I have recently been using a Dell M1530 laptop w/ LED screen and after maybe 5-10 minutes I get nausea and a severe headache that lasts for hours (5 or 6 hours). If I continue to work the laptop the symptoms get more severe.
Has anyone experienced this while using a laptop? Anyone know of a fix? I've tried adjusting the brightness, resolution and still receive the same symptoms.
A fix? Lol... have you tried upgrading to InnerEarSystem 2.0?
Seriously, go ask a doctor.
Answered by womp on July 25, 2009.
I have a laptop (Lenovo Thinkpad T60p) and have never experienced those symptoms or anything else. However, I would recommend consulting your doctor. It could be as simple as you needing glasses (or, if you wear glasses, they make glasses with a coating that makes it easier on the eyes to look at things like computer screens) or it could be something far, far more severe.
Answered by Thomas Owens on July 25, 2009.
Since you didn't state this issue was bugging you before, I would have to guess the setup on this laptop is the issue.
Ensure the refresh rate is at least 85Hz. Desktop > Right-Click > Properties > Settings > (on some systems the setting is here... if not dig deeper into) > Advanced > Monitor > Change the setting to the highest you can.
Many people (myself included) have found that the "ClearType" settings in Windows cause eyestrain and headaches. This is because of how ClearType works by trying to enhance screen smoothness by rendering text at a sub-pixel level. However if your screen isn't at a high resolution and the "smoothing" isn't as successful as it should be you end up with 2 issues. The first is what is referred to as "rainbow text" where all your text looks 'oily' as if outlined in a bunch of colors, the second is a general feeling of "blurry text"... but both cause your eyes/brain to squint and try to re-form the correct, crisp image in your brain... thus you start getting headaches.
In addition to seeing your doctor (as others have suggested) I would try turning ClearType off (or as many call it: "FuzzyType") and see if that improves things.
Answered by scunliffe on July 26, 2009.
Seriously, go to an ophthalmologist! I had the same problem, now I use working glasses!
Answered by backslash17 on July 25, 2009. Last Edited on July 28, 2009.
Something similar happens to me on CRT screens running at 60 hz. It's not nausea, but I get an instant very strong headache the moment I look at one. I've never had that with LCD's, though.
Answered by Daniel Magliola on July 25, 2009.
CRTs at 60Hz have a noticeable flicker. You need to run at a minimum of 85Hz if you're staring at it for any length of time. - ChrisF on July 26, 2009
One thing that may help is to bring the display of the laptop up as far as possible. Usually, when I'm looking at a laptop, my head is bent downward, and my eyes are looking down; that may have something to do with the dizziness I sometimes feel (possibly blood pressure issues with holding my head in certain positions -- I get a similar feeling if I sleep on my back).
Of course, if you do manage to get the laptop up far enough it's usually really uncomfortable to type on...
Answered by leander on July 26, 2009.
It's low tech, but sometimes fresh air solves it.
Answered by Artur Carvalho on July 26, 2009. Last Edited on February 20, 2010.
Are you running at native resolution? LCDs as rule only look good at native resolution, which often leaves the default text very small, so you have to bump up the font size. Outside of native resolution, it is blurry. With default font size, you are going be suffering from reading tiny text. Both will make your brain work overtime to filter out the noise from the signal.
Answered by MatthewMartin on July 25, 2009.
There is an warning when you play video games where they say to see a doctor when you have some symptons. Check Photosensitive seizure warning. Reading about Photosensitive seizure on Wikipedia says that it can be caused by visual stimulus.
Light the room and go see a doctor.
Answered by setatakahashi on July 25, 2009.
You don't mention if you wear corrective lenses or not, if you've been in an auto accident, or any one of several factors that can affect this.
You are probably suffering from one of the following:
Other factors that can contribute to this:
Answered by Avery Payne on July 25, 2009.
Have you tried debugging the situation? Does this happen with a Desktop as opposed to a laptop? How about with a different model Laptop?
Answered by akf on July 26, 2009.
Do you have these problems with desktop LCD monitors? if not, then I'd suggest there is something wrong with your laptop's monitor (something like a high-frequency flicker).
If you do have the same problem with desktop LCDs, I'd suggest you need to work this out with a doctor.
Answered by Michael Kohne on July 26, 2009.
I have a pair of glasses dedicated to computer viewing and reading. Bifocals will cause you to look up, which is hard on your neck.
I have trouble with bright backgrounds and with slow refresh. If you can get the refresh rate up over 60fps, you might do better. I get headaches with white backgrounds so I go to light-text on dark backgrounds and that keeps me from having headaches.
You may need long-persistence display. The trend fast been to phosphors that are quick for gaming. These flicker to my eyes.
Good luck.
Answered by Nosredna on July 25, 2009.
You could try hooking up a monitor the laptop (I assume this laptop was a replacement for a desktop and that you didn't have problems until getting the laptop). Then just use the monitor instead of the laptop monitor. This approach obviously limits your travel with the laptop :/
Answered by SwDevMan81 on July 25, 2009.
Content from Superuser of Stack Exchange. Original article at Superuser.
I voted this to superuser, but I was outnumbered. - Nosredna on July 25, 2009
Actually, now that I think about it, it might be good for super user...I'll flag it for a moderator. - Thomas Owens on July 25, 2009
This is a horrible place to seek medical advice. General questions about health and computers are okay, but specific questions like this could run afoul of law in some states. - Argalatyr on July 25, 2009