Asthenopia or visual fatigue
If you have ever felt a headache, burning eyes and at the same time you find yourself straining the eyes to see well up close; you may have experienced an episode of asthenopia or, as it is commonly said, visual fatigue.
This condition is more common than you think and has originates from the ciliary muscle of the eye.
The main cause of eyestrain is overexertion that some people do to see well up close, and that ends up triggering significant fatigue in the ciliary muscle, causing blurred vision and other bothersome symptoms.
Asthenopia or visual fatigue
If you have ever felt a headache, burning eyes and at the same time you find yourself straining the eyes to see well up close; you may have experienced an episode of asthenopia or, as it is commonly said, visual fatigue.
This condition is more common than you think and has originates from the ciliary muscle of the eye.
The main cause of eyestrain is overexertion that some people do to see well up close, and that ends up triggering significant fatigue in the ciliary muscle, causing blurred vision and other bothersome symptoms.
What is asthenopia or visual fatigue?
Asthenopia, colloquially known as visual fatigue, is a reaction of the eye to overexertion of the ciliary muscle for a prolonged period of time.
In most cases, asthenopia occurs in the people who make an excessive effort to see correctly up close, since such ocular effort generates muscular fatigue and a series of very unpleasant symptoms.
El ciliary muscle is the structure affected by overexertion of sight. This muscle is located in the inner part of the eye and is responsible for pressing the lens so that it can focus the images correctly.
When the ciliary muscle is fatigued, it cannot perform its function well and the person begins to have blurred vision.
Causes of eye fatigue
Visual fatigue occurs when the ciliary muscle is pressing the lens for a long time, usually because the person has difficulty seeing well up close.
However, there are other factors and conditions that can cause eye fatigue.
Let's know what they are:
- Insomnia.
- Contact lenses.
- Activities that stimulate prolonged visual effort, such as working all day in front of the computer, excessive use of the mobile, reading for a long time and the use of any device with a digital screen.
- La refractive surgery.
- All the activities that stimulate distance vision they are also capable of producing eye fatigue. The most frequent are driving and watching television.
- The constant focus changes from far to near vision or vice versa.
- Stay for a long time in dimly lit environments, poorly lit or excessively lit.
- Eye dryness in its initial phase.
- El consumption of some medications diuretics, sleeping pills, antihistamines, antibiotics, antihypertensives, hormones, etc.
- Refractive defects that have not been addressed or have not been corrected correctly: myopia, farsightedness, astigmatism y presbyopia.
- Problems in the binocular vision or in the accommodative power of the lens.
- Environmental factors such as humidity, cold, excessive heat, mites, tobacco smoke, pollen, etc.
- Eye disorders such as ectropion, entropion, myokymia, blepharospasm, trichiasis y tear duct obstruction.
Symptom
The main symptom that produces visual fatigue is blurred vision, because the lens has difficulty properly focusing images and its function is compromised.
In addition to distorted vision, a patient with asthenopia may present:
- Itch in the eye and gritty feeling or to have a strange body in the eye.
- Sensation of heat in the eyes, dryness y excessive tearing.
- Headache and nasal congestion. The headache It can affect other areas.
- Pain in the neck, back and shoulders.
- Red eyes y swollen eyelids.
- Difficulty to focus y double vision.
- Sensitivity to light and difficulty concentrating.
- jerky blinking and difficulty keeping the eyes open.
- feeling sleepy.
How to prevent asthenopia?
Eye fatigue or accommodative asthenopia is not a disease, it is a condition that in most cases we can prevent if we take proper care of our visual health if we abandon some bad habits and adopt new ones.
The use of indirect light when we are using the sight to, for example, read, it is of great help to prevent the sight from straining excessively.
It is also important to be aware of the distance maintained with the computer. Is it correct? Are you viewing the screen too closely or too far away?
Keep in mind that if you work in front of a screen, it is essential take visual breaks every hour approx.
Another very effective alternative to prevent visual fatigue is perform relaxation eye exercises that help combat eye fatigue and, therefore, prevent asthenopia.
The exercise consists of moving the eyes slowly in a clockwise direction, and at the end of a lap repeat in the opposite direction.
If this option is not to your liking, you can always refresh your eyes with cold water to relieve eyesight and fatigue immediately.
Lastly, try open and close your eyes forcefully 5 times and repeating said sequence 8 times. By opening and closing our eyes quickly we get stimulate ciliary muscle relaxation.
