Digital Eye Strain occurs when your eyes are needed to focus for extended periods of time, such as when watching TV, driving, reading, or gazing at your phone or computer screen. Prolonged screen time reduces blink rate, resulting in dry eyes, which can add to eye strain.
Uncorrected refractive defects can also cause symptoms such as eye strain and headache. This can happen if you require glasses but don't know it, don't wear your glasses when you should, or have an out-of-date prescription.
Another possible cause is an imbalance in the eye muscles, which means that both eyes are unable to focus on an item at the same time, resulting in double vision. External factors can also contribute to eye strain symptoms. Reading books or looking at displays in low light, having your screen at an odd angle, or not having your desk and laptop set up correctly can all cause eye strain.
It is also crucial to understand that people of all ages might have a variety of eye strain symptoms. Despite certain frequent symptoms, eye strain does not cause Amblyopia, also known as lazy eye.
Even if you don't spend extended periods of time staring at a screen or haven't experienced any symptoms of eye strain, you should still schedule an annual checkup with an optometrist or ophthalmologist to verify your eyes are healthy.
Make an appointment with Dr Swati Sinkar for digital eye strain therapy in North Adelaide, or at any of the hospitals or clinics where she consults in South Australia.
