General EYE ADVICE

Recommendations:

The following recommendations are mainly concerned with the way you use your eyes.

- Regularly change your focus onto a distant object every five to ten minutes. This must be developed as a habit and need only be of a couple of seconds’ duration. These frequent but short breaks of eye focusing are more likely to occur when regular focusing onto a distant object is made part of the work routine.

- If possible, plan your daily work so that any non-visually demanding tasks are interspersed between VDU work to give the eyes several minutes' break at least every hour.

-Position your computer screen so that your head is comfortably supported. If your screen is too low your head will often be tilted forwards leading to neck tension and headaches. The screen should be positioned as far from you as possible without compromising character recognition or necessitating any changes in posture e.g. bending forward to see small characters on the screen.

The increased distance minimises eyestrain and also exposure to any possible radiation. The screen must also be positioned so that the user can look above the screen and see objects that are atleast a few metres away without necessitating a head turn to achieve this. Proper positioning of the screen is also needed to minimise reflections or glare from the screen.

- Remember to blink regularly. One should develop the habit of blinking fully (complete eye lid closure) every five seconds. This is useful in cleansing and prevents drying of the eyes.

- In cases of continuous, prolonged VDU work, or when the above recommendations have not been practiced, more effective resting of the eyes can be achieved by closing your eyes and covering them with the palm of your hands for about half a minute. During this time, try to relax other parts of the body as well. Rolling of the eyes in a clockwise and then anti-clockwise direction with the eyes closed will also help to relax them by loosening the surrounding muscles.

Refer to recommendations in Part (I) (C) for importance of regular eye examinations and an explanation of the benefits of "performance" lenses to prevent eyestrain. These lenses can be worn by most normal-sighted people who engage in prolonged close work and can be specially designed for computer use.

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