Eye-tech INJURY

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Optometrist Dr. Scott Mundle says computer vision syndrome changes a person's quality of vision and quality of working and should be taken seriously. (KEN GIGLIOTTI / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS)

After a day at the office, Charlene Simchuk's red eyes well up with tears.

The Winnipeg financial analyst often has to explain to her co-workers that she has not been crying -- something they assume, especially after she uses her eye drops.

When she tells them that her computer is the cause of her irritation, many can relate; they have the same symptoms.

"By the end of the day my eyes are so fried. They are painful, red itchy, watery. Gritty almost," says Simchuk, 45.

The federal government worker -- who spends six hours a day staring at a computer screen -- didn't know the name of her ailment until a recent diagnosis by an optometrist.

Simchuk has computer vision syndrome (CVS), which refers to eyestrain and irritation due to prolonged use of computers, video games, televisions or Blackberrys, says the Canadian Association of Optometrists. Digital screen users get CVS because their eyes have to work harder when reading a screen compared with reading paper. As well, people tend to blink less when looking at a screen, which results in dry eyes.

It's a new millennium affliction many sufferers don't know they have. Symptoms include dry or watery eyes, eye redness, blurred vision, double vision, headaches and sensitivity to light.

Once other eye conditions have been ruled out, optometrists can check for CVS using standard visual tests that investigate how the eyes focus and move together.

A Leger Marketing survey conducted on behalf of the Canadian Association of Optometrists found that Canadian baby boomers spend a daily average of seven-and-a-half hours in front of a digital screen. The survey also found that compared to five years ago, more women aged 45 to 54 are experiencing more screen time. As a result, they are reporting more CVS symptoms than other age groups.

Scott Mundle, an optometrist at Henderson Vision Centre, says that while there are no studies to indicate that CVS causes permanent vision damage, CVS needs to be taken seriously.

"It changes a person's quality of vision and quality of working," says Mundle, who has practised for almost three decades.

"There hasn't been any research on how it would decrease their productivity. But there's no question that they wouldn't be 100 per cent."

Mundle first got symptoms of CVS several years ago after working on a computer for four hours and then playing competitive curling later. "The first 10 minutes of the game, my vision was quite blurry," he says.

Mundle's CVS patients -- they make up 30 per cent of his practice -- often complain that their vision is blurry when driving home from the office (after a long day spent on the computer). When these patients take the evening off from digital screens, they can see clearly again by the next morning, he says.

Up to 70 per cent of computer users, he says, have experienced CVS, even children.

He says that kids' symptoms often aren't as pronounced as those in adults. That's because young eyes produce more tears and therefore are inclined to get less red and dry.

Kids and adults are more apt to develop CVS now than 15 years ago, he says, not just because they spend longer hours in front of digital screens, but because of the sheer speed of new technology.

"I grew up in the days of Pong," he says, noting such early video games were slower than ones today. "Now we expect instant response. At the same time we become impatient and there's no time for our eyes to rest, for us to look at something else, to wait."

Recent optometry school grad Jessie Fillmore says that she's surprised by how many of her patients are affected with CVS. Though she was taught about CVS in school, her teachers didn't emphasize it. "I wish that they had a little bit more because it's very prominent," she says.

Fillmore, an optometrist with Osborne Spectacle Centre, says the majority of her CVS patients are those who rely on bi-focals. In those patients, the reading portion of the glasses is too weak for the computer while the distance portion is too strong.

She recommends "computer glasses" for adults afflicted with CVS. She says such glasses are bi-focals modified specifically for computer use alone. She also recommends making sure computer screens as well as eyeglasses are anti-glare.

Jason Snadden, computer department manager at Advance Electronics, says that glossy, reflective screens are all the rage in laptop computers.

He says his store carries certain popular laptops only in the glossy screen version, though he can special order them with matte screens for a slightly higher price.

He says most customers are attracted to glossy screens "because they look good" and make colours and contrast more vivid.

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Clear up CVS symptoms,

says Mundle, by taking these simple precautions:

Employ 20-20-20 rule: take a 20 second break every 20 minutes by refocusing the eyes on something 20 feet away.

Use anti-glare glasses or an anti-glare computer screen.

Keep the computer screen at or below eye level. Doing so allows the computer user to work with less open eyes, therefore preventing dry eyes, says Mundle. "In my opinion it can never be too low. It's easier to look down at something than look up," he says, noting that his advice is opposite to what some back experts recommend.

Keep the screen at arms length from the face.

Use lubricating eye drops. Mundle says it's important to make sure such drops are not designed to diminish redness or allergy symptoms, but rather to moisturize the eyes.

Diffuse light sources so they don't shine directly on the computer screen.

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition November 23, 2009 B6