NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Children who park themselves in front of a computer screen for long periods of time appear to be at risk for developing eye strain that can lead to focusing problems as well as both near- and far-sightedness, researchers report.

Dr. Pia Hoenig of the University of California, Berkeley School of Optometry, presented her findings here Saturday at the Vision Expo East. She noted that the youngest generation is increasingly turning to computers for both recreation and schoolwork. This, she said, is causing eye stress among many of the 37 million US children with access to computers at school and home.

"Children really do have difficult symptoms with prolonged use of computers, just as we have known was the case among adults for over 10 years," said Hoenig. "I'm not at all saying that we should not have kids in front of the computer. But parents should be aware that prolonged use is a problem for their eyes."

Hoenig and a team of eight optometrists across the US conducted in-depth eye exams of 253 children aged 6 to 10. The researchers assessed the children for visual acuity, eye coordination and focusing abilities, and asked them to describe both their computer use habits and any vision difficulties they might have experienced.

The investigators found that children who used computers for less than three consecutive hours at a sitting appeared to have no related vision problems. However, those who spent greater periods of time in front of a monitor did suffer from visual impairment--with focusing problems found in 12% of these children.

Hoenig also found that 25% to 30% of these children had initial signs of far-sightedness, which she attributed to the skewed visual perspective accompanying multiple-hour computer use. Focusing on distant objects and then a computer screen only 20 to 24 inches away can lead to premature myopia, or nearsightedness, the researchers added.

"The most important thing is that parents need to be aware of the problem," Hoenig told Reuters Health. "After about 40 minutes or one hour they should get children away from the computer and get them to do other activities," she said, noting that recent surveys indicate that the average US child typically spends between 1 and 3 hours at a time on a computer.

Parents should take children for regular, thorough eye exams, and should not wait until a child comes to them with detailed vision complaints, Hoenig said. "Children have a tendency not to verbalize their vision problems like adults," she noted. "Instead of 'blur' they might say 'wiggly' or 'strange."'

Hoenig emphasized that when parents do bring their child in for testing they should ensure that the exam goes beyond simple eye-chart screenings to include an assessment of focusing and eye coordination skills, which are the primary visual aspects affected by computer-related eye fatigue.

Dr. Joel N. Zaba, a spokesperson for the nonprofit eye care organization Better Vision Institute, agreed. "When you're talking about visual conditions that can cause stress and decrease performance, then you're talking beyond just clear sight," he told Reuters Health.

"You're talking about focusing and motility of the eyes going across the page or screen. And 80% of what our children learn is through the visual processing of information. So it is so important that we begin to accurately evaluate our children's visual abilities," Zaba said.

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