Using iPhones without eye strain

Rajeev Rajapakse, Director, Eric Rajapakse Opticians

The biggest buzz in the consumer world comes from the newest iPhone or its equivalent. From the high level professional to the trendy teenager and to even the tiniest toddler discovering his world, the smartphone has become an essential part of daily life. The number of hours spent staring at a touch screen, a computer screen, a TV screen and all combined, is alarmingly high. Eye strain is therefore a growing concern, not only for adults but for many children as well, Rajeev Rajapakse, Director Eric Rajapakse Opticians stated.

Eye strain is one of the problems related to prolonged computer use and many related symptoms including head aches, blurry vision, dry eyes, neck and shoulder pain. The problems are temporary and cease after you stop using the computer. Rajapakse stressed that it was important to get your eyes tested to ensure that the problems was not caused by uncorrected visual defects such as short-sightedness, astigmatism and presbyopia. These problems can be corrected by wearing ophthalmic lenses.

It is important to understand that viewing a computer, smartphone or other electronic device with a lit screen does not have the same impact on the eyes as reading a newspaper or a printed page. The letters on the computer screen are not as precise or sharply defined, the level of contrast of the letters to the background is reduced, and the presence of glare and reflections on the screen may make viewing difficult.

"Special anti-reflective lenses that cut off the glare and reflection from a lit screen provide protection and relief to the eyes. Anti-reflective lenses provide comfort and protection and can be worn for computer use even if you do not have a vision correction" Rajapakse said.

Viewing distances and angles used for computer work are also often different from those commonly used for other reading or writing tasks.

As a result, the eye focusing and eye movement requirements for computer viewing can place additional demands on the visual system. Therefore, posture and position are key aspects to reducing eye strain.

Rajeev Rajapakse advises those who require reading glasses, the best lens for use on computers, iphones and other electronic devices are progressive lenses which provide sharp vision at all distances. "Multifocal progressive lenses give distance vision, near vision as well as intermediate vision."