by Kate Johns

Created on: March 07, 2008

Your eyes ache. All the rubbing in the world isn't helping, and putting a wet towel over them isn't soothing them either. That's because you've been staring at the computer screen all day, and now you're paying.

The American Optometry Association has a name for what you're going through. It's called Computer Vision Syndrome or CVS. It is estimated that 10 to 14 million people in America are affected with CVS.

Exactly what is Computer Vision Syndrome? It's the attempt of our eyes to adjust over a lengthy period of looking at the computer screen. Our eyes weren't made to stare at a small screen that is about twenty inches from our bodies. Therefore, the eyes squint while looking at the screen. This squinting actually cuts in half the times a person's eye blinks per minute. At the same time the eyes must continually expand and contract to continually refocus to compensate for the small distance.

All this work makes for very tired, dry eyes. You may have experienced dry, blurred vision, burning eyes. Your eyes may have felt very tired, due to the eyestrain. This causes your eyes to become very red and even itchy, and uncomfortable. Sometimes when you look away from the screen colors look different, and it takes more time to re- focus your eyes.

Due to the fact that your eyes are straining, your entire body tries to help out, and you will find yourself moving closer to the screen. By moving back and forth continually, you can experience headaches, neck strain and back aches. With all this eyestrain, it can cause your eyes to be dry and more prone to dust and allergens in the air.

What can you do to help your tired, sore eyes? You can get a computer screen to reduce the glare, or you can buy glasses specifically designed to help the eyes focus on the computer screen. Your new specs can be tinted to reduce glare. Get up and move around, blink more often to combat the dryness. Move the screen closer to your body, so that your body isn't trying to continually adjust.

When you try to call in sick with Computer Vision Syndrome, your boss might just think you made this one up.

Sources: www.wemd.com, and www.eye2eye.com

Learn more about this author, Kate Johns.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.