Dr. Wendell P. Wong, medical director and chief of LASIK Surgery at TLC Laser Eye Centers in Torrance, Calif., is renowned for more than just his knowledge in the field of laser vision correction. In addition, his expertise includes the many critical health and safety areas affecting the eyes, including proper eye protection for sports and outdoor use, laser surgery, cataract removal, glaucoma screenings and lens implants.
Wong suggests computer users follow these tips if they want to avoid eye strain and fatigue:
1. Be sure to give your eyes a break if you spend hours in front of a computer. Keeping your focus at the same distance for long periods of time is like holding your arms out for extended time they will get exhausted. Fortunately our eyes adapt quickly, so either take a break from the screen or focus on some distant poster, photo or scene that will give your eyes' muscles of accommodation a change of focus.
2. Don't forget to blink your eyes! "I think we subconsciously feel that at any moment, our computer will crash and we will lose all our work," says Wong. "Thus, computer users are more prone to dry eyes because we don't blink enough." Take a few moments to close or blink your eyes consciously and this will relieve the symptoms of dryness," he says. "You'll be surprised your work will still be on the screen!"
3. Many computer screens emit electromagnetic radiation that may prove harmful to your eyes if there is no ambient or background light. Try to avoid working on your computer in complete darkness or very low light conditions.
