It's not uncommon to experience eyestrain, whether at work or at home. What are the most common symptoms of visual fatigue? What are the causes and how can they be treated? Today, Mymonture gives you all the tips you need to look after your eyes.

How to detect visual fatigue?

Very often, when you suffer from eyestrain, you may experience several of its symptoms:

- Headaches that can go as far as dizziness.

-Your vision may become less sharp than usual, and you may have the sensation of seeing double.

-Your eyes may hurt, feel stinging or burning, or have difficulty keeping your eyes open to the light.

What causes eyestrain?

There can be a multitude of reasons for visual fatigue. It can come from uncorrected ametropia (ametropias are eye defects). For more information on ametropias, please see our article on vision disorders.

Let's take an example: a person with mild hyperopia (correction of +0.25 to +1.00) may not immediately realize that he or she needs correction, because this person compensates for it. Nevertheless, by straining all day long to get sharp vision, this person is straining his or her eyes, which can lead to visual fatigue.

That's why it's so important to consult an ophthalmologist on a regular basis, who will be able to detect any hitherto overlooked ametropia, and then prescribe corrective eyeglasses or contact lenses.

Eyestrain can also be caused by a pair of glasses that don't suit you, or that may be poorly adapted to your physiological measurements.

However, the most frequent cause of visual fatigue is prolonged work in near vision. When you concentrate on an object in near vision, your eyes have to make an extra effort. This effort is normal, and the eye is made for it, but when the operation is prolonged and you have to alternate more often between distance and near vision, the muscle is called upon much more than usual, which can tire it and thus lead to visual fatigue.

It should also be noted that eye strain is not the same thing as visual fatigue. Ocular fatigue is characterized by dryness of the eye, which often occurs when you don't blink often enough. This symptom can also be attributed to prolonged computer use. Indeed, in front of our screens, we often tend to reduce the frequency of blinking, which has the effect of hydrating the surface of the eye less.

What can be done about eyestrain?

There are as many solutions as there are causes.

First of all, if you haven't seen an ophthalmologist for some time, you can make an appointment to discuss the possible causes of eyestrain.

You can also have your glasses checked to make sure they match your measurements.

Sometimes, eyestrain can be caused by general fatigue in the body, with the eyes being the first to be affected. The only effective remedy is rest, to restore optimum visual comfort.

If you work at a computer, you can take short breaks every 15 minutes, looking into the distance to relieve the accommodating muscles. You can also opt to keep your eyes closed during short breaks to relieve your vision.

You can also opt for"anti blue light" anti-reflective lenses for extra comfort when working at the computer, such as our "Blue Clear" treatment, which you can select when ordering optical equipment. You can also find out more about anti blue light coatings and how they work in our article on the different coatings that can be applied to corrective lenses.