Simple Ways To Relieve Computer Eye Strain

CHICAGO (CBS 2) - Are your eyes tired and itchy by the end of the day? You might have what's called "Computer Vision Syndrome," caused by extended periods of time staring at computer screens and smart phones.

As CBS 2's Mary Kay Kleist reports, there are simple ways to make your eyes feel better.

Peter Johnson spends about five hours a day working at his computer. All that time staring at the monitor took its toll.

"I found that my eyes got very tired from it and the screen began to blur," he said.

Johnson suffers from Computer Vision Syndrome, which you can get not only from extended use of your computer, but also from other digital devices like smart phones.

Symptoms include eye fatigue, eye strain, blurred vision, headaches, dry, itchy eyes, burning and tearing.

There's not much most of us can do about the amount of time we spend on our computers and phones, but there are things we can do to make our eyes feel better.

Doctors say to follow the 20-20-20 rule. Every 20 minutes, look up and focus on something at least 20 feet away for 20 seconds to allow your eyes to rest.

Dr. Christopher Starr is the Director of Refractive Surgery at Weill Cornell Medical Center. He says, "It will allow the muscles to relax and take the strain off the muscles, you'll end up feeling a lot better at the end of the day.

When we're at the computer, doctors say we blink about 60 percent less than normal, drying out our eyes. They recommend using eye drops or simply blinking more.

"It sounds silly, It sounds like something we should be doing subconsciously, but when you're on the computer and you're working the blink rate does go down substantially," Starr said.

Johnson found relief using reading glasses designed specifically for the distance between his eyes and the screen.

"It was stunning how quickly that strain disappeared," he said. And with the strain gone, he can now focus completely on his work.

One more tip: check the lights in the room to make sure there's no glare coming off your screen. Glare can make your vision blurry, causing you to strain harder to see what's on the monitor.