How many times do you click your mouse in a day...is your finger going to fall off?

Maybe you need a better designed mouse?

I go through 6 to 7 mouses a year

I click my mouse 347 times every tuesday. lol

Hey Sean, what a thought provoking question. Considering I have been on the computer since 7AM and it's now past midnight. Someone should come up with a mouse click counter. LOL

Now that would have been one of the more interesting calls your 911 operator got today!

Seriously I've suffered the effects of carpal tunnel many times since I started mousing 25 years ago. I've seen many associates have to go through surgery for it, I've coped by properly positioning my rat. I know some folks who use a trackball instead, but I personally can't stand them - I also loathe the so-called "ergonomic" keyboards.

Maybe what you need Sean is voice recognition -of course that puts more wear and tear on your vocal chords!



Bill

well.... I have lost my mind how many times I click my mouse in a day. For sure my index finger fell off several times since 10 years ago. ooohhhh! My wife is really pissed off, you know why. Use your imagination.

atleast a thousand times

I use my mouse so often that when I have to use someone else's it feels totally 'wrong' in my hand. I don't have a problem with my index finger but I get constant pins and needles in the little finger on my other hand where I lean against it on the edge of the desk when typing with the poor overworked index finger already mentioned.

I am trying to stop the 'leaning on the edge of the desk' thing but it is a hard habit to break. It would be a lot easier to do if I was capable of typing with ten fingers at once instead of just the one

I don't type much. I do far more clicking and copy/paste. Ten years self employed IM'er and I still type with one finger.

I don't see a problem with using the mouse all day. I like it.

There is actually a program that tells you how many times you click. It is pretty interesting to run it for a few days. It is way more than one would think

There's software that will "click" for you when you stop the mouse moving, so you don't have to click at all. I know, it sounds like it would drive you nuts, and it's not a good combo with drawing or graphics production software, but it can save a lot of wear and tear on your body. I use RSIGuard to help keep my RSI under control (wrists, fingers, shoulders and one elbow), and that's one of the things it does.

You folks who have pain in various places - TAKE IT SERIOUSLY and DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT. You are already injured, and continuing with the same activities in teh same way will only cause further injury. This can seriously cripple you and destroy your ability to run your business.

I used to develop custom software, and made a nice living doing so. No longer, and probably never again. I can spend about 5 hours a day on the computer, in short chunks, without ^%^*&*-ing my body... and there are many other things I can no longer do for long enough to be really useful. Five minutes swinging a hammer doesn't get you very far in a reno project

Kevin

Hey Sean, I used to have cramping of my index finger all the time, especially since I do graphics a lot, and I would be pressing/holding for long periods.

Usually it went away with a break, but recently I started to get a hand cramp that was a real bad ache (mixed with the feeling of being "sprained" sometimes) that affected my ability to open a pickle jar. lol

I did some research and found a lot of people had/have those symptoms and after they bought a mouse that fits their hand better, it stops.

It worked for me as well. I bought a mouse that fits my hand/palm well and suits what I do with it. It may sound funny, but it really makes a difference.

Search for an ergonomic mouse and really test it. Be prepared to return it and try another one even. Using a mouse as much as we do can take a toll after a while, especially as we get older.



Cheers
Jay

I was right on the brink. I'd just told myself, "one more click and my finger will fall off." Then I saw your thread... and...


AHHHHHH!!!!!

I am active in Traffic Exchanges so, thats a lot of clicking :-)

I've never had carpal-tunnel problems due to typing, but I HAVE had problems with my two mouse-click fingers after days of Photoshop-intensive work.

Solution: When I feel click-fatigue coming on, I assign keyboard keys to the left and right mouse buttons. I'm left-handed, so with my keyboard I assign the right-ALT button as the left mouse button, and the right-CTRL key as right mouse button.

That way, I'm moving the mouse with one hand, and making mouse clicks with the other hand. It's a huge help.

I use the free program AutoHotkey, which is very powerful but confusing to configure, as opposed to some paid options.

If you're worried about mouse-finger fatigue, I highly recommend trying it.

MANY! I have actually started to feel a little annoying pain in my arm, probably the beginning of carpal tunnel. It isn't too bad now--will just see if it progresses.....

My mum's finger actually did fall off once - sort of. She was in the shower one day and it just popped off, under the skin. That is, the skin on her hand was unbroken, but it was all that seemed to be holding her finger on and her finger was just dangling off her hand. Yuk. I can't remember what it was all about, but she had to wear a splint for weeks and it was fine after that.

I've never had carpal tunnel problems due to typing either, but did have them after pregnancy, which is apparently quite common. Not only couldn't I open a jar, but I could barely pick one up. It's definitely something you want to protect against where theres a means of doing so.