staring @ a computer all day

[lisa1234]

i've heard about computer vision syndrome well im scared i might get it. i work at a computer all day.  Will using dry eye relief eye drops protect me from cvs???  Also,  could computer vision syndrome make your eyes look worse?

[John C Hagan]

Lisa,  If computers were extremely bad for the eyes and caused damage the world would be in a huge hurt because the number of people using computers and the time they spend doing it is increasing exponentially.

Computers may tire the eye, may cause some blurred vison, watering but damage? NO.  So make your career and hobby choices not worrying about the long term effect on your eyes.

If using a computer seems to bother you have an eye examination by an optometrist or better yet an ophthalmologist. Sometime dry eyes, refactive errors, age (presbyopia) can be helped with drops, glasses or things as simple as anti-reflective screens, attention to working distances and font size. Sometimes just looking away from the screen about each 15 minutes, refocusing accross the room or out the window and blinking several times will help a great deal (think 7th inning stretch at the ball game).

I don't put much faith in "computer vision syndrome" as a severe medical problem and I've seen a fair number of patients with very expensive computer glasses or 'vision therapy" that really did not benefit from them.

JCH MD