What is Computer Vision Syndrome?

Do your eyes burn when you use your computer? Water? Does your neck get sore? Shoulders? Does your vision get progressively blurry? These are all common with Computer Vision Syndrome (CVS).

Interestingly, none of these are the computer's fault per se. They are a result of dry eye and using glasses that aren't built for the ergonomics of computer use.

First, dry eye. When we look at things up close, our brains are hardwired to do several things, focus and converge the eyes, but also to reduce our blink rate. This reduction in blinking causes the tears to evaporate more readily. Once they dry out, our vision drops and they burn. As a defense, they can water. The fix...take breaks and use lubricating drops like Retaine.

Now, neck and shoulders. If you think about it, the ergonomics, when it comes to head and arm positions, are basically the same for driving and using a desktop computer. We need to look through the top of the glasses for both tasks, but the distances are so different, we need different prescriptions. We then lift our chins and hunch our shoulders and wonder why our necks hurt.

The solution is a lens specifically designed for the computer environment, The Zeiss Office Desk. The top of the lens focusses out to about 6 feet. The bottom focusses for reading. There's a seamless progression between the two.

Recognizing and treating dry eye and having the proper eyewear can largely mitigate CVS.