WAVE 3: "Computer work increases the chance of dry eye condition"

Jul 13th, 2009

LOUISVILLE, KY (WAVE) - Women over 40 are eight times more likely than men to suffer with dry eyes. But no matter your gender, if you spend a lot of time at the computer the condition can become worse. Thankfully there are some modifications, medications and even surgeries that can help.

"I could tell I wasn't seeing as well as I ought to and my eyes felt strange," says Janice Adams, who was complaining of itchiness, irritation. "They look blood shot and sometimes I look like I've got pink eye shadow on all the time."

Janice is a classic dry eye sufferer. She's female, over 40 and spends 70% of her workday at a computer. With the computer element, Dr. Asim Piracha says the combination of the two is the worst combination you can have.

Dr. Piracha is talking about dry eyes and Computer Vision Syndrome, or CVS, which can also cause eye strain and headaches. The two conditions don't always exist together, but often do said Dr. Piracha.

At the John-Kenyon American Eye Institute, Dr. Piracha says they are seeing an increase in the treatment of patients and points to the heavy reliance on computers as a significant reason. While artificial tears and prescription drops can help, for severe dry eyes like those of Janice surgery is option.

"We can also do procedure like plugs in the eye lids, even cautery in opening of the eyelids to keep the tears in the eyes longer," explains Dr. Piracha.

After four years of suffering, Janice is hopeful her cautery surgery in March is the fix or at least some big relief. "I think that is has" she says, they're not cured but, "my eyes are feeling better."

According to Dr. Piracha, dry eye is not always an easy fix, and the condition is not curable. But with newer therapies patients can see drastic improvements.

Additional Eye Easing Tips: (courtesy John-Kenyon American Eye Institute)

1. Get a computer eye exam

2. Computer eyewear.
Customized eyeglasses prescribed for computer work with anti-glare lens.

3. Use proper lighting: Ambient lighting should be half that found in most offices. If possible position your monitor so that windows are to the side of it, instead of in front or back.

4. Upgrade your display monitor.
Replace old CRT (cathode ray tube) monitors with a flat-panel liquid crystal display, or LCD. LCD screens are easier on the eyes and usually have an anti-reflective surface. Choose a relatively large display (at least 19 inch diagonal screen for a desk top).

5. Minimize Glare.
Install an anti-glare screen on your monitor. If you wear glasses, have an anti-reflective coating applied to your lenses.

6. Adjust brightness and contrast of monitor screen.
Adjust screen settings to make sure the contrast between the screen background and the on-screen characters is high. And make sure that the test size and color are optimized for the most comfort.

7. Blink more.
People blink about 5 times less often while working at a computer. This can lead to dry eyes. Ask your doctor about artificial tears or taking fish or flax seed oil.

8. Exercise your eyes.
Every 20 minutes look away from your computer for 10-15 seconds at a distant object which relaxes the focusing muscles inside the eye to reduce fatigue.

9. Take frequent breaks.
The National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health found that discomfort and eye strain were significantly lower when computer workers took four additional 5 minute 'mini-breaks' throughout the work day. As a result, data entry speed actually increases.

10. Modify workstation.
The top of your monitor screen should be at eye level. The ideal gaze angle is 10 to 20 degrees below the eye. A high screen gives rise to dry eyes because it forces you to keep your eyes wide open and blink less frequently.