Is computer work possible?

[kimby2007]

I am trying to make computer work possible. I know about moisture chambers, drops, even sclerals. Would love to hear from people who can work on the computer? Thanks and best wishes to everyone.

[Terri]

I posted a blog entry with some suggestions you might find helpful.

[kitty]

I work at the computer, probably way too much. I have no choice, I have to eat. I use lots of drops, and take lots of breaks. I had building maintenance come in and change the direction that the vents blow so I am not in a wind tunnel. I use an anti-glare screen on my monitor. I use a personal humidifier when things get really unbearable. I find it is worse at my office than at home, so I try to work from home a few days each week to give my eyes a break.

[stephgurl1986]

I don't know if its possible but I hope so...I will start my internship in Marketing in September and I'm really affraid of it - at least 8 hours/day in an office in front of a computer...I have to manage that somehow otherwise my eyes really ruin my life...I'll have a good university degree, I want to have a career - it MUST be possible!!!

[nahzee]

I think it honestly depends on how well managed your symptoms are.

I use a computer for the majority of my day, but I am Deafblind with some residual sight, so I only use zoomtext (a screen magnification software) when needed, otherwise using a screenreader with braille.

I use drops more frequently when on the computer visually. I keep an alarm that rings every 7 minutes reminding me to blink like mad and look away. I lower my screen brightness while keeping the contrast suitable by reversing the video on my monitor. I keep a humidifier ( a small one) on my desk. I alter between my glasses, or when needed, my swim goggles for protection. I never use a CRT monitor unless I absolutely need to access the computer and it's the only one- these are hell on regular eyes, to say nothing of already irritated ones.

I don't know if it's an option for you, but with voiced screen reading, the strain of computing with dry eye doesn't have to be a reality at all- which can be helpful for all your computer use, or just reading long documents. If you can successfully prove that you really need the software to function in the workplace, VR might purchase it for you- otherwise, push your employer, spend out of pocket, or look at an open-source alternative like NVDA. Zoomtext, which has basic screen-reading capability (reading documents) but the advantage of extremely natural voices, can be downloaded to try for 60 days at http://aisquared.com/index.cfm JAWS, a much more powerful and flexible screenreader, admittedly with a more 'artificial' but still very smooth voice, can be downloaded with a trial version at http://www.freedomscientific.com/fs_downloads/jaws.asp
The trial works for 40 minutes every time you boot your computer.

Good luck finding 'the' solution for you.

[kimby2007]

Computer work

For me it wasn't but for others it is. I guess it depends like u said on the severity of dry eye. Sigh.

[IanJ]

Hi,

I use a computer every day at work......and it does get unbearable for me at least one day a week due to a lacrimal deficiency in my right eye which gives me lots of pain. I manage to cope as I have a daily regime which does help.........:-

Take plenty of breaks. Look away from the screen as often as possible. Sometimes I will print something off rather than read it on-screen.

Reduce the brightness of the screen. Some folks can't believe my monitor is sooooo dark, but it does help. Use an LCD screen rather than a CRT, and make sure the LCD is a nice eco-friendly low power type....ie.e the heat generated by it is as low as possible.

Avoid white or light coloured desktops or workspaces. Luckily for me I use AutoCad on a daily basis and that particular software uses a black workspace. In Windows you can pretty much configure the colours as you like.

I have an air cooler (evaporative type) which blows cold air across the front of the monitor, i.e. it helps to take away the heat away from the air in-front of the monitor.

I have a small air temperature monitor on my desk so I can see the ambient and also the temperature of the cool air out of my cooler.

I also wash my face/eyes a few times throughout the day......I just feel it helps to hydrate my eyes and also washes away the residue of dried eye-drops from on and around the eyelids. Makes a big difference to me when I get real bad/sore.

Ian.