Computer Vision Syndrome: Fact or Fiction?

Eye experts take different views on whether it's a serious malady
Posted: March 3, 2011

THURSDAY, March 3 (HealthDay News) -- Staring into the enticing glow of your computer hour after hour may well have its benefits, but a downside to all that screen time can include dry, tired eyes, blurred vision, fatigue and headaches.

This cluster of symptoms is called "computer vision syndrome" (CVS), but eye experts don't agree on whether it's serious or even if it's a new phenomenon.

"Computer vision syndrome is a new diagnosis, and a relatively trendy one at that," said Dr. Ivan R. Schwab, a professor of ophthalmology at the University of California, Davis. "And the thought that focusing up close at technology will provoke a new set of symptoms different from that experienced during other forms of close-up work and attention has yet to be documented in any kind of scientific literature or study. So I'm relatively skeptical of it."

Read the rest of the article here.