Eye strain and monitors, any experts?

[carlc]

I have been at my pc more lately and have noticed that from time to time my eyes are red. I assumed it was eye strain so I googled and did not come up with much. I have a 19" LCD Monitor which from what I read is supposed to be easy on the eyes. I do not know for sure that my monitor is the cause, but I did not have the problems before I bought it and it does seem to correlate with my pc use. :twisted: - me minus the horns...

[TristanMike]

My advice, lay off the drugs. lol :)

[poofyhairguy]

I have been at my pc more lately and have noticed that from time to time my eyes are red.

My dad is an eye surgeon. A year ago I asked him how to fix this (mine iched too). He said:

1. Quit getting high

2. WASH YOUR EYELIDS DISGUSTO

pick the one that applies to you.

[NoTiG]

I have the same problem. In fact i think i permanently damaged my eyes (they are always slightly red when i look up close) . It was worse with a CRT ... but i still have the same problem with an LCD. I was half hoping that when OLed monitors came out (that didnt use a backlight) that it would alleviate this problem... but i also think it might have something to do with not blinking enough. I also notice it gets worse if i play 3d games.

[Kvark]

Does it actually do any harm if the eyes are red (but not itching or anything else)?

[primeirocrime]

yep. games are killers for your eyes. Unlike cinema, where we just need 24 fps to give a sense of motion, games are so artificial that those meagger fps are not enough, so what we have is a constant flickering of the screens plus it's normal refresh rate [on CRT] but although the LCDs work in a less offensive manner, it still is ligth beemed to your eyes. Being expose to screens for more than 1 hour without resting the eyes on a blank surface [like looking into a white wall now and then] is going to do much more than just giving red eyes. I can make permanent damage. We must remember to rest ou body and in this case the eyes.

using darker themes in the desktop is also better than the lighter ones
and if possible read type with a darker background and lighter foreground [type, graphs, numbers][a computer screen is not a piece of paper]

[carlc]

My advice, lay off the drugs. lol :)

I'm clean, promise!

using darker themes in the desktop is also better than the lighter ones
and if possible read type with a darker background and lighter foreground

Hmm. You know I just switched from a darker to a lighter theme so that makes sense. I like both so maybe I will just switch back and forth. I know KDE has a wallpaper app that will randomly change wallpaper, maybe someone could write a program for Gnome to randomly switch themes. ?

[weekend warrior]

weekend warriors 10 (well almost) steps for avoiding eye strain


1. Turn down the brightness of your monitor. It shouldn't be brighter than the ambient light around it. Mine is only set to 40 on a scale of 100!
2. Only use darker themes and dark wallpaper. Your eyes will thank you. Here's my desktop.
http://img52.echo.cx/img52/4218/towersssm3dv.th.gif (http://img52.echo.cx/my.php?image=towersssm3dv.gif)
3. Never go long periods of time looking at your monitor, take frequent breaks, closing and resting your eyes. If you need a timer/alarm get an applet for that. There's also an applet for eye exercises but I can't remember the name now :-k
4. Make sure you blink enough to keep your eyes from drying out. Close you eyes slowly 3-4 times in a row to help the tearing process.
5. Periodically look away and focus on an object in the distance, out the window or another room. Keep this focus for a bit then blink a few times.
6. Be certain your monitor is at a correct distance and angle. Look here (http://www.3m.com/cws/selfhelp/eyes.html). I can't touch my monitor even at full stretch.
7. Adjust lighting and eliminate glare, also explained on the site above.
8. If you wear glasses or contacts visit your optician. There are special lenses for computer use.
9. Did I mention taking a lot of breaks?
10. Get out more! Leave the box behind! Get a life! :-P

[primeirocrime]

http://img52.echo.cx/img52/4218/towersssm3dv.th.gif (http://img52.echo.cx/my.php?image=towersssm3dv.gif)

hummmm, I like that theme! what is it? where can I get it?

[iLLUsiVE]

weekend warriors 10 (well almost) steps for avoiding eye strain


1. Turn down the brightness of your monitor. It shouldn't be brighter than the ambient light around it. Mine is only set to 40 on a scale of 100!
2. Only use darker themes and dark wallpaper. Your eyes will thank you. Here's my desktop.
http://img52.echo.cx/img52/4218/towersssm3dv.th.gif (http://img52.echo.cx/my.php?image=towersssm3dv.gif)
3. Never go long periods of time looking at your monitor, take frequent breaks, closing and resting your eyes. If you need a timer/alarm get an applet for that. There's also an applet for eye exercises but I can't remember the name now :-k
4. Make sure you blink enough to keep your eyes from drying out. Close you eyes slowly 3-4 times in a row to help the tearing process.
5. Periodically look away and focus on an object in the distance, out the window or another room. Keep this focus for a bit then blink a few times.
6. Be certain your monitor is at a correct distance and angle. Look here (http://www.3m.com/cws/selfhelp/eyes.html). I can't touch my monitor even at full stretch.
7. Adjust lighting and eliminate glare, also explained on the site above.
8. If you wear glasses or contacts visit your optician. There are special lenses for computer use.
9. Did I mention taking a lot of breaks?
10. Get out more! Leave the box behind! Get a life! :-P


11. That womanly object standing in the door way....that is your girly..go to her...be brave!

[weekend warrior]

Originally Posted by primeirocrime
hummmm, I like that theme! what is it? where can I get it?
It's Mist-Deep_Plastik (http://art.gnome.org/themes/gtk2/627). Look at Mist-Khaos (http://art.gnome.org/themes/gtk2/630) for a little lighter one too. They're both nice and easy on the eyes. The icons are garGANTuan (http://www.gnome-look.org/content/show.php?content=24364) and the Tower Bridge wallpaper is here (http://sasik.sasprg.cz/~stoupa/wallpaper/evropa/anglie/londyn/londyn.html).


