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Original poster

how bad is staring at a monitor all day

30 replies

zippitippitoes · 30/03/2006 19:46

please?

OP posts:
RTKangaMummy · 30/03/2006 19:49

Do you mean in ITU?

When DTs were in NNU/ITU we watched them all the time?

Original poster
zippitippitoes · 30/03/2006 19:54

sorry Blush

I meant a computer screen

OP posts:
WideAwake · 30/03/2006 19:55

Took about 3 years for me to notice I'd totally screwed up my vision

RTKangaMummy · 30/03/2006 19:55

ooooooooooooooooh I see

How far do you sit away from it?

Original poster
zippitippitoes · 30/03/2006 19:57

about arms length

OP posts:
WideAwake · 30/03/2006 19:58

If your in a company rather than at home get a VDU assessment asap if your having problems. Worht the hassle in the long run.

RTKangaMummy · 30/03/2006 19:59

Do you MN in the dark or is it well lit?

Do you get headaches? or eye ache?

I MN nearly all day

Original poster
zippitippitoes · 30/03/2006 20:02

i am in a one man company !!! (well woman actually)

and i think i have started tipping my head back and slightly closing my eyes to look at the screen

i don't do it in the dark

OP posts:
gingernut · 30/03/2006 20:03

Can be bad...my eyesight got a lot worse after about 6 months in a job where I did a lot of typesetting. If you look away from the screen regularly it's not so bad. I was advised by my optician to look out of the window every 10 minutes (honest Grin) until my eyes focused on something at a distance.

Are you having problems and if so, in what way? I went rapidly more short-sighted, particularly in one eye which it turns out is very slow to adjust when I need to change my focus.

gingernut · 30/03/2006 20:05

Hmmm, you need to get your eyes tested I think!

Original poster
zippitippitoes · 30/03/2006 20:05

I think I have more eye watering and I'm not particularly good at refocussing

i don't drive nearly as much as i used to but when I do I've noticed that i don't seem to like driving in twilight or darkness and have more problems reading street signs

OP posts:
RTKangaMummy · 30/03/2006 20:06

I agree with gingernut

Original poster
zippitippitoes · 30/03/2006 20:15

I have an irrational fear associated with having my eyes tested unfortunately

OP posts:
gingernut · 30/03/2006 20:15

Yes, def. get them tested and in the meantime try to focus on a distant object every 10 mins or so. If your lens is focusing on something close up for a long time it can get to the point where it never goes back to focusing on distant objects properly, IYSWIM, so you can become more short-sighted.

It may just be tiredness or something though, that can also affect your ability to focus (according to my optician).

gingernut · 30/03/2006 20:17

Find a nice optician, I used to dread it till I started going to my current one who is lovely and very good too (you don't happen to be anywhere near Yatelely, Hants, do you?).

Original poster
zippitippitoes · 30/03/2006 20:20

no, unfortunately...I don't

OP posts:
RTKangaMummy · 30/03/2006 20:21

Are you in NW london?

Original poster
zippitippitoes · 30/03/2006 20:23

no in warwickshire, I might as well admit that I don't want my eyes tested in case it's suspected i am diabetic

OP posts:
RTKangaMummy · 30/03/2006 20:25

oh dear, is that how they find out?

I didn't realise Blush

Original poster
zippitippitoes · 30/03/2006 20:27

well they can see indications, diabetes is very bad for eyes

OP posts:
gingernut · 30/03/2006 20:27

Where in Warwicks? My parents live in SonA and Mum said the other day how good her optician is.

If you suspect diabetes you should get that checked too Grin. Any reason for thinking you might be?

Original poster
zippitippitoes · 30/03/2006 20:29

my mum was diabetic, her sister is, my great aunt was and my grandma was (but she was quite elderly)

yes not far from stratford I could go there quite easily

OP posts:
edam · 30/03/2006 20:32

How old are you? If you are 40+ could also be natural change in eyesight due to ageing. Which also makes it harder to switch focus - that's why people start needing reading glasses. Anyroad up, you need your eyes testing. Sorry.

Original poster
zippitippitoes · 30/03/2006 20:36

I remember my fortieth birthday! but it's well past!

I shall see an optician, i vaguely hoped someone would say that it was probably the computer

OP posts:
gingernut · 30/03/2006 20:46

Mum goes \link{http://www.walford-and-round.co.uk/stratford.htm\here}. The optician is called Mr Fantham (sp?). She says he is very thorough, takes about an hour over checking her eyes (mind you, she has a fairly complex prescription) and explains exactly why he is doing all the tests he does. Hope you like him if you go there.

Uncontrolled diabetes can cause blurred vision due to reversible changes to the lens of the eye. If uncontrolled for a long time of course you can end up with permanent damage and can eventually lose your sight. My dh has Type 2 diabetes and had blurred vision as a symptom before his diagnosis. If you're at that stage, I don't think an optician would necessarily be able to diagnose diabetes, as it would only be the permanent damage they would spot. So you'd need to get your GP to do a blood test. In fact, it's probably worth doing that before going to an optician because if you are diabetic and the eyesight problem is caused by high blood sugar, once you get your blood sugar under control your vision should change again.

HTH.