accorn
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 How I solved my issues
Hi Everyone,
I just wanted to share my story in case it helps others.
I have always been a computer geek and have used CRT monitors without issues most of my life.
At some point I joined a .com web development company- working on a computer literally all day, and they had large LCD monitors that everyone raves over.
That's when my trouble really started.
Looking at an LCD never felt natural as it seemed really bright, but I ignored it since it was supposed to be better and I told myself I would get used to it.
I started getting chronic headaches every single day that lasted over 6 months - and was popping pain killers to manage it.
They would be slightly better in the morning, but still there. I was worried at this point I might have something serious going on. At first went to an eye doctor and they gave me prescription tinted reading glasses (amber). When that did not help, my doctor ordered an MRI of my brain, but the scan looked fine.
He suggested I had migraines and gave me migraine medicine (which I never used).
Then I saw a post on the web (and later found this site) that discussed Fluorescents and LCD monitors.
I then ditched the LCD monitor and switched to an old 15" crt that I had.
It helped a little but not perfect.
I then realized I had other Fluorescents in my life.. I had a Fluorescent LCD ebook reader, and had several CLF energy efficient lights in my house.
I purged all Fluorescents from my home (for example replacing the CLF's with old incandescents), and I quite the pain killers completely.
I also quite drinking all caffeine.
I replaced my monitor with a 17" high refresh rate (100 hz in 800x600), flat screen, low dot pitch CRT (Viewsonic E70f), and keep it set fairly dim.
Lastly I purchased a ergonomic "downview" computer desk like this one:
http://www.justmyshopping.com/1/40343/Leda_Large_Downview_Computer_Desk
This desk keeps the monitor at a safe distance even if you sit close to the desk - and it also has a glass screen filter.
I also try to give me eye breaks, by looking around the room every 10 minutes or so.
Even after doing all of the above, my pain didn't go away right away. At first I was frustrated nothing seemed to be working, but then over a few months, my daily pain is gone.
I now just have an occasional headache, but not the chronic daily pain I used to suffer from.
I think primarily it was the Fluorescents at fault - and I think it took my body some time to heal from the damage it caused.
Obviously maybe the other factors might have helped as well.
One interesting thing is I also have a palm pilot pda, which you can use without any backlight. It has a green EL backlight (not Fluorescents) and if I ever turn that on for more then a few minutes, I also start getting a headache.
Anyways, just wanted to share what i've done to solve my problems in case it helps anyone else.
Last edited by accorn, 3/31/2008, 8:49 am
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3/31/2008, 8:32 am
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accorn
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Re: How I solved my issues
Also, I should mention that I have read that chronic use of pain killers can actually cause headaches. So maybe the Fluorescent lighting is what started my problems, but my dependence on pain killers to manage it also contributed to keeping the problem going.
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3/31/2008, 8:53 am
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monitorp
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Re: How I solved my issues
quote:
QUOTING ACCORN:
Looking at an LCD never felt natural as it seemed really bright, but I ignored it since it was supposed to be better and I told myself I would get used to it.
That's basically what I did (and probably myriads other people as well) which is why I created this site, to open peoples' eyes! (pun intended)
BTW, you may wanna post a link to this thread on the more active monitor-pain board http://com3.runboard.com/bcomputermonitorpain.f2
Thanks for sharing!  But for the record, here's my own experience with a 17" top-of-line CRT, copy/pasted from my site's Updates page (2004):
quote:
I acquired a NEC FE750+ 17" CRT, 16" viewable, with flat aperture grill touted as "striped phosphor of CRT delivers superior vertical definition with improved brightness", OptiClear screen surface which "reduces reflection and glare..."
What can I say... I found that indeed the image quality is as SUPER as the irritating Samsung LCD, and even better because text isn't jagged.
But... my symptoms flared up again with a vengeance. Therefore, my previous speculation that expensive name brands might be better, or that phosphor technology might be less irritating than fluorescent technology is now shot. I did read somewhere, though, that CRTs' phosphors get dimmer as the CRT ages, so older CRTs may be better. And another key factor may be the viewing area - i.e. the smaller the screen's dimensions, the less irritating it may be. Meanwhile, though, I've been wasting too much money already on both LCD and CRT both of which have proven unhealthy for me. And the trend seems to be getting worse and worse - ever bigger and brighter. What hope is there for those of us in the minority? sigh...
Also, see other peoples' experiences with 17-inch monitors (i.e. headache etc.), copy/pasted from my SOLUTIONS page:
http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&selm=a9390719.0107292044.4c1d2a1d%40posting.google.com
http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&threadm=20010217191419.20084.00001243%40ng-cv1.aol.com&rnum=1&prev=/groups%3Fhl%3Den%26lr%3D%26ie%3DUTF-8%26scoring%3Dd%26q%3D17%2Blcd%2Bdebilitating%2Bgray%2Bbackground
Last edited by monitorp, 4/4/2008, 5:16 am
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Monitorp, Administrator
Administrate sporadically, due to monitor health issues
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4/4/2008, 5:01 am
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