A week of news - look away now

Online publishing can be a tricky affair – competing with various other web distractions and anti-virus updates to grab the readers’ attention.

This becomes even more difficult when you're doing a story about how visually demanding computer work leads to eye-related pain and mental stress symptoms. The irony.

Scientists in the US exposed a group to visual stressors such as glare and small fonts, with muscle load and blood flow measured. A significant increase in eye-related pain and tiredness was found, together with blurred vision, itchiness, gritty eyes, photophobia, dry eyes, and tearing eyes.

The good news for the optical profession is that in practice you should spend more time with patients and working with people, if nothing else to set a good example.

As for the Optician news desk, it seems our long-hours hacking away at the keyboard can only mean one thing but something that is in the interests of us all – more visits to the opticians.