QUESTION ABOUT EYES

[micaturtle]

I have been getting headaches more and more frequently at work, so I wonder if maybe I need reading glasses. I am wondering if there is any way to tell if your headaches are from reading while needing glasses or from something else. I wonder because my vision never goes blurry (so I think I'd pass an eye exam just fine) but the headaches persist, and they seem to happen whenever I'm at work (where I do a lot of reading and looking at a computer screen) Does anyone have any suggestions/ideas?

Comments

[emerald-7.livejournal.com]

Since I work for an optometrist I can help you here ;)
You don't necessarily need to have blurred vision to need glasses. I sounds more like eye strain then actual vision issues. And if your using computers and reading a lot at work than this is most likely the cause of your headaches.
You may need to have glasses for Screen Based Equipment (SBE) in which it may just be a light script just to take the strain off the eyes. I don't know what they're called in America but here they are called Access Lenses which are specifically made for looking at computers and reading. Some work places actually pay a bit towards the glasses for you if you get an SBE form filled out by your optometrist so check with your work :)
Make sure you tell your optometrist that your mainly having the headaches at work too.
Hope this helped!!

[morningstar4.livejournal.com]

I was going to suggest eye strain as well.

[whiteadelphi.livejournal.com]

Also, in addition to these comments? Working at a computer all day kinda tends to increase your dehydration levels. Make sure you drink plenty of water all day and remember to stretch on a regular basis. Helps a bunch :)

[moronqueen.livejournal.com]

...they'll haveta come out!

Err, I mean...

...did you know frogs' eyes bounce? No really!

...no, no that either...hm.

Where's the pain when you get your headaches? When I end up with eyestrain, it's usually right over my eyes, feels like it's running just under the uppermost part of the orbits of my skull.

Breaks do help...a LOT. If you have a window or access to the outside a couple of times a day, focussing on something further away tends to help. Or at least it has in my experience, and I'm trapped in a cube all day, so...happyfuntimes.

[aussiegirl17.livejournal.com]

Like emerald_7, I work with an optometerist as well. She pretty much said what I would have suggested. I'll just add that being on the computer a lot can increase dryness since you don't blink as often as you should. That dryness can play a role in straining the eyes. Try some rewetting drops to help keep your eyes hydrated. And, I second emerald_7 in that you should be sure to tell your optometrist about the headaches; glasses for just computer work may help even if your vision seems fine. :)

[soliloquy.livejournal.com]

Everybody seems to be seconding what I already said about this. You've told me that you don't take proper breaks at work, that you just read websites and post to LJ and message boards bit by bit throughout your shift. Perhaps you might want to consider taking a proper break away from your office and computer at least once a shift.

Also, given what you've told me regarding your family history with vision troubles around the age of 30, you could check with an optometrist as well just to rule out anything else.

... or you might end up needing a patch like Pirate Raph in my icon. Hey, you never know! ;-)

Take care,
Jenn

[jem0000000.livejournal.com]

Second the eyestrain issue. It's a big enough problem that it got a whole page in the chapter devoted to medical problems based off computer use. (Forget which class.)

(Uh, I'm a computer geek.)

So: first, make sure there is adequate lighting in the room. You want the room away from the screen to be at the same brightness as the screen. Any contrast, particularly if the room is darker than the screen, will cause eye strain.

Second: take a break every half hour. No exceptions. Look away from the screen. Focus on something else (a window, a wall, your neighbor, some decorative object, etc.). Drink a bit of water, close your eyes and blink a couple times. Make sure you spend at least a full minute *not* looking at your screen/a light source. It doesn't need to be much longer than that (unless your optometrist specifically suggests longer breaks. He/she knows best).

Third: every two hours, get up and stretch. (I know, it's been said. ;) ) Shake your hands/wrists out so your fingers don't cramp. Look at something besides the screen or a light source. Try to look at something farther away, maybe stick your head out in the hallway or look out a window. Again, this doesn't have to be a long break, just make sure you stretch and give your eyes and hands a rest.

If you're on the computer for more than six hours a stretch, I would recommend taking a break where you walk around, maybe go outside or just stroll through the office. Your legs need the movement, and it will give your eyes different scenery.

And I second (third? fourth?) going to see an optometrist.

The reason people get eyestrain from computers is that they're a light source. When you read paper, your eyes pick up light that's bouncing off the paper from other sources. This reflected light is how humans are designed to see the world. When you read a computer, the light is generated by the screen. You're not seeing a reflection. It's like staring into a miniature sun. People aren't meant to do that for long periods of time.

They make screen covers that reduce the light from your screen to make it easier on your eyes, as well as glasses designed to do the same thing.

Oh, and hi. :)

[jem0000000.livejournal.com]

Oh, and as for the headache - for me: mild eyestrain is pain over the eyes, general eye fatigue, moving into a tense feeling accross the bridge of the nose and the eyebrows. From there it goes to headache and then starts migrating to other parts of my head. Medium eyestrain is still centered in the lower forehead but spreads over the temples and up through the rest of the forehead, often triggering tension in the neck and shoulders. At this point I technically have more problems than just eyestrain, but strong eyestrain/tension is centered in the temples and covers the forehead, brows, nose, and the lower back of the head, particularly including the spot where your spine meets your skull. Again, it's accompanied by neck and shoulder tension. (At this point all I can do is take something for it and go lie down.)

I'm hoping you have the mild version. ;)

Headaches do follow different patterns in different people, but take my advice and go see your optometrist before you find out if yours does the same thing mine do.