Discussing Eye Strain With Top Calgary Optometrists: What You Need to Know

Signs and Symptoms

Sometimes your eyes just feel off, you know? Like they're tired and need a break. Here are some signs that might mean you're dealing with eye strain:

• Ocular discomfort: Imagine you've been reading a book for a long time, and suddenly your eyes start to feel scratchy, like they need a rest. That's what eye discomfort feels like. That's a common sign of eye strain. When you’re concentrating hard and staring at a book or the computer screen we just don’t blink as often as we should be! It's like when you've been playing video games for hours, and your hands start to feel tired.
• Blurry vision: Blurry vision is a really straightforward problem that can cause eye strain, but blurry vision can also happen because of eye strain! Ever try to read something, but the words look all fuzzy? Does that happen all the time, or only sometimes? If you have blurry vision that comes and goes, gets better and worse, that kind of blurry vision is a bit different than the blurry vision people get when they need glasses.
• Headaches: Have you ever had a headache after staring at a screen for too long? That's another sign of eye strain. Imagine a bodybuilder striking a pose and showing off their best. It takes a lot of strength to keep all those muscles in line and working at their fullest. Just like those athletes, your eye muscles have to tense and hold steady when we’re reading and working up close. Any muscle can tire out if we make them work for eight hours straight!
• Difficulty focusing: Sometimes it feels like you just can't keep your eyes on one thing. You’re just trying to read a passage and you just can’t help but skip back, look forward, jump a line or two either way. That's a sign of eye strain too. It's like when you try to focus on something, but your mind keeps wandering no matter how hard you’re trying.
• Eye fatigue: Do your eyes feel tired, even if you haven't done much? It’s one thing if you get a little tired after running an entire marathon, it’s another if you’re tired just opening a fresh book! If the fatigue is bad enough, it may not stay in just the eyes and instead you can just feel sleepy and nod off entirely! This could all be eye strain.
• Increased sensitivity to light: Does bright light bother your eyes more than usual? Does it feel like that bright flash you get when you come out of a dark room or movie theatre and step outside into the sunlight? Problem is, you’re not hopping inside and outside but you’re just sitting at a desk and all the lights and lamps are feeling so much worse somehow.

Potential Differential Diagnoses

Now, let's talk about why your eyes might be feeling this way. There are a few different reasons:

• Uncorrected Refractive Error: This is just a fancy way of saying that your eyes might need glasses. If you can't see things clearly, like words on a page or signs far away, it could be because of a refractive error. You probably know what refractive error is because you know the common kinds of refractive error: nearsightedness (Myopia,) farsightedness (Hyperopia,) and astigmatism. Calgary Eye Doctors will often start by measuring visual acuity with an eye exam chart. The next step is to use a phoropter and determine what your prescription is. This process helps to identify which category your eyes fit in.
• Incorrectly Compensated Refractive Error: Sometimes, even if you have prescription glasses, they might not be the right prescription glasses for you. Glasses you’ve outgrown and aren’t strong enough just lead you back down the road of squinting and straining causing all kinds of eye strain. But, prescription glasses that are too strong can overwork the eyes and lead down the same path! That's why it's important to get your eyes checked regularly by the best Calgary Optometrists in town!
• Binocular Vision Disorders: Frequent readers might remember this one! Binocular Vision Disorders talk about when your eyes don't work together as well as they should. It can make it hard to focus on things up close or far away. Your two eyes have to coordinate with each other, from the way they move to the way they send information to your brain which has to make sense of it all! If one eye is working much harder than the other, it leads to strange forms of eye strain that can even start making you bump and trip into things! An experienced Eye Doctor can conduct a few basic tests to identify if you have binocular vision issues during your comprehensive eye exam. You may need extra testing if it is more serious, but nothing a quick search for a top Calgary Eye Doctor couldn’t solve.
• Oculomotor Dysfunction: This is when the muscles in your eyes don't move like they're supposed to. This isn’t an “eye turn” where one or both eyes are stuck in one direction. Imagine trying to just move your eyes along the page but instead of going word by word, you’re skipping ahead, going backwards or jumping down entire lines! This is an example of an oculomotor dysfunction and trying to just correct things nonstop will wear a person out!
• Ocular Health Reasons: Sometimes, eye strain can be caused by other eye problems, like dry eyes or allergies. These can make your eyes feel uncomfortable and tired outright or because of all the irritation that you put up with. Imagine your eyes are like a plant that needs water to stay healthy. If they don't have enough moisture, they can start to feel dry and irritated, just like when you forget to water a plant. Dry eyes can have a lot of different symptoms including red eyes, itchy eyes, blurry vision, and even eye pain.

