In a previous article I discussed Repetitive Strain Injury, which is the most common problem afflicting moderate and heavy computer users. This week's topic is Eye Strain, which is the second most frequent complaint among those who use a computer more than a couple of hours at a time.

According to most experts, working at a computer cannot permanently damage a person's eyes; however, it is widely acknowledged that excessive computer use can lead to various temporary vision problems, such as dry, tired, aching eyes, difficulty to focus, and headaches. What can you do to avoid these problems?

The American Optometric Association has some simple, practical advice that can help you prevent or, at least, minimize most of these symptoms. Their recommendations are listed on the AOA Web site. Similar suggestions, along with some additional technical details, are also offered by Charles Poynton - a Canadian video technology expert.

Another very good source of information on this topic (which is also referred to in the the above mentioned document) is the Vision Section of IBM's Healthy Computing site. This is an excellent, professionally done Web site that contains some highly detailed information about the human visual system, and how it is affected by the use of computers. In addition to the recommendations that can be found at the above Web sites, I've found that there are some other, simple changes and adjustments that can very easily be made to one's computing environment, which can be very helpful and effective in reducing eye strain caused by staring at a video display terminal (VDT) for an extended period of time. Specifically, I've made the following changes:

I've turned on the "High Contrast" option for my display, by utilizing the "Accessibility Options" that are part of Windows 95 (you can do this by clicking on Start->Settings->Control Panel->Accessibility Options->Display), and I selected the "Windows Standard (extra large)" setting.

Also, since I spend most of my time browsing the Internet, I've changed the default background color on my Web browsers (I use both Netscape and IE) to a neutral (off-white) color, and I've configured them both to display this color, instead of the actual background color of each particular Web site - which, most of the time, these days, tends to be bright white. (I'm not going to describe how you can do this for both popular browsers; you can just use the built-in help function, if you want to try this, but don't know how to do it.)

I've found that the above changes have made browsing the Internet much easier on my eyes - and my back, too (since I don't have to lean as close to the monitor as before).

By making these simple changes, and following the recommendations outlined by the authors of the above mentioned Web sites, you too can reduce the strain caused by the use of video display terminals on your eyes, and can make computing a more enjoyable experience that is also less harmful to your health.

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