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About this tool
Score 16 screen-related eye symptoms by frequency and intensity using the published CVS-Q method, with the score-6 cut-off explained.
The Digital Eye Strain Self-Check scores 16 screen-related eye symptoms using the method published for the Computer Vision Syndrome Questionnaire (CVS-Q). Each symptom is rated for frequency (never, occasionally, often or always) and intensity (moderate or intense); the two are multiplied and recoded so every symptom contributes 0, 1 or 2 points, giving a total out of 32 with a cut-off at 6. It is a screening instrument used in occupational health research — it measures how much symptom burden you carry, not what is causing it.
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Uses the CVS-Q frequency x intensity recode and the 6-point cut-off rather than an invented scale.
Flags double vision, eye pain, coloured halos and worsening sight separately from routine strain.
The same 16 items scored the same way makes before-and-after comparison meaningful.
The published CVS-Q cut-off is 6 or more out of a maximum of 32. A score at or above 6 suggests a symptom burden consistent with computer vision syndrome, but it is a screening threshold from a questionnaire study, not a clinical diagnosis.
The 16 scored here are burning, itching, foreign-body sensation, tearing, excessive blinking, redness, eye pain, heavy eyelids, dryness, blurred vision, double vision, difficulty focusing for near, light sensitivity, coloured halos, a feeling that sight is worsening, and headache. Dryness, blur, heavy lids and headache are the most commonly reported.
There is no evidence that screen use causes lasting damage to the eye. The symptoms come from sustained near focus, a blink rate that drops during concentrated work, and often a small uncorrected prescription — all of which respond to breaks, correction and setup changes rather than leaving permanent harm.
The 20-20-20 rule has the most support: every 20 minutes, look at something about 6 metres away for 20 seconds. Beyond that, match screen brightness to the room, put the top of the screen at or just below eye level at roughly 50 to 100 cm, blink deliberately, and get the prescription checked — an uncorrected small error is a common hidden cause.