Evaluation, Diagnosis and Treatment

So, how do we figure out what's causing your eye strain? Well, it starts with a trip to your friendly neighborhood optometrist.

The Comprehensive Eye Examination

It’s more than “1 or 2.” The best Optometrists in Calgary check you from top to bottom and front to back! Vision needs the work of many parts of the body to let you see and navigate your world each day. Checking out your eye health is even more important if your vision feels great already! We want you to see today, but we want you to see tomorrow as well! Here’s what you can expect when you sign up for a comprehensive eye exam:

• Explanation of the Diagnosis: Your experienced Calgary Eye Doctor will explain what's causing your eye strain and how you can manage it. This is the best time to ask any questions to help understand the situation at hand, but we won’t say no to questions about other eye related questions!
• Importance of Compliance with Treatment: Following your Optometrist's advice and sticking to your treatment plan is key to feeling better. We’ll lay out all the things you have to do to handle eye strain and beyond. And we work with patients to help see them through these goals in treatment.
• Prevention Strategies: Once you know what triggers your eye strain, you can take steps to avoid it in the future. It's like wearing a helmet when you ride your bike – it keeps you safe from accidents.
• Follow-up Schedule for Monitoring Progress: Your Calgary Optometrist will let you know when you need to come back for check-ups. It's like going to the doctor for a check-up to make sure you're staying healthy.

For any further questions regarding comprehensive exams please give our Eye Clinic in Southcentre Mall a call to talk to a qualified Calgary Eye Doctor.

Once we know what's causing your eye strain, it's time to do something about it! Here are some things that might help:

• Corrective Lenses: If you need prescription glasses, wearing them can make a big difference. It's like putting on sunscreen before you go outside – it protects your eyes from getting too tired.
• Vision Therapy: This is like physical therapy for your eyes. It can help the eye muscles and improve how well they work together. It's like practising your basketball skills to get better at shooting hoops. Make sure to do some research first to find a top Optometrist in Calgary for this if you need it.
• Lubricating Eye Drops for Dry Eye: If dry eyes are causing your strain, using eye drops can help moisten them and make them feel better. It's like putting lotion on dry skin – it adds moisture and soothes irritation. This can help to provide relief for symptoms like red eye, itchy eye, eye pain, and blurry vision.
• Medications (if applicable): In some cases, you might need medication to help with your eye strain. Sometimes it’s the medications you’re taking that can exaggerate dry eye causing the eye strain.
• Lifestyle Modifications: Simple changes like taking breaks during screen time, staying hydrated, and eating healthy foods – like Omega 3s, can all help keep your eyes feeling fresh. Adjusting lighting, taking more breaks when focusing and working can make a big difference as well. It’s like rearranging your room to make everything more comfy.

Wrapping up

Eye strain might seem like a small problem, but it can really affect your daily life if you don't take care of it. We don’t want anyone suffering from aches or pains throughout the day. By understanding the signs, figuring out what might be causing it, and following your Calgary Optometrist's advice, you can keep your eyes feeling fresh and comfortable. So remember, if you ever notice any of these symptoms, don't hesitate to reach out to our Eye Clinic in Southcentre Mall. Our Optometrists are experienced in dealing with eye strain and can get you for a walk-in eye exam today.