The Basics - Digital Eye Strain - mEYEspa at Studio Eye Care

All content by Dr Jason Morris.  No AI generated content

  When we use a computer, tablet or smart phone for an extended period, many of us experience digital eye strain. There are several reasons why this occurs including:

• digital dry eye
• posture & ergonomics
• long periods of sustained focus
• back-lit screens
• improper prescription glasses or contact lenses
• eye muscle / alignment issues

In addition all of those reasons, the fact that we blink significantly less when our attention is focused on a screen also significantly contributes to eye irritation, blurry vision and fatigue.

  One of the most impactful things that you can do to stabilize vision and reduce digital eye dryness issues is use non-preserved rewetting eye drops formulated for evaporative issues (such as I-DROP MDG or Thealoz DUO).  To be effective these drops should be used at least twice a day i.e. proactively!.

This is especially true for contact lens wearers as the ocular surface dries more quickly!

A great way to get a quick refresh throughout the day is Hypochlorous spray.

Warm compresses, prescription medications and Omega 3 supplements are also used to combat dryness – digital or not!  See the Dry Eye BLOG post

 
  Extended smart phone use creates problems because working distances are so close. Sustained focus and extended convergence (in-turning of eyes) cause fatigue and strain. Proper eye wear and taking breaks are the best solutions.

Progressive lens users also have postural issues. At a desk, the ideal spot to view a desktop screen is partway down the lens… this causes users to lift their chin for extended periods resulting in neck aches and pains. There are products that allow for more comfortable postures (e.g. Essilor Digitime or Zeiss Office lens). These lenses very helpful to reduce strain and address multiple working distance issues.

For a progressive lens wearer, if a separate 'Office Style' set of glasses is not practical, setting the computer monitor as low as possible is important (i.e. with straight ahead gaze, the top of your computer screen should be at eye level)

  Our eyes work like cameras. Before autofocus cameras we manually focused a camera by moving lenses closer and further apart by twisting the camera’s lens system. Moving the lenses would change the focal length and create clarity.

Our eyes work very much the same way with a flexible lens in the eye changing shape to create clarity.   Our eyes are not designed to hold static close focus. They are designed to focus dynamically and continually move. Keeping the same high point of focus (e.g. smart phone) fatigues the system and it becomes sore.

 If you do.. or do not wear glasses at all, there are options to relax your eyes. Essilor EyeZen, Zeiss Digital and Nikon Relaxsee are examples of antifatigue lenses. These lenses help reduce eye strain by assisting your eye’s focusing system.

  Hippus is the normal involuntary small rhythmic pulses (dilation/constriction) of the pupil. The frequency and size of hippus movements are influenced by light.  

There is a school of thought that backlit screens cause more fatigue and strain because they induce more intense hippus movements. This would be why many people enjoy reading more on paper or e-readers vs. tablets/laptops/phones.   There is not much research on this topic to make recommendations.

  Having an outdated, inaccurate prescription seems like a logical thing to correct when having digital eye strain issues but you would be surprised how many folks do not consider this factor when experiencing eye ache and strain symptoms. Step #1 - See your Optometrist!

An incorrect prescription can also mean that the numbers are correct but they are prescribed for the wrong working distance.

Contact lens wearers with low amounts of astigmatism are susceptible to strain because low astigmatism is not generally corrected in soft contact lenses. If this sounds familiar, the solution may be to have glasses for extended screen use times.   Or even antifatigue glasses for over your contacts!

  Having your eyes work well together is critical for reading and screen comfort. There are six muscles behind each eye that must work in concert for comfort. Your Optometrist can assess your eye muscle coordination and make recommendations. Vision Therapy is like physiotherapy for the eye muscles and can help strengthen and align misalignment (not all Optometrists offer Vision Therapy). Alternatively, a lens with “prism” can sometimes be used to relax misalignment and help eyestrain.

 A very basic test for alignment issues… stare at the logo below and alternate covering one eye and then the other.   If the asterisk shifts at all up/down or significantly right/left you should see your optometrist.

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