What kind of eye wear can I use to protect my eyes from being irritated from staring at a screen all day?

Gunnar Optiks have gotten positive reviews.

An optometrist explains to Ars Technica why these are not just hype or placebo effect:

The tints are pretty standard in the optical community. The advantages stated are all true... they haven't reinvented the wheel, so to speak," she explains. The amber tint is going to increase contrast when looking at computer or television screens, and the anti-reflective coating will also help. Anderson says that should help you "get back 8-10 percent of the 12 percent of usable light that we lose to glare, when worn in front of a light-emitting source such as a computer or oncoming headlights.

Some testimonials from a thread on Hacker News:

I have a pair of Gunnar Optiks (http://www.gunnars.com/) that I LOVE.

I used to have ridiculous eye strain when staring at the computer screen for hours, but after getting a pair it's all but gone away... after using them for close to a year, I can honestly say they have made a great impact on my ability to do work. I'd highly recommend that anyone who hasn't and has issues with eye strain give them a try.

...

Agree on Gunnars - ever since I started using them (about 2 months ago) my eyes are not nearly as much tired at the end of the day as they used to be. Also, no more headaches.

I was also very skeptical about them, however something had to be done about all the pain I had after using computer for 8-10 hours.

Polarized glasses help (what you probably had with the "non glare" coating). The best idea is to fix the "real" problem.

• If you have a CRT, ditch it an get an LCD.
• Set the resolution and/or DPI to a setting that doesn't cause eye strain.
• Get an LCD that's big enough to fit everything you need on the screen.
• The more indirect and natural the lighting in your workspace the better. Standard light bulbs that aren't frosted flicker at 60Hz; florescent do as well, but much less noticeably. Uniform brightness helps; also when looking at your screen you should not be able to see any light elements directly.

There's nothing really out there beyond anti-glare technology, but a lot of the strain doesn't come from the glare.

Your best bet is to take a 5-10 minute break every hour or two. Get up, talk to team members, get an answer in-person for something you normally would have written an email for, etc. These little breaks help significantly.