What are the natural ways to relax the eyes after working for prolonged periods on computer?

Question

Hello doctor,

I am a student. My friends and I get eye strain including dryness and redness very frequently these days, maybe because we are studying industrial design and using computers for a long time. I searched online about eye exercises or some relaxing methods for the eyes. But I am a little bit confused due to a number of ways like 20-20-20 rules, palming, massaging, making a figure eight with eyes, and alternating warm and cold compress. Could you please tell me what kind of methods are exactly effective to relax our eyes or what key points we need to pay attention to? And how often do we need to relax our eyes during work? Thank you.

Answer 1

Hello,

Welcome to icliniq.com.

I read your query and understand your concern.

Prolonged work on a laptop, TV, or mobile phone can cause computer vision syndrome (CVS). Computer vision syndrome is a condition resulting from focusing the eyes on a computer or other display device for uninterrupted periods of time. Some symptoms of CVS include headaches, blurred vision, neck pain, redness in the eyes, eye strain and dry eyes and sometimes watery eyes. These symptoms can be further aggravated by improper lighting conditions. I suggest the measures to reduce this. Work under proper light. Blink a lot. Apply cold compresses. Use a good lubricating eye drop. The 20-20-20 rule is practically difficult so you may do it every hour. You may take a break of 10 minutes after every hour of computer work and do cold compresses and figure of eight exercises. Use anti-glare glasses. All exercises or procedures mentioned by you are correct and equally good. Some people feel relaxed with a massage while others get relief with a figure of eight exercise. So choose any one procedure and do it every hour. I hope this will help you. Thank you.