At Spectrum Eyecare in Peachtree City, Dr. John Henahan evaluates many patients who spend 8 or more hours per day looking at a computer!

In a recent article for Fox Health, Dr. Bruce Rosenthal elaborated a number of great strategies for reducing computer related eyestrain.

Understanding how they eyes focus is the key. With computer screens, smart phones, iPads and similar devices, the eyes cannot obtain a focusing “lock” the way they do when looking at hard copy material. As a result, the eyes continually hunt for a focus lock, which fatigues the eye muscles responsible for focusing.  This can result in headaches and blurred vision at near or distance.

To reduce these symptoms, Dr. Rosenthal recommends the following:

1. Use proper lighting: Most office settings use bright, often harsh lighting. The more light the better, right? Unfortunately, that’s not true, but the solution to harsh bright lights is simple. Knowing that the bright lights are hurting you is often the bigger problem.

If you have a window, use blinds or curtains to limit the amount of sunlight beaming in. Use lower intensity bulbs and tubes inside. If you have both, turn off the indoor lights and open your blinds or curtains until you’re comfortable.

If you’re used to working in bright light, you might feel a bit out of sorts at first. Give yourself some time to adjust to the softer lighting. If you can’t control the lighting, consider wearing yellow tinted glasses.

2. Reduce environmental glare: Glare is reflected light that bounces off surfaces such as walls and computer screens. Often, you don’t even realize you’re compensating for it, so finding glare might take a bit of effort. There are a few things that you can do to reduce the glare:? Paint bright walls a darker color and use paint with a matte finish?.  Also, consider installing an anti-glare screen and/or a glare hood on your monitor. If you wear glasses, consider applying an anti-reflective coating to the lenses.

3. Use proper computer settings: One of the simplest ways to reduce eyestrain is to adjust your monitor’s brightness and contrast settings. There’s no right or wrong setting. Just experiment until you’re comfortable.  If the background gives off a lot of light, reduce the brightness. In addition, keep the contrast between the background and characters high.

4. Maximize comfort by adjusting text size and color: Adjusting the on-screen text’s size and color can provide relief. First, try enlarging the text. You’re probably using the smallest size you can to view more text on the screen, but that compounds the problem. Instead, enlarge the text to two to three times the smallest size you can read.  Avoid busy backgrounds. Black letters with a white or ivory background is usually best.

5. Take a break: If you work at a computer most of the day, work in a few breaks. The National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) recommends that computer workers take four 5-minute breaks in addition to the customary two 15-minute breaks during the day. If you don’t take those two 15-minute breaks, take a five-minute break for every hour you sit at the computer. The American Optometric Association (AOA) recommends a 15-minute break for every two hours of computer use.

6. Clean your screen: The easiest tip of all is to clean your screen frequently. Dust, fingerprints, and other smears are distracting and make reading more difficult. Often, you don’t even see the dust; you just look right past it. Make it a habit to wipe off your screen frequently.

7. Position copy correctly: Glancing back and forth between a printed copy and your computer screen causes eyestrain. To ease discomfort, place the printed copy as close to your monitor as possible, in addition, use a copy stand if possible to keep the copy upright.? This is the one time you might want more light, but position it carefully so that it sheds light on the printed page but doesn’t shine into your face or reflect off your monitor. Remember to use soft light.

8. Position yourself correctly: Keep your distance from the monitor; most people sit too close. Position your computer monitor about 20 to 24 inches from your eyes. Your screen’s center should be about 10 to 15 degrees below your eyes. This arrangement provides the best support.

9. Get computer glasses: If you just can’t get relief, you might need special glasses you can wear just for working at the computer. You can’t pick these at your favorite discount store. You’ll need a prescription from an eye doctor.

Don’t depend on prescription reading glasses to negate CVS either. Reading glasses help with distances of 16 to 21 inches. In contrast, computer glasses work for distances of 18 to 28 inches. It’s unlikely that the same pair of glasses will accommodate reading printed material and working at your computer.

According to Dr. Henahan, as we spend more and more of our time looking at electronic devices it becomes increasingly important to be proactive in reducing CVS, so we can maximize comfort and productivity when working with electronic devices.  If you are having symptoms of CVS and would like a complete eye examination contact Dr. Henahan in Peachtree City or your local eye doctor.

An article in today’s Yahoo Finance section highlighted the potential visual benefits to the new Nintendo 3D, according to Dr. John Henahan of Spectrum Eyecare in Peachtree City.

According to the article,  ”U.S. eye specialists are dismissing warnings that the 3-D screen shouldn’t be used by children 6 or younger because it may harm their immature vision.

On the contrary, the optometrists say, it’s a good idea to get your kids to try the 3-D screen, especially if they’re younger than 6. It won’t do any harm, they say, and it could help catch vision disorders that have to be caught early to be fixed.

The new handheld game device is already available in Japan and goes on sale in the U.S. on March 27 for $250. It has two screens like the DS machines it is designed to replace. The top screen can show 3-D images, without the need for special glasses, though only new games will be in 3-D.

If your child doesn’t see the 3-D effect on the 3DS, that’s a sign that he or she may have a vision disorder such as amblyopia, or “lazy eye,” or subtler problems that can cause problems with reading, Dr. Duenas said. Kids who experience dizziness or discomfort should also be checked, he said.

Today’s 3-D viewing systems send different images to the right and left eyes, a technique that creates an illusion of depth. But a lot of the cues we use to perceive depth in our environment are missing. That confuses the eyes and accounts for the eyestrain and headaches many people experience watching 3-D movies. Because of that, optometrists say, these systems can help isolate problems that have to do with the way the eyes move, problems that aren’t caught by eye charts.

