Several factors can contribute to strain and discomfort. Poor lighting, glare from your screen, poor posture, incorrect viewing distance and undiagnosed vision problems are the most common. If you’re frustrated with your vision, seek the advice of an optical professional.

Your first step is to see your optometrist or ophthalmologist for a comprehensive eye exam. Be sure to share how you use your eyes every day: what type and how many screens you use, the distance to and height of each screen, and the amount of daily hourly use.

Knowing how you use your eyes and details about your vision requirements, your doctor will be able to prescribe the best prescription computer glasses to reduce digital eye strain and help you see better. In addition to the correct refraction (prescription), your doctor may recommend:

• Specific computer lenses, such as Workspace or Eyezen
• Blue light-blocking coatings and treatments, such as Prevencia or Blue Zero
• Best positioning of your monitors
• Ideal posture for your eyes, neck, and back
• 20/20/20 Rule: every 20 minutes, look 20 feet into the distance for 20 seconds
• Best eye drop treatment to prevent dry or red eyes from too much screen time

Digital screen use is part of our everyday lives. Don’t be frustrated with your vision – there are many great solutions for your digital eye strain!

Healthy vision offers patients more than good eyesight; for many, their quality of life is greatly diminished if their vision is less than adequate. For example, needing help reading a menu or being nervous to drive at night can limit patients’ independence, but nutritional support can help maintain long- term eye health. Perhaps some of the most talked-about antioxidants necessary for healthy vision are zeaxanthin and lutein, but why all the excitement around these two nutrients?

What’s all the hype about Zeaxanthin and Lutein?

Zeaxanthin (pronounced zee-aZAN-thin)

Zeaxanthin is a member of a group of compounds known as carotenoids.1  In the Zeaxanthin and Visual Function (ZVF) Study, researchers refer to this carotenoid as a “superior antioxidant” because of its chemical structure.2  In the same study, authors remark that “the macula selectively places [zeaxanthin] in its foveal center where the greatest protection is needed, which is last to degenerate.” This means that zeaxanthin is responsible for protecting the crisp, clear central vision needed for reading, seeing faces, and other daily tasks. While this antioxidant can be found in orange peppers, corn, and spinach, many Americans do not consume enough of these foods in their diet. 

Lutein (pronounced LOO- teen)

Like zeaxanthin, lutein is also classified as a carotenoid. Accumulated by the retina in the peripheral aspect of the macula, this antioxidant protects peripheral vision and low-contrast visual acuity.2 Lutein can be found in dark, leafy greens like kale, spinach, broccoli, and collard greens. While most patients know that these foods are beneficial, Americans sadly have moved toward a diet lacking in leafy greens. 

Macular Pigment 

Zeaxanthin and lutein work together to protect the sensitive tissues in the retina and form what is called the xanthophyll macular pigment. Found in the center of the macula, this protective pigment works like internal sunglasses, filtering harmful wavelengths of light before they reach the photoreceptors. Healthy, or dense, macular pigment may improve visual functions such as visual acuity, contrast sensitivity, light sensitivity, and glare recovery. 

From Review of Optometry Online May 10, 2018.

Sources: 

1. Heiting, Gary. “Lutein and Zeaxanthin – Eye and Vision Benefits.” All About Vision, AAV Media, LLC., Dec. 2017, www.allaboutvision.com/nutrit ion/lutein.htm. 

2. Richer SP, Stiles W, Graham-Hoffman K, et al. Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study of zeaxanthin and visual function in patients with atrophic age-related macular degeneration: the Zeaxanthin and Visual Function Study (ZVF) FDA IND #78, 973. Optometry. 2011 Nov;82(11):667-680.e6. doi: 10.1016/j.optm.2011.08.008. 

3. Herman JP, Kleiner-Goudey SJ, Davis RL (2017) Case Report of Dietary Supplements Improving Macular Pigment and Visual Function. Adv Oph thalmol Vis Syst 6(1): 00166. DOI: 10.15406/aovs.2017.06.00166. 

Tips for Avoiding Diabetes:

1.  Wear a pedometer and get 8,000 to 10,000 steps per day.
2. Eat plant-based diet (seven servings of whole vegetables and fruits every day; at least 14 different types of vegetables each week.
3. Get  7-8 hours of sleep each night.
4. Eliminate high-fructose corn syrup and keep added sugars under 25g each day (read your food labels).
5. Take 5,000 IU of vitamin D3 every day to get blood levels above 40 mg/dl (see your PCP or consider a home test available through www.grassrootshealth.org).
6. Promote healthy gut bacteria that improve insulin sensitivity by taking a prebiotic or probiotic containing oligofructose and avoiding aspartame, saccharin, and sucralose.

