By Paul Rogers, NY Times, May, 2016.

By  Paul Goldfinger, MD .  Blogfinger Off-Shore School of Medicine in Ocean Grove, NJ.  (Our motto: “Healthcare are us”)

In May, the NY Times published an article called “Computer Vision Syndrome Affects Millions.”  (Link below)

This fascinating condition causes eye symptoms in people who spend a great deal of time in front of computers—more than  3 hours per day.    The population at risk is “huge” worldwide.   The symptoms include burning in the eyes, double vision, blurry vision, itching, dryness and redness, “all of which can interfere with work performance. ”  Then you have the millions of kids playing computer games.

When you sit in front of a computer, your blinks/minute decrease, promoting dry eyes.

Other symptoms include back and neck pain and tension headaches.

The situation is complicated and involves paying attention to your distance to the screen, the height of the screen, taking breaks from the computer, humidity levels in the room, lighting of the screen, positioning the monitor, and getting special computer glasses for that mid-range distance.

A study from Iran of  642 pre-university students revealed that 71% sat too close to the monitor for comfort, and two thirds were improperly positioned in relation to the monitor above or below.

I use computer glasses that take into account the distance to the monitor and also the need for bifocals to provide for looking down at papers to read when working at a computer. Eye doctors can prescribe computer glasses.

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2016/05/30/computer-vision-syndrome-affects-millions/?_r=0

BOBBY SHORT:   “Looking at You.”  from his album Bobby Short on the East Side.