Computer screens

Hi there, due to my job, I spend up to 10 hours a day in front of a computer screen and I regularly suffer from headaches, which I believe are caused by the tiredness of my eyes viewing computer screens all day long.  The  health and safety officers at a previous company provided me a screen for the computer, but it didn't really work.  It has been suggested by my optician that new glasses are required, but the cost of "computer" glasses in the UK are quite high and I don't really trust him, as he seemed quick to want to sell me specialist lenses designed for those who have to focus on computer screens.  I have seen another optician, and he just said that I was wearing the wrong prescription.  But I changed my job last week, and the health and safety officer told me that they would provide me a product that will make me blink, explaining that my headaches are caused by tired eyes, and that frequent computer users have tired eyes caused by the dryness as we only blink around 30-50% of what we are supposed to.  Is this true?  Can my headaches be caused by a lack of blinking?
Many thanks!

[John C Hagan III, MD, FACS, FAAO]

Yes.  Every 10-15 minutes look away from the screen, focus on something as far away as possible (down the hall, out the window). Get it in clear focus, and blind firmly 5-6 times. This moistens the cornea and stretches the focus muscle. Also consider using artifical tears 2-4 times/day.

JC MD