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Protecting eyes from computer screen
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Can you tell me two health and two safety risks that need to be considered when using computers, or just give examples because i don't understand the difference?
Computer and Health
Health & safety risks include anything that can affect your well-being, physical fitness or endanger your life. Here are some ideas of what type of risks these include with regard to computer equipment:
Health
- Using laser printers can affect your health if they are not properly positioned in a ventilated space. This is because fumes are given off when the printer is going through the process of producing a printed page.
- Using computer equipment can affect your health if it is not correctly and ergonomically set-up. By this we mean - correct desk, chair and keyboard heights; proper positioning of monitor and lighting around it; use of wrist rests for mouse and keyboards. The health effects of poorly set up working environments can include eye strain; repetitive strain injury on joints and muscles; back aches.
Safety
- Correct installation of devices and enclosure of wires, leads and other electrical points is essential to avoid accidents. Appointment of qualified electricians is necessary in an office environment to safely install trunking and power supply for computer equipment.
- Proper earthing of devices such as monitor anti-glare/static screens to avoid shock or blowing fuses.
- Regular maintenance and upkeep of computer equipment is needed to avoid safety issues. For example, faulty monitors or internal cooling fans that may lead to overheating of equipment.
It is the responsibility of an employer to ensure that the Health & Safety at Work Act is complied with and that these risks are assessed and properly addressed. It is the responsibility of the employee to correctly adhere to regulations and guidance and to report faults and risks in order to avoid endangering their own (and other colleagues') health and safety.
Bookmark Can you tell me two health and two safety risks that need to be considered when using computers, or just give examples because i don't understand the difference?
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Your health - Headaches and eye strain
What are headaches and eyestrain?
Headaches can be caused by many different factors and are one of the most common reasons people visit their GP. Most headaches are not serious and usually disappear on their own. They can be relieved by mild painkillers, or a positive change in lifestyle.
Eyestrain is also a common complaint among people doing 'close' work e.g. those who work using computer monitors. Eyestrain can be a trigger for headaches, but can usually be avoided by following simple guidelines.
What are the signs of headache or eyestrain?
A headache can range from a mild, throbbing feeling to a sharp, stabbing pain. Headaches can affect your whole head or just a part of it. The pain may move around, affect your vision or even cause nausea and vomiting. The two most common types of headache are tension headaches and migraine.
Tension headaches do not usually last for a long time. Common symptoms of a tension headache include
Eye discomfort in the office
What is the significance of "good" lighting? Office work is visually demanding and has always required good lighting for maximum comfort and productivity. "Good" lighting means providing enough illumination so that people can see printed, handwritten or displayed documents clearly but are not blinded by excessively high light levels (a cause of glare). The introduction of computers in the 1970's increased the visual demands of office work and made lighting design even more challenging. While typewriters were being exchanged for computers, the need for redesigning or rearranging office lighting was commonly overlooked.
What are signs of poor lighting? The most common complaints resulting from poor lighting are: eyestrain, eye irritation, blurred vision, dry burning eyes, and headaches. Poor lighting affects not only the ocular system but can also contribute to stiff necks and aches in shoulder area. These problems can occur when people adopt poor or awkward postures when trying to read something under poor lighting conditions.
Vision / eye strain
Visual problems, such as eyestrain and irritation, are among
the most frequently reported complaints by computer operators. These
visual symptoms can result from improper lighting, glare from the
screen, poor positioning of the screen itself, or copy material that is
difficult to read. These problems usually can be corrected by adjusting
the physical and environmental setting where the computer users work.
For example, work stations and lighting can and should be arranged to
avoid direct and reflected glare anywhere in the field of sight, from
the display screen, or surrounding surfaces.
You also can reduce eyestrain by taking vision breaks, which
may include exercises to relax eye muscles after each hour or so of
operating a computer. Changing focus is another way to give eye muscles
a chance to relax. You only need to glance across the room, or out the
window, from time to time and look at an object at least 20 feet away.
Other eye exercises may include rolling or blinking the eyes, or
closing them tightly for a few seconds.
Computer eye strain
Very few jobs today do not require long periods of time in front of a computer. The great irony of course is that the human body is not designed to accommodate all the hours spent in front of a computer, and so we often end up with backaches, headaches, sore eyes and wrists, and a few extra kilograms. It is therefore important to manage your health through workstation planning and good work habits.
Your eyes and the computer.
Staring at a screen for long hours places immense stress on your eyes because they were not designed to work at such a close range for long periods of time. Furthermore, the constant shift in focus (between the screen, documents and the keyboard) only makes matters worse and eventually you end up with a condition called eye strain.
Eye strain is an umbrella term for a wide range of symptoms including:
Headaches, Tired, sore eyes, Eye irritation, Blurred vision
What things should you do if using a computer for a long time for health reasons?
Computer work can be quite strenuous for the body, especially for the eyes, the back, the wrist and the hand.
The first thing to do is to have a good position in a nice environment: comfortable straight chair, monitor and keyboard at the right height and distance, quite room, well lit.
There are several ways to minimise eye strain. Modern flat screens are better than standard monitors. Also, special screen filters that fit in front of a monitor are good for the eyes.
