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Staring at a computer screen can cause CVS. What is CVS? CVS stands for Computer Vision Syndrome. This is a temporary condition that you can improve. I'm sure many of us suffer from CVS because most of stare at some type of screen most of the day. You might have CVS if you suffer from headaches, sore eyes, neck pain, fatigue, dry eyes, double vision, have difficulty refocusing your eyes and more.
First, you need to remember to blink your eyes. I don't remember the rates they gave on the show, but I know there is a significant difference between how much you blink regularly, and how much you blink when looking at a computer screen. This causes eye strain and causes your eyes to dry out.
I think that my dry, itchy eyes might be from not blinking enough and not just my allergies. I could be wrong, but now, that I am making a more conscious effort to blink my eyes, they seem to be better. In fact, as I type this I'm not even looking at the screen. I have my eyes closed. I am spending more of my time with my eyes closed, or looking away from the computer screen while I write posts. I hope this helps my eyes and headaches.
If you have to work at a computer for long periods of time, you might want to stick a stickey note to your screen to remind yourself to blink. Also, you will want to remember to follow the 20-20-20 rule. What is the 20-20-20 rule? This is where you need to look up from the computer every 20 minutes. Look at something 20 feet away for 20 seconds. The show said to follow the 20-20-20 rule to reduce eye strain. It will allow your eyes to adjust and refocus. I guess it is kind of like a workout for your eyes.
You also need to take a break from the computer every so often. Maybe you need to do some filing or something else. Get up out of your chair, even if it is just for a minute to stretch. Go get a drink of water, go to the bathroom, walk down the hallway or something. This will not only help with eye strain but will also get your blood circulating a little more.
The show also said something about some type of glasses that you can use to reduce the glare from the computer screen or whatever screen you are looking at. I don't remember what they were, but I did find some glasses on Amazon. The description said that it helps with CVS. I think, I am going to order a pair of these glasses to see if they help.
I'm sure there are some other tips and exercises to help your eye, too. If you know of any, please let us know.
I have fibromyalgia also. I just received disability in October going back almost 2 years. I worked on computers most of my life and started with the constant headaches years ago, the eye dr told me to try to look out the window so your eyes are looking at a distance instead of close up, this helped a little at first, but never got rid of the headaches. This is a great article and I hope it helps someone out there.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Laura. I hope it helps someone out there, too. Had you ever heard of the glasses, or tried them? I wonder if they really do make a big difference. I am definitely changing how I work on the computer. Every 30 min to hour I get up and do something else for at least 5 minutes. It is helping me some.
ReplyDeleteI kind of wonder if this has anything to do with fibromyalgia - causing part of it over the years. I really feel for you with the fibromyalgia. Most people have no clue how bad it can be. It's so hard for them to understand because they can't see it.
yes I cannot tell you how many people say you look good you must be better. No, I just get sick of talking about it to people that will never learn about it. I have the special lenses on my glasses, it help in stores with bright lights too. I have the trasitional lenses but when the sun is bright I cannot go outside. Computer work has done damage to my arms, hands, eyes, back, neck... but I went to college for this and now I can't do much. Nice talking to you and I am glad I found your site.
ReplyDeleteThanks
I know what you mean I get tired of saying the same thing. People don't want to hear about how you are in constant pain all of the time. So, now I basically, just say I have my good days, and my bad days. I try to fake my way through the day most of the time. People seem to think you are always exaggerating if you let them know how much pain you are in or they just get tired of hearing about it.
ReplyDeleteHave you ever used Patients like me website, you can record how you are doing, daily, weekly, as much as you want so when you go to the dr you can give them a print out so they know if new meds are working. To get diagnosed I used this site and it really helped. I agree that nobody wants to hear us complain all the time, I just tell them I am alive and it is better than the opposite, it normally makes them change the subject. I thought about starting a blog similar to yours but I can't be sure what days I could blog and what days I can't do much of anything. Most the time I do not even go get all the freebies, I stock up on the good sales and my hubby picks up milk and bread, this way I only have to go about once a month.
ReplyDeleteI haven't used Patients Like Me. I will have to take a look at it. The one thing good about the blog is that it does give me a reason to get up and do something. There are days where I can't do anything or not much. The good thing about blogging is that I can schedule posts. This great for those really bad days. I almost always have a few posts scheduled each day for about a week.
ReplyDeleteWe are down to one car. So, I don't always get to grab all of the deals I post either. My husband has to do quite a bit of the shopping these days.