Staring at a computer screen all day

I am a computer programmer and as such, 90% of my 8hr work day is
spent staring at computer screens. After I finished college a year
ago and starting working full time I noticed that after a few hours of
working in front of computers my eyes start to hurt and my vision will
get temporarily get slightly blurry. I have read about "computer
glasses" but my health plan covers everything except me talking to an
eye doctor. Can anyone offer advice on what I should do? My parents
and younger brother have all needed glasses at one point in their life
and I have been fortunate enough to have slightly better than 20/20
vision my whole life. I don't want to be forced into glasses
prematurely because of my job. I wouldn't mind wearing glasses while
looking at computer screens so as long as I don't need glasses all the
time. Does anyone know of anything I can do to help in my situation
since I can't go to an eye doctor? The more comments the better.
Thanks everyone!

 

You can get an eye exam for about $50. Tell the OD you want an Rx to for
your computer viewing distance (measure it in advance since not everyone is
the same distance away).

 

Hello,

There is a better solution where you will not need $50.
Every time the pain begins and your vision become temporarily blurry,
rest them in a way that is effective to you, like you can:

Close your eyes and then place palms of hands over them, until you
feel rested and eyes feel strong again and pain has been relieved, or;
Close your eyes for a while, just resting yourself in the mind.
Remember the blackest black you can remember but do it in a playful
way and restful manner that is not straining to you, or, if the pain
persists by either of these two methods and it is difficult for you to
rest, then;
Close your eyes and rest them, by either of the above methods and then
after you feel rested, say after 5 minutes, then open your eyes for a
flash of a second and look at something on the screen, then without
giving the pain a chance to resume itself, close your eyes again and
rest them again, and keep repeating until you feel well and that all
you can imagine is a feeling of the uttermost comfort, of rest, and of
relaxation incessantly, and keep that feeling with you after you have
rested yourself by this method.

Remember always, all the time from when you are awake to when you go
to sleep, remember the feeling of rest, relaxation and comfort
incessantly. And always, especially at straining environments such as
the computer screen, keep blinking in the most comfortable and restful
manner and keep the gaze always shifting around in what way feels
natural and nice.

If your breathing is shallow, then relax your respiration and breathe
comfortably and fully and nicely.

If you need more help, look at the centralfixation.com website wherin
are contained articles and papers and books such as 'Better Eyesight
Magazine' which will tell how to relieve your pain and eliminate
blurriness by the rest methods as I have described.

This is the cure, by rest treatment.

Zetsu

 

Hello,

There is a better solution where you will not need $50.
Every time the pain begins and your vision become temporarily blurry,
rest them in a way that is effective to you, like you can:

Close your eyes and then place palms of hands over them, until you
feel rested and eyes feel strong again and pain has been relieved, or;
Close your eyes for a while, just resting yourself in the mind.
Remember the blackest black you can remember but do it in a playful
way and restful manner that is not straining to you, or, if the pain
persists by either of these two methods and it is difficult for you to
rest, then;
Close your eyes and rest them, by either of the above methods and then
after you feel rested, say after 5 minutes, then open your eyes for a
flash of a second and look at something on the screen, then without
giving the pain a chance to resume itself, close your eyes again and
rest them again, and keep repeating until you feel well and that all
you can imagine is a feeling of the uttermost comfort, of rest, and of
relaxation incessantly, and keep that feeling with you after you have
rested yourself by this method.

Remember always, all the time from when you are awake to when you go
to sleep, remember the feeling of rest, relaxation and comfort
incessantly. And always, especially at straining environments such as
the computer screen, keep blinking in the most comfortable and restful
manner and keep the gaze always shifting around in what way feels
natural and nice.

If your breathing is shallow, then relax your respiration and breathe
comfortably and fully and nicely.

If you need more help, look at the central-fixation.com website wherin
are contained articles and papers and books such as 'Better Eyesight
Magazine' which will tell how to relieve your pain and eliminate
blurriness by the rest methods as I have described.

This is the cure, by rest treatment.

Zetsu

 

Dear Justin,

Subject: Contradictory recommendations.

It is good that you know that your distant visual acuity is
20/20 at this time.

It is also good that you anticipate the fact that your
refractive state can "adjust" to long-term "near" environments.

I would suggest that you monitor your own Snellen. You
have nothing to lose by doing this.

If you wish to do something PREVENTIVE -- you must
consider getting some low-cost "readers" (off the shelf),
and use these as "relaxing" glasses.

For more information on this second-opinion concept, read:

www.myopiafree.com

My second-opinion best,

Otis

 

Dear Otis,

I like the idea be preventive and buying some cheap reading glasses
but what do you mean "use them as 'relaxing' glasses?" Also, what
magnification would you suggest and when would I use them?

Thanks,
Justin

 

See an eye doctor (an optometrist in the US). Good vision is worth a
whole lot more than the few bucks it will cost you.

Standard advice for computer vision problems is to take a break every
few minutes. This won't take more than a few seconds. Look away from
the screen at something farther away, and blink a few times. If this
doesn't work after a few days, try eye drops. Try for the ones that are
nothing but distilled salt water. The ones that "get the red out" will
cause more harm than good.

