Going Blind?!

[shelly]

So I have been using autocad 40 hours per week for about 2.5 years now. I had 20/20 vision when I started, 1 year later I couldnt drive at night without glasses, and now I feel like the entire screen is blurry.
Does anyone have any suggestions for improving eyesight while using autocad. Even when I wear my glasses at my computer everything is still really blurry. I am near sited now so I should be able to see my computer just fine.

[csiarch]

Welcome to the wonderful world of Cadd. I suffer the same blurred or double vision but I've been doing cadd since 1990 and 20 plus years of pencil/paper board work before that.

The reason you get blurred vision and tired eyes is largely due to the eyes trying to keep up with CRT scan line traces. Your eyes can't keep up but they try anyway.

Possible helps (there is no cure except to choose another career path not involving long hours at a computer work station) include:

LCD monitor, the larger the better. 17 inch LCDs have the approximate viewing area of a 19 inch CRT monitor. CRT monitors are VERY cheap these days but LCD monitor are easier on the eyes. Contact an optometrist; maybe they can be convinced to prescribe an LCD monitor.

"CADD glasses". If you haven't done so, aska qualified optometrist to fit you with glasses that tend to offset astigmatisim and glare from monitors.

Change your background display color in Autocad to color 128. Don't remember where I read it but someone did a study on eye fatigue and color 128 was their recommendation as the one that causes the least eye strain.

Check your work station; monitor screens should be in level line with your face. Lower your chair or put bricks under the table legs.

Work in a reasonably illuminated room so there is less contrast between your monitor brightness and ambient backgound brightness.

Check monitor contrast and brightness controls. Don't overdo either one.

Might also want to experiment with monitor refresh rates to see if they can be changed without display degradation while causing less eye fatigue.

Hope these suggestions help. Good Luck!

[mom of 3]

I know.......a little late........
I don't think it's necessarily a CAD issue - I think it's computers in general. Before I started in drafting, I'd worked at some health insurance companies, & within 2 yrs, my eyes had gotten worse than they had the 10 yrs prior to that! I do agree that a good monitor does make a difference, & the change in colors. It took me a while to find what worked best for me once I did start drafting, as at the insurance places, I didn't have a choice. I got what they gave me, we couldn't change squat!
I'd not heard of the CADD eyewear, though.........may have to see about that one.

[Rua]

Hi Guys - I dot think its the cad nore the time spent on it, In South Africa us contract guys work in excess of 60 hrs a week, I think that if you have an inherint eye problem undrlying then it will make it worse from the strain.

I have been working on cad for over 14 yrs and still have 20/20 vision, tested 6 months ago. I find that you must learn to take yr concentration off the screen for few minutes every half hour to relax them, then you dont get those headaches either.

On the note of screen - dont skimp on quality rather than quantity.

Again maybe Im just lucky.

Ciao Mike

[csiarch]

Rua: If you're approaching age 40, you're approaching the time in when your eyeballs become less flexible. For most of us, this is a about the time that we notice we can't look up from the screen and focus on something in the room as easily.

If you don't have that problem, lucky you.