長期看電腦易患上電腦視覺綜合症

Joanne Reitano told me, "I developed burning in my eyes that made it very difficult to work."

喬安·雷塔諾告訴我，"我的眼睛有灼燒感，很難工作。"

After resting her eyes for a while, the discomfort abates, but it quickly returns when she goes back to the computer. "If I was playing computer games, I'd turn off the computer, but I need it to work".

讓眼睛休息一會兒，這種不適感會有所減輕，但是她再回到電腦前時，很快就會感到不適。"如果我在玩電腦遊戲，那麼我會關掉電腦，但是我需要用電腦工作"。

Reitano has a condition called computer vision syndrome. It can affect anyone who spends three or more hours a day in front of computer monitors, and the population at risk is potentially huge.

雷塔諾換上了電腦視覺綜合症。它可以影響到任何面對電腦顯示器三個小時或更多時間的人，處於這種風險中的人羣規模十分龐大。

Worldwide, up to 70 million workers are at risk for computer vision syndrome, and those numbers are only likely to grow.

在全世界，極易患上電腦視覺綜合症的工作者高達7000萬，並且這些數字只會日益增加。

In a report about the condition written by eye care specialists in Nigeria and Botswana, the authors detail a list of professionals at risk — accountants, architects, bankers, engineers, flight controllers, graphic artists, journalists, academicians, secretaries and students — all of whom "cannot work without the help of computer."

尼日利亞和博茨瓦納的眼部護理專家撰寫了一篇關於該病症的報告，報告的作者詳細列出了可能患上這種病的職業羣體——會計師、建築師、銀行家、工程師、空管員、平面設計師、記者、學者、文祕和學生——這些人"離開電腦就不能工作"。

And that's not counting the millions of children and adolescents who spend many hours a day playing computer games.

這還沒算上每天花很多小時玩電腦遊戲的成百上千萬兒童和青少年。

Studies have indicated 70 percent to 90 percent of people who use computers extensively, whether for work or play, have one or more symptoms of computer vision syndrome.

研究顯示，在工作或娛樂中經常使用電腦的人中，70%至90%患有一種或多種電腦視覺綜合症。

The effects of prolonged computer use are not just vision-related. complaints include neurological symptoms like chronic headaches and musculoskeletal problems like neck and back pain.

長期使用電腦不僅會對視覺方面造成影響，還有神經性症狀，比如慢性頭痛，以及頸部、背部肌肉疼痛等肌肉骨骼問題。

Still, the most common computer-related complaint involves the eyes, which can develop blurred or double vision as well as burning, itching, dryness and redness, all of which can interfere with work performance.

不過，與電腦有關的最常見的症狀是眼部不適，包括視線模糊、重影以及灼燒感、瘙癢、乾澀、發紅，所有這些都會影響工作表現。

Another unconscious effect is a greatly reduced frequency of blinking, which can result in dry, irritated eyes.

另一個不易察覺的影響是眨眼頻率大大降低，導致眼睛乾澀、疼痛。

While working on a computer, the blink rate is often reduced from 17 or more blinks a minute to only about 12 to 15 blinks.

用電腦工作時，眨眼頻率從每分鐘17次降到每分鐘12至15次。

While prevention is most important, if you already have symptoms of computer vision syndrome, there are ways to reduce or eliminate them.

預防是最重要的，如果你已經出現電腦視覺綜合症的症狀，這裏有一些方法緩解或消除它們。

Ophthalmologists suggest adhering to the "20-20-20" rule: Every 20 minutes, take a 20-second break and look at something 20 feet away.

眼科醫生遵循"20-20-20"法則，即每20分鐘，休息20秒，看20英尺以外的地方。

Consciously blink as often as possible to keep eye surfaces well lubricated. To further counter dryness, redness and painful irritation, use lubricating eye drops several times a day.

儘可能有意識地眨眼，保持眼睛表面順滑。進一步應對乾澀、發紅以及讓人難受的過敏症狀，可以一天點幾次潤滑滴眼液。

You can also reduce the risk of dry eyes by keeping air from blowing in your face and by using a humidifier to add moisture to the air in the room.

此外，爲了減少眼睛乾澀的風險，你可以避免讓風吹到臉上，使用加溼器增加房間的空氣溼度。