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Ed Yeates reportingDoctors say a newly named ailment that is a sure sign of our times is playing havoc with our eyes, and the thing that triggers it is the thing we can't get away from.
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.
Dr. Kathleen Digre, with Ophthalmology-Neurology at the Moran Eye Center, says, "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."
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."
There are a lot of dry eyes in Utah because of our dry climate, and people with dry eyes are more vulnerable to CVS. Lubricating the eyes with artificial tears can help.
Dr. Digre also suggests, "With this computer screen business, just looking away, looking in the distance, relaxing your eyes for a while, blinking, consciously blinking frequently."
In some cases, for people who are really sensitive, they can actually look at their own world through a pair of rose-colored glasses.
Patrick Shaw, an optician at the Moran Eye Center, says, "It blocks out or filters out a certain wavelength of light, blue or green, that can be bothersome to some people."
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.
