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Ask HN: Please share tips and strategies for dealing with eye strain

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Re: Ask HN: Please share tips and strategies for dealing with eye strain

#21

Post by freshairr »

I use preservative-free (aka "artificial tears") eyedrops every few hours. They're generally used for lubrication/dry eyes and recommended if you're applying more than 4 times a day. Though not directly related to eye strain, dry eyes can contribute to it.

Additionally, I use a Chrome extension that notifies me every 20min that it's time to take a break. I like that it has minimal features (time adjustment, enable/disable) and is only active when it detects you're actively using the computer. https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/eye-blinker/fbgche...

Re: Ask HN: Please share tips and strategies for dealing with eye strain

#22

Post by euroderf »

petr25102018 wrote: post #9

Larger font + sleep + sauna All of them make a huge difference for me. Sauna is not something that prevents it, but cures it. I can go to sauna after a tiring day and return ready to get going again (regarding eyes).

So not just large muscles relaxing, also little ones ?

Re: Ask HN: Please share tips and strategies for dealing with eye strain

#23

Post by spython »

I feel like one cause of eye strain might be psychological: I find my eyes mostly strained when I'm overly fixating on something, when the project 'must' be completed, when the bug 'must' be found. My eyes in those moments feel like the fingers of an overly anxious climber who uses way too much power in his grip, and as a consequence tires way too fast.

As the strain comes from tension, the way out of the strain is to let go of the tension, and try not to grip with the eyes but to observe calmly, just as you would calmly observe the water flowing in a river.

Observe how tense the muscles around your eyes, around your forehead are. Observe whether your jaw is tense. See if you can allow your facial muscles to relax while working, and if you can allow your gaze to remain soft. Make pauses to relax the grip (the metaphorical grip on the situation you are in, as well as the actual muscle tension) every time you catch yourself tensing up.

Re: Ask HN: Please share tips and strategies for dealing with eye strain

#25

Post by rg111 »

- monitor set to lowest possible brightness

- blue light filter always on, on all devices with screens

- ambient contrast lighting. either buy a $5 table lamp and direct it to the wall at the back of your screen, or go crazy with expensive RGB. both work

- k-n-m rule. People say 20-20-20. but any number works, really. regularly stare away from the screen at a distance at regular interval

- use glasses with blue light filtering using ARC

- good sleep also matters

I do all these myself, and never get eye-strain, not even after intense sessions of 14 hours.

Re: Ask HN: Please share tips and strategies for dealing with eye strain

#26

Post by youniverse »

I used to work in the ophthalmology field, here are your best and easy solutions:

1. Artificial Tear Eyedrops (look for preservative free). Brands like Systane and Refresh are available at every pharmacy and will do the job. My recommendation for drops would be Optase. They recently released a new drop with ingredients that support restoring the quality and layers of your tears. They are thick and last the longest out of all the brands I've tried. They also come in a bottle while most preservative free drops come in daily use vials.

2. Punctal Plugs. These are absorbable little plugs that are inserted by an Opthalmologist into your lower eyelid where your tears drain out. They will slow down the drainage of your natural tears for 2-3 months until they dissolve and you will need it done again. Just make sure that the Dr is putting in dissolvable ones and also key here is to ask what duration plugs he has available, let him give you options usually it will be either 3 month or 6 month, you want the 6 month just so they last you longer, if you don't specify this they might put in 3 month to get you to come in sooner, usually will happen with private practice.

Optional while at Opthalmologist: Tell them about the red eyes, here in the US they will prescribe you some NSAID, basically an aspirin for the eyes to get rid of redness. It's a very cheap and safe drop to use now and then and great to just have at your house if your eyes flare up before you go to a party or some event. Prolensa is a brand name and Ketorolac is a generic (usually cheaper).

These are your easiest medical solutions. Other people in the thread have given good things to try as well so see what works for you. Take breaks as often as you can get yourself to, and maybe set your fonts a bit larger. Remember to blink! Put in drops every hour or two during a computer session.

If nothing advanced treatments like a drop called Restasis that increases your own tear production after 4-6 months of daily use is available. There's a lot of gimmicky procedures out there to heat up your eyelids and stuff, they are mostly nonsense and have ridiculous cost do not try them. You can buy a heat pad and put it over your eyes if you want to try something like that, Optase also sells one I'll link it all below. Not affiliated just a happy customer.

Regular Optase Drops: https://www.amazon.com/Optase-Dry-Eye-Intense-Drops/dp/B088P...

New drop that has ingredients that support restoring the layers of your tears:

https://www.amazon.com/OPTASE-MGD-Advanced-Dry-Drops/dp/B09X...

Mask:

https://www.amazon.com/Scope-Optase-Moist-Hydrobead-Technolo...

Also if anyone wakes up with red or dry eyes maybe a night ointment will help you (you will be blurry for a bit after putting it in):

https://www.amazon.com/OPTASE-Hylo-Night-Dry-Ointment/dp/B09...

Re: Ask HN: Please share tips and strategies for dealing with eye strain

#27

Post by youniverse »

spython wrote: post #23

I feel like one cause of eye strain might be psychological: I find my eyes mostly strained when I'm overly fixating on something, when the project 'must' be completed, when the bug 'must' be found. My eyes in those moments feel like the fingers of an overly anxious climber who uses way too much power in his grip, and as a consequence tires way too fast. As the strain comes from tension, the way out of the strain is t…

This is great advice.

Re: Ask HN: Please share tips and strategies for dealing with eye strain

#28

Post by jcul »

rg111 wrote: post #25

- monitor set to lowest possible brightness - blue light filter always on, on all devices with screens - ambient contrast lighting. either buy a $5 table lamp and direct it to the wall at the back of your screen, or go crazy with expensive RGB. both work - k-n-m rule. People say 20-20-20. but any number works, really. regularly stare away from the screen at a distance at regular interval - use glasses with blue light…

Is there a brand / type of glasses you would recommend? Any generic / cheap blue light filtering would do the trick?

Re: Ask HN: Please share tips and strategies for dealing with eye strain

#29

Post by contingencies »

(0) Drink more water, religiously. (1) Ensure you do not have proxy lights (eg. direct and strong sun ingress, LEDs) in your peripheral vision when working on the computer, reading or watching TV. (2) Try to work from a location where there is a distant view, and regularly look away from the computer for a non-trivial amount of time (like 30-60 seconds), focusing at a distance. (3) Close your eyes and relax occasionally, eg. when thinking or brainstorming. (4) Avoid strong, direct, artificial light. (5) Eat your veg!

NB. 25 years+ heavy screen use, no specific monitor setup, no specific desk setup, still no significant eye strain or vision degradation.

Re: Ask HN: Please share tips and strategies for dealing with eye strain

#30

Post by sredevops »

jcul wrote: post #28
rg111 wrote: post #25

- monitor set to lowest possible brightness - blue light filter always on, on all devices with screens - ambient contrast lighting. either buy a $5 table lamp and direct it to the wall at the back of your screen, or go crazy with expensive RGB. both work - k-n-m rule. People say 20-20-20. but any number works, really. regularly stare away from the screen at a distance at regular interval - use glasses with blue light…

Is there a brand / type of glasses you would recommend? Any generic / cheap blue light filtering would do the trick?

I got the Gunnars and a Blue Light Screen protector. I figured the most expensive is the best.
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