Some controversies relating to the causes and preventive management of Computer Vision Syndrome

The use of computers is growing exponentially. With online training, trading and office work, the use of Personal Computers (PCs) by the users for a prolonged period is on the rise. As interaction with the Visual Display Terminal (VDT) is a visually demanding and tiresome task, the users at greatest risk for Computer Vision Syndrome (CVS) are those who use computers intensively. A lot of literature exists regarding the causes of CVS, The present paper discusses the various theories for the causes of CVS though none has been accepted as the single cause nor has there been a consensus about the role of relative amounts of each of the multiple factors causing CVS. The paper also highlights some of the controversies associated with the preventive management of CVS. There are as many confusing alternatives as there are solutions. Many standards for the viewing angle, distance, etc., have been formulated but with poor consensus amongst experts regarding their effectivity. Moreover, most of these standards were formulated with samples from developed countries, with different anthropometric dimensions, work culture and degrees of adaptability than those of the Industrially Developing Countries (IDCs). The lack of guidelines for technology transfers to IDCs to solve the problems relating to CVS is also highlighted.