Digital eye strain

• Headache (CVS can trigger both tension and migraine headaches, these mainly occur towards evening although they   could occur in early afternoon, sufferers can usually predict this upon awakening if CVS is severe enough).
• Pain experienced when looking in any of the four far corner points of eye.
• Itchy, watery, burning, red, sore, tired eyes.
• Eye muscle tearing.
• Numbness, stiffness or cramps in body parts.
• Pain in neck, head, back, or rear of eye.
• Contact lens discomfort.
• Car sickness.
• Increased sensitivity to lights (may find driving troublesome at night).
• Floaters and flashing lights.
• Nausea or dizziness.
• Increased appetite for food – may mistake thirst for hunger.
• Eyes are slightly swollen – one could be larger than other (possible astigmatism).
• Difficulty shifting focus between VDT and source documents.
• Difficulty focusing on screen image.
• Color fringes or afterimages when you look away from the VDT.
• Blurred/ double vision.
• Distance vision blurred.
• Slow deterioration of vision.
• Fatigue when reading or using a computer.
• Rubbing or massaging eyes.
• Closing or covering one eye to read.
• Slow reading.
• Losing your place while reading (using finger to compensate).
• Avoidance of close work.
• Poor memory, especially remembering what you read.
• Frowning or squinting while reading.
• Learning difficulties.
• Concentration difficulties.
• Attention problems.
• Difficulty finishing timed assignments & working under pressure.
• Tension & Stress.
• Restlessness.
• Frayed nerves.
• Irritability.
• Feeling “phased out”.
• Feeling of being caught in the “rat race”.
• Never being at ease

Children may react differently to CVS than adults due to their level of development, the eye system is developing up until 19 years of age. Equally important is their lack of awareness, if your child is using a computer they should be made aware of CVS and the associated symptoms.

Vision is our premier connection with the world. We use our eyes to interact with our environment in more than one million ways every second. The eye is an extension of the brain and is our direct link between our physical environment and our psychological mind. Over 80% of our learning comes from our vision and we most often believe something when we see it.

In today’s information society, we use our eyes in a near-viewing posture much more often than we ever have before. With the advent of computers, our near viewing situation has become more complicated. We have gone from a horizontal to a vertical work surface, our screen has it’s own light, not reflected and we are staring at the screen for many more hours during each day, often without blinking enough.
These symptoms are often a result of a combination of three factors:

1) your workplace conditions 2) your working habits 3) your visual condition.