Kids, Computers, & Vision

If your eyes are irritated by working long hours at a computer screen, imagine how your child's eyes must feel.

According to the US Census Bureau, 60% of all children have a computer at home. 37 million are connected to the Internet daily. As computer use among children continues to grow, experts believe that they are at risk for a problem that has plagued adults for years—Computer Vision Syndrome (CVS).

Computer Vision Syndrome
Computer Vision Syndrome is caused by the constant effort it takes for our eyes to focus on a computer screen. Symptoms include tired and sore eyes, headaches, blurred vision and fatigue. Although, these difficulties are noticed after prolonged reading of text in books, the symptoms appear to occur earlier and be more pronounced after extensive work on the computer.

Unlike a book or newspaper, the images on a computer screen are made up of tiny, glowing dots called pixels. As those pixels appear without clearly defined edges or background contrast, our eyes can’t lock the images into focus. Our focus continually drifts to our eyes’ natural focal resting point and then strain to regain focus on the screen. This constant refocusing can occur hundreds of times an hour overworking your child’s eye muscles and causing eyestrain.

Relief from computer eyestrain
Nearly 75% of computer users benefit from computer-specific eyeglasses. When your eye doctor uses the PRIO KIDS tester, he/she can accurately prescribe glasses that give your child relief from computer eyestrain, making him/her more comfortable and productive. (Some experts believe it may prevent premature nearsightedness.)

"More and more of the children I see use a computer at home and in school. Some experience computer eyestrain. I have found with my patients that the PRIO prescription and computer eyeglasses can make a very real difference." Dr. Pia Hoenig, OD, MA Chief Binocular Vision Clinic University of California, Berkeley, CA

Because viewing text on a computer is a more complex visual task than viewing a printed page, traditional diagnostic methods cannot accurately assess your child’s computer vision needs. Your eye doctor uses the finest technology available—the PRIO KIDS tester—to see exactly how your child’s eyes react to text on a computer screen.

When your child focuses on the simulated computer screen of the PRIO KIDS tester, the eyes’ focusing drift out to its natural focal resting point—just like when you work at your own computer. This allows your eye doctor to derive a more accurate prescription tailored to meet the precise computer vision needs of your child.

The unique PRIO KIDS prescription lets your child’s eyes relax while keeping the computer screen crystal clear. By eliminating the need to constantly refocus, your child’s eyes remain comfortably at rest — even after hours at the computer.