Resumen

PEREZ TEJEDA, Alain A; ACUNA PARDO, Arlenis  y  RUA MARTINEZ, Raúl. Impact of the use of computers on health. Rev Cubana Salud Pública [online]. 2008, vol.34, n.4. ISSN 0864-3466.

In today´s society, working with computers has become a necessity; however, very few doctors have studied the harmful effects of this device on health. This paper was aimed at reflecting the relationship between eye damage and the use of computer under inadequate conditions, as well as at describing the ergonomic conditions to be taken into account to prevent the visual damage while working with the computers. A literature review on these topics was made on Internet and in national and international hardcopy literature. Almost all the ocular damage found so far is asthenopic symptoms and signs. These problems remarkably decrease when an individual is working under appropriate ergonomic conditions based on variables as length of exposure, distance and working angle, lighting and reflexes, placing of furniture, presence or absence of toxic substances in the environment, temperature and humidity.

Palabras clave : Ergonomics; ophthalmology; personal computers; asthenopy; visual fatigue; occupational health; working environment; health effects.