Enjoy! :)

[bored2k]

It's Mist-Deep_Plastik (http://art.gnome.org/themes/gtk2/627). Look at Mist-Khaos (http://art.gnome.org/themes/gtk2/630) for a little lighter one too. They're both nice and easy on the eyes. The icons are garGANTuan (http://www.gnome-look.org/content/show.php?content=24364) and the Tower Bridge wallpaper is here (http://sasik.sasprg.cz/~stoupa/wallpaper/evropa/anglie/londyn/londyn.html).


Enjoy! :)
Whoa, it's really easy on the eyes !
I heart you :D .

P.S. - It doesn't fit with the forums' theme, but /me likes it :d

[Optimal Aurora]

According to some ergonomicists you should be about an arm's length from the monitor and you should give your eyes breaks about every 20-40 minutes. You should have your monitor set to a vertical fequency of 60+ Hz and use the recommended fequency and resolution that came with your monitor...

[bored2k]

According to some ergonomicists you should be about an arm's length from the monitor and you should give your eyes breaks about every 20-40 minutes. You should have your monitor set to a vertical fequency of 60+ Hz and use the recommended fequency and resolution that came with your monitor...
Yes I'm trying to do just that. Just a question, these "eye breaks", how long should they be ? What should I do, close my eyes or like, get my head inside the toilet ?

[Optimal Aurora]

here is some of the specifics that I found using google...

Take eye breaks to look at least 20 feet away every 20 minutes for 20 seconds and do eye exercises.
Remember to blink.

And here are some other eye treatments that may help...
http://www.working-well.org/st_eyes.html

[weekend warrior]

bored2k wrote
Yes I'm trying to do just that. Just a question, these "eye breaks", how long should they be ? What should I do, close my eyes or like, get my head inside the toilet ?
There are a few different types of breaks that you need to alternate while using the computer. The focusing technique is one I use often, every 15 minutes or so. The site Optimal Aurora linked is a good desciption. Periodically closing your eyes to relax the muscles completely helps avoid muscle spasms and should be done whenever you feel you need it for a minimum 20-30 seconds, but try longer - you can't overdo an eye break! Just use the time to plan ahead, think about what you'll do next. Also remember to close your eyes with no tension, like when you fall asleep. The blinking for lubrication is self-explanatory but depends on the person. I only need to slowly blink and hold it for a second 2 or 3 times before I notice some tearing, you may need more.

But the most important thing is get up and away from your computer every so often. Never go more than an hour without getting away for around 10 minutes. There's no good reason for marathon computing sessions. Games are the worst. If you're a gamer you really need to pay attention or get a timer to remind yourself to stop periodically, at most after an hour, but better 30-40 minutes. Only play games that allow you to pause or save at any moment, no "save point" nonsense. Then stay with your beak regime religiously, no exceptions!

If you do these things, your risk for eye strains and muscle spasms will be reduced and your ocular health will be better. I know this from experience. Several years ago at work I got a small twitch (muscle spasm) at the outer corner of my left eye and started using these techniques. I've not had a problem since.


HTH

[weekend warrior]

PS - Hey Danger Man... what did you do with Kittky Kat? I liked Kitty Kat! :sad:

[bored2k]

There are a few different types of breaks that you need to alternate while using the computer.

Dude, thanks a lot for the tips. I'll try and do so from now on (I certaintly don't want future vision problems). Usually when I felt tired I used to go a completely darkened room (i.e. my room) then close my eyes for about a minute, but I did that like, every 3-4 hours :-S.

Thanks for the tip, I'm sure it will help me a lot. :D

Edit: BTW, is a 75hz refresh rate good enough ? I use 85hz but the resolution I'd want only allows 75hz (Flat CRT NEC monitor).

[weekend warrior]

Anything between 70-85Hz should be fine. Computer Vision Syndrome (CVS) is no fun and most computer users get one or more of the symptoms at some point. It's very important to understand.

Here is a short, informative page on CVS (http://universityvision.com/computer.htm).

[weekend warrior]

IBM also has a very good site that includes a section on vision and monitors - they call them "visual display terminals" (VDTs). In fact all the parts on that site are worth going through to make sure you're well set up.

Healthy Computing (http://www.pc.ibm.com/ww/healthycomputing/)

[bored2k]

IBM also has a very good site that includes a section on vision and monitors - they call them "visual display terminals" (VDTs). In fact all the parts on that site are worth going through to make sure you're well set up.

Healthy Computing (http://www.pc.ibm.com/ww/healthycomputing/)
Thanks man, this helps my health and me becoming a lesser rookie

[LexLuthor08]

I had to bring this old topic up again for a question:

For windows I used to have a tool that reminded me from time to time to look away from the screen, I think it even presented some eye relaxation exercises. You could also set it up to lock the screen for a certain period.

There should be something like this under linux, its not hard to program.