Recently I have noticed a deteriation in my eyes and vision. For years my eyes have been perfect but since working in computers for the past 4 or 5 years my eyes have become worse. They are fine close and at fairly long distances and i can read things at a distance only fractionally worse than friends with strong glasses.
I work behind a computer all day for long periods and rarely get a chance to look away from my monitor. I leave with a light headache every evening and my eyes get fairly light sensitive especially after work or driving at night.
I was wondering if anyone can suggest ways in which I can improve my eyes or to help them feel the stress less. I am going to go to a doctor to get them tested to see if i can find any issues like myopia which i have heard is common from computer work.
Is there any issues that may be causeing this or it is most likely my pc work?
any suggestions or help would be great.
You don’t say how old you are, but age does make a difference. Vision tends to start deteriorating in one’s 30’s, and by 40 many who have had perfect vision up to that point need reading glasses. This is age, and there’s little you can do about it.
Now, when doing a lot of close work it is important to rest the eyes and the focusing muscles - looking away from your computer every 15-20 minutes is a good rule of thumb. Maybe if you can’t do that, delibrately unfocus for a minute or so in that time frame.
When you go to the eye doctor be sure to tell him/her about the intensive computer work - there are many options available, including anti-glare and light tints, that can ease the eyestrain associated with heavy computer use.
First of all, it’s unlikely your vision is permanently “damaged” - more likely, you’re suffering from chronic eyestrain. Focusing is done by muscles. If you over-use those muscles, like all muscles they become sore and shakey.
Much can be done by proper positioning of the monitor in regards to where you sit, proper ambient lighting, and so forth. Also, focusing in the distance when you are not at the computer should also help.
But really, you can’t diagnose this over the internet - you need to see someone in person. Because there is the very small chance that this is something serious, which needs to be attended to early.
I have a lot of trouble with dry-eyes and eye-strain. Lately I have been doing 500mg time-release vitamin C, and my eyes seem to be doing much better. YMMV.