Eye pain/strain only when looking at screens?

Eye care
1

I'm 19 and have been very active on computers and other screens for many years and never had any problems. I have glasses for 10 years with no problems. I got my prescription updated over a year ago and had no problems, as usual, until about 5 months ago. One night while on the computer I started to feel a little strain like the screen was a little too bright. That had happened in the past very rarely so I didn't think much about it. The next day it got worse and I started having eye pain after about ten minutes of looking at my monitor (keeps in mind I've looked at monitors for hours before with no problems like this). For two weeks, I couldn't stand to look at ANY screens. TV, computer, phone, etc. I had to use my phone and PC occasionally but could only tolerate it when the brightness on these devices was completely turned down. The pain was like having really dry eyes but when I looked at a screen, I could feel a pain shooting through my eyes (mostly my right eye but still in both.) After two weeks, it got a little better and I could look at screens some, but the brightness has to stay low and it still hurts some more days than others. It's been 5 months and it won't go away. I've been using drops for severe dry eyes and it seems to have helped a little but not much.

NOTE: I went to my eye doctor a few days ago. He checked my prescription, focusing range, and looked into my eyes (but he didn't dilate them). He basically said my eyes were perfectly fine and told me to take breaks every once in a while when using a computer and pushed me out the door (in a manner of speaking). I've been taking huge breaks and limited my use to 1-2 hours a day and still I have the same pain.

What should I do? I start college for a tech degree this fall and it hurts to look at screens. I'm in a deep depression now because I can't find relief and I need to know how to fix this. I know there's something wrong with me, I just don't know what. Should I get a second opinion? I've read that if your eyes are really dry or something, you could have a tear or do some kind of damage and need to put antibiotic ointment on your eyelids to help repair them. I don't know if that's true but I friend described my problem to his eye doctor out of state and that's what he said. And I've read it in a few places online. 

It would mean the world to me if anybody would lend their advice. I'm so close to  just giving up and hope I can be happy in another career & routine that doesn't involve as many screens but it's making me miserable.

2

Obviously a very bad time in your life to be having this problem!

I would most definitely get a second opinion. If your eye docor is a optician not a consultant ophthalmologist he may have limited credentials to advise you anyway, but if you feel there's a probem, then there's a probem. Useless to shunt you off.

You most probably just need screen glasses. The sharp pains may be a result of strain and the impact of too bright light.

You've been given drops for dry eyes, so do the eyes feel dry and itchy when you're not staring at the screen?

Eyes are sometimes hard to get a clear diagnosis on, but anything that's keeping you from your vital studies needs to be persued to the end.

I wish you the best of luck with this. Don't give up!

3

I appreciate the reply. The doctor I went to is an Optician. I just wish there was an Opthamalogist closer to where I live.

The drops were ones I purchased over the counter. They're GenTeal liquid gel drops for severe dry eyes. It seemed to be working well for a while but now I'm starting to feel effects when I'm not looking at a screen. Like dryness and irritation even if I'm not doing anything.

I told the eye doctor about the drops and he didn't even acknowledge what I said. He just kept fooling with his tools on the counter. And as far as my eyes now, I've noticed my right eye is hurting a lot more than my left so maybe I've done some sort of damage.

Have you read anything about nighttime ointments that you put on your eyelids? I've been considering trying that until I can get to a specialist (I won't be able to go for at least another month)

4

Yes. I think it's Optrex who make a spray that you spray on the eye lids. There are two different strengths so in your case I'd go for the strong one. Its not an ointment though. For ointments you may need LacriLube, which is a gel, or something else.

There are many products and I'd get my eye doctor to recommend something.

But your dry eyes may be a symptom of something else, so get your ophthalmologist appointment as soon as you can.

Do you have a dry mouth too?

5

I'll definitely check those products out. I do have dry mouth but mine is mostly caused by anxiety and/or medication

6

If you aso have a dry mouth, I would definitely tell this to your opth or GP as well.

I may be way off the mark here, but there is an auto-immune condition called Sjogrens (pronounced shogrens, I was recently told) whose symptoms are dry mouth and very dry eyes.

You could see online if anything else there clicks with you.

Just a thought....

7

Upon seeing this , I seem to be experiencing exactly the same eye issues as you. Up until a couple of monthes ago I could use a computer for unlimited amounts of time without any issues and then suddenly I similarly felt my eyes strain slightly one day. From that momement onwards, I havn't been able to look at a computer for more than about 15 minutes without my eyes hurting! I've seen various opticians that suggest my eyes are perfectly healthy/don't need glasses etc

Anyway, I was wondering whether you have had any luck in finding out what your issue was and what you have done to treat it?

8

I have actually! That eye doctor I mentioned in my first post was a complete dud. I ended up going to a new eye doctor months later and they found so many things wrong like an outdated prescription, oil glands in my eyes being clogged up causing severe dryness, etc.

