

Solution

Stop wearing your contact lenses if you experience unusual eye symptoms

Consult an ophthalmologist

Keep the monitor 18-28" away from your eye and below eye level

Use anti-glare glasses

Use lubricant drops (artificial tears) till grittiness disappears