 

Hello Justin,

Otis is wrong I am afraid. There is no such thing as 'relaxing
glasses', all glasses, no matter their power of correction or purpose,
are corrupt and a form of idiocy for the wearer and through the vision
and the mind out of its natural balancing mechanism and prevents you
from being cured easily. The only real solution, which will cost you
0.00 pennies, is to rest your eyemind which will cure the sight and
remove the pain and blurriness that you suffer from.

In any case you must never ever wear glasses, because they will throw
you into the permanent state of refractive error whereupon it will be
harder to cure yourself by the rest methods.

Zetsu

 

Hello Justin,

Otis is wrong I am afraid. There is no such thing as 'relaxing
glasses', all glasses, no matter their power of correction or purpose,
are corrupt and a form of idiocy for the wearer and throw the vision
and the mind out of its natural balancing mechanism and prevents you
from being cured easily. The only real solution, which will cost you
0.00 pennies, is to rest your eyes and mind with the instructions that
I have given in my previous reply which will cure the sight and remove
the pain and blurriness that you suffer from.

In any case you must never ever wear glasses, because they will throw
you into the more permanent state of refractive error whereupon it
will be harder to cure yourself by the rest methods.

Zetsu

 

Dear Justin,

Subject: Two suggestions.

1. If you have 20/20 (by checking your own eye-chart) then
perhaps the best idea would be to do nothing at this time.
That is what MOST people would do. Just being
prepared (when your Snellen goes to 20/25, 20/30 and 20/40)
would be a big help. Assuming that you would like
do more than "wait" for your vision to go down you could:

2. Get a low-cost "reader" of about 2.0 diopters (for
about $9 and just try it out. (Any drug store in the
USA will have these on a rack.) Simply put them
on an read at about 20 inches. If that feels comfortable
for you -- then use them.

If you complained of headaches, or "tired eyes" to an
OD, he would probably suggest the same idea.

More commentary:

Otis> It is often said that "looking up" or looking "in the
distance" relaxes the eye. The optical effect of a +2 diopter
lens, is to move your computer-screen to the (optical) distance.
(This is basic physics and science). Thus I use
the term "relaxing" in that context.


Also, what magnification would you suggest and when would I use them?

Otis> Since you state you are 20/20, your eyes will have a positve
refractive STATE. (You could check this yourself if you wish.)
Thus, for instance, if you read at 20 inches (-2 diopters) you
can use a +2 to exactly neutralize that "environment".

The concept is just basic engineering and physics.

Best,

Otis

 

Nature's Mist eye spray works well without the inconvenience of eye
drops.

 

First, either you need glasses or you don't need glasses. You won't
change that fact by your choice about whether or not to wear them.

You didn't say how old you are. That's quite relevant for the
question you posed.

Beyond the obvious advice to shell out a few bucks to an optometrist,
you can always try a pair of over-the-counter reading glasses at the
computer. They'll let you focus without straining your eyes too much.
If your monitor is about two feet away, something like +1.50 would
come close to letting your eyes focus on the screen while completely
relaxed.

You'll want to try a few pairs at the store, looking at objects that
are the same distance away as your monitor is while you're working.
Keep in mind that the glasses are basically making you artificially
nearsighted while wearing them, so make sure you pick a strength that
lets you see as far as you need to while you're working.

 

He said that he recently graduated from college.

 

Having worked at a college for 25+ years, I know that many students are
in their 70's. The median age for students at my college when I started
was 35. That probably translates into a lot of presbyotic students.

 

It is normal that after all day at computer your vision is "blured"
at distance
if blur disappears in half hour after you stop working.
I have the same effect many years.

Lightening advise:
My coworkers and I like to work in the room with dim light
The less light in the room the better.
In one place where I worked managers call our room "dark room"
But it is impossible if another people who work with you like bright
lite.

Lena, programmer.

 

I would hope that people have advanced to LCD monitors by now instead
of the dim CRTs.

It's better to have a brighter environment and screens so that the
pupil size is smaller to make it easier to focus on the screen.

Lighting advisors now recommend flourescent lights with a larger
amount of blue because the pupil size is reduced more.

 

It seems to be getting better, but a lot of professional people are
still being given CRTs to work with because it would cost too much to
upgrade them to LCDs. You pay someone US$80,000 a year and won't spend
US$250 to make their working conditions much better? Oh, I forgot, I
worked for the State.

I am retired now, but fought the light battles many times. At first it
was too bright, and I had to request less light so I could see the CRT
screen. Then people wanted no light at all. That made it hard to see
written material. We always worked it out, though.

 

It seems to be getting better, but a lot of professional people are

Actually, that is not the only reason, in fact they would save money
if they upgraded anyway (it would take less electricity). Lots of
professional people actually prefer the CRT monitors because, even
though LCDs are brighter and modern and nice, CRTs give better more
accurate image which is also much better if they are designing things
(CAD) and using graphics applications.