After a few months of the new eye doctors trying different things to no avail (they helped, but didn't eliminate the issues), they decided to send me to a vision therapist. Basically, I have something called Convergence Insufficiency -- where my eyes don't work together to focus anymore, so they constantly strain themselves.

Vision therapy is basically physical therapy for your eyes, so you do a lot of exercises & stretches to strengthen you muscles. I recommend you either talk to your eye doctor about vision therapy, or look into it on your own. I've had to postpone some of my appointments due to college right now, but they've made my pain level decrease significantly.

Good luck!

Emis Moderator comment: I have removed the link(s) directing to site(s) unsuitable for inclusion in the forums. If users want this information please use the Private Message service to request the details.

http://patient.uservoice.com/knowledgebase/articles/398331-private-messages

9

unknownTous unfortunately your reply seems to have been moderatd (perhaps you've contained a link?) so I can't read it. It might be easiest just to PM me

10

OMG, my family members thought I was crazy for claiming that watching TV hurts my eyes.  My problem is very similar to yours but I've been going crazy trying to find a solution.  I've never had any eye issues growing up until recently.  I will provide a time line of what lead up to my eye problems.  I don't need or wear glasses. Sorry for this long post.

Spring 2014 - rubbed my eyes very aggressively due to seasonal allergy.

Summer 2014 - noticed a blister formed under the right corner of my right eye (originally thought it was a pimple)

Early 2015 - went to eye doctor to check out the blister, turns out it was a cyst, caused by an eye lash lodged on the corner after I rubbed my eye back in Spring 2014.  Eye doctor drained the liquid out of the cyst. He then mentioned that I have early sign of narrow angle glaucoma and recommend a preventative laser treatment. 

Summer 2015 - had the laser iridotomy procedure done to prevent narrow angle glaucoma. Procedure consist of using a laser to burn a small hole in the outer ring of your pupil.

Fall 2015 - A stuck pixel appears on my TV. I've been using a Samsung 55" UN55B6000 as my Home Theather PC for 4 years or so, sit 8-10 feet away on the couch.  Never had any issues watching this TV for 3-10 hours a day.

Winter 2015 – Micro Center has the RCA 4K 55" TV for $399.  It was an awesome deal for 4k 55" TV.  Only after 2 days of watching it that I noticed that there was something going on with my eyes and this TV.  My right eye feels like I've been staring directly at a flashlight for a short time.  I decided to return the TV within the week and ruled out that RCA TV isn't what it used to be and that they used some cheap materials.  My Samsung TV still works fine without any issue.

Early 2016 - Bought a 50" Samsung 4K JU7500 (curved screen). After watching this TV for a short time (15-30min), my eye started straining.  I tried to see if my eyes will get used to it, it only brought more pain as I continued to watch it.  I ended up giving the TV to a relative.  Using my old Samsung TV, smart phones or tablet had no affect to my eyes. 

Fall 2016 - A friend of mine bought a Samsung 65KS8000.  I went over to his house and streamed 4K contents for an hour. My eyes didn't strain much. I decided to purchase the same model.  The first hour or so, it didn't bother me, but after watching it for more than 1 hour or two, my eyes felt dry and inflamed, especially the right eye.  Using eye lubricant helps a little, but my eyes wanted to rest more than continue watching TV.  I then searched on google for “eye strain and 4k”, “eye strain with LED TV” and I found that the newer LED TVs uses flickering backlit LED for local dimming and a lot of people were having eye strain from that feature.  I found a forum on google with the title “LED / LCD TV without a flicker (PWM)”. Only Sony (most of their line) and LG’s OLED are the only ones that are flicker free TVs. 

December 2016 - I watched the OLED at BestBuy for 30min without any issue, many people say that OLED are not good for PC monitor as the image will burn in.  I decided to go for the Sony X850D, which is listed as flicker free.  In the beginning, it didn’t bother me much, some eye drops and I was OK. I thought I found a perfect replacement, but after 2 weeks, it started to strain my eyes.  I also went back to the eye doctor recently and he said this issue I am having is the first time he heard of (probably thinks I'm crazy).  He said he used to have eye fatigue with the older CRT monitor and that the new LED screens are supposed to be easier on the eye.

Then I decided to google “eye strain watching TV” and came across this post.  I am so relieved that there may be an answer to my long search. I will look into vision therapy.  Again, I have no problem with my old Samsung TV (made in 2009), smart phones, tablets, laptop, computer monitors.  Only newer TVs are hurting my eyes, 1080p and 4K contents.  Also, my lips are chapped every winter for as long as I remember.

11

I have the same problem, been playing video games for years. Now I can't even look at a bright screen without feeling sharp pain within my eyes.

12

This post has given me tremendous hope. I have the same symptoms. My eyes feel like they are going to pop out of my head every time I look at a screen. I am a software developer which makes this problem really tough. Would you be able to DM that link to the exercises? I have done some cursory research for exercises just now, but could certainly use some more validate resources.