Diabetes in a known cause of blindness if left untreated.  Long-term exposure to high blood sugars causes the retinal blood vessels to become leaky and cause permanent irreversible damage to the sensitive photoreceptors, rods and cones.

Tips for Good Sugar Control if You Have Diabetes:

7.  Do everything listed in steps 1 through 6 above.

8.  Limit carbohydrate content of any large meal to less than 30 grams.

9.  Take 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar before meals to l lower blood sugar spikes.

10.  Slow down, put your fork down while slowly chewing food.

11.  Take prescribed diabetes medications on time, every time; take rapid-acting insulin at least 15 min before eating if required prior to food.

12.  Fast at least one day a week to increase healthy gut bacteria and insulin sensitivity.

See your eye doctor regularly and ask what you can do to keep your eyes their healthiest.

Source: Paul A.  Chous, OD, MA, FAAO

Healio (8/2, Sutton) reports a new retrospective study of 275 pediatric patients in the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia’s subspecialty concussion program published in Optometry and Vision Science “determined that the Post Concussion Symptom Scale may be limited in identifying pediatric patients with vision problems after concussion.” In light of their conclusions, researchers said doctors caring for children suffering from a concussion should recognize near point of convergence as a “diagnostic entity and understand its implications for return-to-learn to best support children as they re-enter the academic setting after a concussion.”

Near point of convergence, or NPC, is part of a comprehensive pediatric eye exam.  Remember to share any new or previous eye trauma or head injury information with your eye doctor.  Don’t wait until your annual eye exam to have this looked at!  An immediate dilated pupil exam is recommended after any eye or head injury to not only measure vision function, but also to ensure that internal eye injuries, such as a retinal tear, haven’t occurred.  If you or your child has suffered from an injury and a reduced NPC is found, further evaluation and treatment can be done.

Wear your sports glasses!  Protective impact resistant sports eye wear can reduce the incidence of eye injuries by 90%.  Fashion frames can break on impact and allow injuries to the eye.  Ask your optometrist or optician for eye wear recommendations for your sports and activity level, because polycarbonate lenses alone do not prevent all injuries.

Dr. Lisa Richardson, the Director of the CDC’s Division of Cancer Prevention & Control said “If we take action now, we can prevent hundreds of thousands of new cases of skin cancers, including melanoma, and save billions of dollars in medical costs.”

Our advice for kids of all ages and for adults when outdoors: remember to wear your 100% UV protective sunglasses for your eyes, sunscreen for your skin, and a hat with a brim or visor for your head, neck, and ears.

Ultraviolet light is cumulative over our lifetime, and speed up the process of cataracts, macular degeneration, eyelid tumors, pinguecula, pterygium, and other eye diseases and conditions of the delicate tissue surrounding the eyes.

Everyone knows that wearing sports glasses can prevent eye injury.  Sports eyewear can be made with your prescription, or without, like for over contact lenses.  More and more eyewear wore by active people now have impact resistant lenses (polycarbonate or Trivex) to protect their eyes from the effects of shattering lens particles.  Fortunately, it’s been years since actual glass material has been used in eyeglasses because, on impact, glass lenses have caused devastating eye injuries, permanent loss of vision, and loss of entire eyes.

A recent study shows a surprising find related to wearing glasses while playing sports.  Although, as an industry, optometrists are doing a great job getting people into safer lenses, the wearers’ eyeglass frames are now the main cause of injury from eyewear.

When impact resistant lenses are placed into standard eyewear frames, it’s the frames that poke, cut, and bruise our eyes and skin around the eyes.  Medium to high-impact energies exerted from collision with another player, ball, racquet, or bat were cited as the main cause of eye damage.  The best way to protect the eye and the surrounding ocular structures is to couple impact resistant sports goggles with impact resistant lenses.

Play it safe!  Ask your eye doctor or optician to help you find the best-fitting wrap sports eyewear for your lifestyle to protect your precious eyes.

SOURCE: Hoskin AK, Philip S, Dain SJ, Mackey DA. Spectacle-related eye injuries, spectacle-impact performance and eye protection. Clin Exp Optom. 2015;98(3):203-9.

By blocking specific color wave intersections as they pass through the lens, ChromaPop is able to eliminate color confusion, so your brain can recognize truer color, faster.  Petrou Eye Care invites you to see the water and the outside world with an unparalleled level of vibrance through Smith Optics sports lenses.  Available in prescription glasses and nonprescription lenses.