Nintendo’s warning, issued in December, was vaguely worded. It said specialists believe “there is a possibility that 3-D images which send different images to the left and right eye could affect the development of vision in small children.”

The Japanese company didn’t back the warning up with scientific evidence, so Duenas sees it as being motivated by liability concerns — much like coffee mugs carry warnings that beverages could be hot — rather than a true danger.

Reggie Fils-Aime, the president of Nintendo of America, says the company is “aware of all the work that has been done in the field” and issued the warning based on that work. The warning, he said, is based on research that up until age 6, a child’s eye — specifically the connection between the eye and the brain — is still developing.  Nintendo, he said, wants to be “conservative and consistent,” erring on the side of safety.

Optometrists haven’t seen any sign that 3-D screens can cause lasting damage, but they also acknowledge that not much is known about how 3-D viewing affects us. He noted that the No. 1 health issue associated with console and computer gaming is obesity, rather than eye problems.

“Kids should be out running around,” he said.”

Dr. Henahan encourages people to check out the American Optometric association’s special 3-D education  website.  If you or a family member are having difficulties with 3-D devices or suffer from computer related eyestrain, contact us for a complete eye examination.

Traditional bifocal glasses and even older generation progressive (no line bifocal) lenses can fall woefully short when it comes to helping us see small screens on our smartphones or GPS devices, and to see our large computer monitors clearly from side to side.

The challenges of the computer screen have increased as screens have gotten wider and with the variety of positions that computer monitors can be located.

“The information age has taken a toll on our eyesight,” says Jeffrey Anshel, an optometrist in Carlsbad, Calif., and president of Corporate Vision Consulting, which advises employers on vision issues.

More people are showing up at eye appointments complaining of headaches, fatigue, blurred vision and neck pain—all symptoms of computer-vision syndrome (CVS), which affects some 90% of the people who spent three hours or more at day at a computer, according to the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health.

Advanced Eye Examination

“The good news is that with a little detective work and a careful eye examination we can create customized solution to solve these problems”, says Dr. Henahan.

“By taking a moment to measure the distance from the bridge of your nose to your computer screen, keyboard and the papers on your desk you can really help your doctor deliver the vision that meets your needs.  At Spectrum Eyecare, we have a philosophy that allows us to take more time with the patient, so we can truly understand their vision needs and recommend customized eyeglass and/or contact lenses that best balance the demands of near, intermediate and distance vision”, continues Dr. Henahan.

Advanced Eyeglasses Lenses

Furthermore, the new generation of customized HD progressive lenses provides a much wider intermediate and near vision focal area that greatly enhances the value of these lenses in the digital age.

When evaluating your vision options, choosing the cheapest progressive is usually a mistake.  Older progressive lenses were shown to be much less satisfactory to patients in a recent study published by UC Berkeley.  In that study, patients preferred the newer HD progressive lenses on every measure of satisfaction, including visual clarity, reading vision performance, computer vision performance and how easy the lenses were to get used to.

Next generation Bifocal Contact Lenses

The big advances in HD eyeglasses lenses have recently been matched by two next generation contact lenses that improve greatly upon older technology bifocal contact lenses.  These lenses greatly reduce dependence on reading glasses when you wear contacts by providing crisp distance and intermediate vision.  Reading vision is quite good too, but low power reading glasses are likely to be needed on occasion, especially if the lighting is poor or the print is very small.

If you are suffering from problems with the performance of your eyeglasses or contact lenses in the digital age, look for the advanced technology of new generation lenses to get you seeing all your devices more clearly with less eyestrain.

Dr. John Henahan is a fellowships trained doctor of optometry practicing and living in Peachtree City, GA with his wife and two sons.  Click here to contact his office at 770 487-0667 or visit him on the web at www.speceye.com.

In discussing the emerging problem of eyestrain with 3D movies and TV,  MIT’s Technology Review (4/5, Grifantini) reports, “The success of 3D movies has been accompanied by complaints from some viewers of headaches and eyestrain.”

Now, “some experts are calling for more research into the possibility of eyestrain associated with 3D viewing, particularly on smaller screens that are closer to the viewer.” Martin Banks, PhD, an associate professor of optometry at the University of California-Berkeley, explained that “artificial 3D causes ‘vergence-accommodation conflict,’…because viewers must focus at one distance (where light is emitting from the screen), but point the eyes at another distance (wherever the 3D object appears to be in space),” which could result in eyestrain and headaches.

“While this technology is exciting for the new experiences it can bring, many people will not be able enjoy it”, according to Dr. Henahan of Spectrum Eyecare in Peachtree City. He continued, “For patients with an eye turn or lazy eye, enjoying 3D television and movies is out of the question, but even more subtle vision problems can result in problems like eyestrain, headaches and fatigue.”

As this technology becomes more prevalent, questions remain about how the industry will assist those who cannot enjoy 3D.  This is not a trivial question with millions of people effected.  As more 3D content becomes available, especially with the soon to be released Nintendo DS 3D, parents and optometrists will likely have to develop new strategies for assisting patients with their binocular vision function.

At Spectrum Eyecare, Dr. Henahan uses a software based system to analyze patients with eyestrain and headaches to determine the underlying cause of the problem.  He then may prescribe eye glasses or  a regimen of computer guided eye exercises to strengthen the eyes and allow patients to enjoy 3D technology more.  This regimen also allows for more efficient reading, and better performance in sports that put a premium on eye-hand coordination.

If you or someone you know suffers from eyestrain and headaches when viewing 3D content or reading, contact us for an appointment or call 770-487-0667.  We take the time to determine the underlying cause and work to resolve the problem, whether that is with glasses or specialized eye exercises.