13

I'm glad to hear you have some hope now! And yeah, being in any computer related field makes this problem really concerning. As far as a link to the exercises, I don't really have one as they're all given to me by my therapists and are mostly physical objects that I use. The link that was removed led to the website of the vision rehabilitation center I go to.

HOWEVER, if you go to the wikipedia page for "Vision therapy", you'll find a section about half way down the page called "Eye exercises" and most of the things listed are what I've been doing for months now.

I highly, highly recommend you actually talk to a vision therapist though, because a lot of those exercises have to be done in steps based on your eye strength. I'm a full time college student with a job in sound design so I spend upwards of 10-12 hours a day looking at screens with only minimal pain now (compared to severe pain before therapy).

The one thing I can recommend in the mean time is something called pencil pushups -- you can start doing them anytime and they will help in the long run (especially if you start treatment). As I've said in previous posts, get a second opinion if your current eye doctor says nothing is wrong. If that doesn't work, get a third opinion, and so on. I was literally told there was absolutely nothing wrong with my eyes by an eye doctor even though I said the pain was almost unbearable -- a second opinion gave me my life back.

Best of luck to you, my friend!

14

Wow, that's a crazy set of events you've been through! I've sent you some links that might help you out some (at least I hope they do). Let me know if you have any questions!

15

I could've sworn I just replied to you a few minutes ago, but I can't see my response now...

So if I have and this is a duplicate reply, just disregard it. I'm happy that you have some newfound hope after reading this post! Before finding out what was wrong with my eyes, I was absolutely miserable. A mixture of pain and fear was a daily battle for me. But now that pain has faded thanks to the right treatment and it's great to get to share what I've learned with other people like me.

I'll PM you some links I've been sharing with others on this post and hopefully they will point you in the right direction!

Again, I feel like I've already replied to this once, but I can't see my response anywhere on the page (technology is a pain sometimes!)

Best of luck!

16

I sincerely appreciate the response and pointing me in the right direction. I just reached out to a vision therapist to book a consultation and started doing some of the exercises I found on the web. For so long I haven't been able to figure out how to solve this except for taking NSAIDs which never worked. I am really happy I came across your post. Thanks again for taking the time to respond!

17

I have worked with computers since the "Green Screen Mainframe and PC days."  As the technology has changed the vision problems seem to change with the technology and the sensitivities of the particular users.  The old long persistence phosphors the green screens used were great but made the mouse cursor break up.  So the manufacturers switched to faster phosphors to make the cursor look better which made eyestrain worse.  The LCD displays were originally a big improvement but a few years ago the industry started using the LCD panels for video.  The panels used to switch slowly enough that they smear the frames together.  Smearing the frames causes artifacts when playing video. The vendors also went to pulsing the backlight to control brightness on may devices and this may also be a factor. I have seen some manufacturers offering displays with a non pulsed backlight but I have not tried one of them.

After the switch to the faster displays I noticed that on the newer computer display, tablets, phones,  car dash boards, and even digital watches  that my eyes would be sore where they were not previously.  I was fine with film projectors at the cinema but the digital projectors are a problem.  I found you post because I have been driving a newer car the last few days and so I though I would see if I could find some newer information. 

As a solution professionally I have kept old computer monitors which I attach to the computers that I am working with.  The panels with a response time of about 55 milliseconds or longer seem to be ok and times of 35 milliseconds or shorter seem to cause problems although that may just be a proxy for the technology of the device and there was something else that causes the problem.  The time to switch pixels is the only thing that I have been able to find in the specs that correlates with pain when using the devices.  Most of the e ink devices have worked well for me and I have seen many comments on line from people that say that they get sore eyes reading on their tablets but not their e readers. 

 

18

I have same Probelm  

Please PM Useful links to me....Thanks .

19

Hi there - just came across your great advice.  Please send me the links that you have mentioned.  Thanks. 

20

I have an update to my previous post.  I started using a couple of the new flicker free monitors a few weeks ago.  I have an electric fan to check for flicker.  When I looked at the monitors through the fan there did appear to be no flicker at all but I still had problems with sore eyes.  After having a talk with a monitor repair technician who noted that when they work on the new monitors without the filters installed they get very sore eyes  I looked into filtering for the light from the monitor.  After researching filters on the web I tried some different filters.  I did not see any improvement with the filters that just eliminate blue light but I have dramatic improvement with glasses with the Rose colored FL-41 35% density filters.  I also had some improvement with some yellow looking glasses that a different source claimed are FL-41 but they do not help enough for me to use a monitor all day like the Rose colored FL-41 glasses do.  I tried the 35 millisecond monitor that I mentioned in the earlier post with the FL-41 glasses and I still have the problem with that monitor.  I tried looking at the monitor through the fan and noted that the monitor has a high frequency flicker.   I can't see evidence of flicker the way I used to do it by shaking something then looking through the path of the moving object but I can see evidence of flicker with the fan.

I have tried looking through a few automobile dashboard displays with the fan and some of the newer vehicles have a definite flicker.  One vehicle seems to use the flickering backlight for the computer display and for the area behind the analog dials next to it.