Eye strain

Discomfort following extended visual tasks

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Medical condition

Eye strain

Other names| Asthenopia, aesthenopia, eyestrain
Specialty| Ophthalmology
Symptoms| Headache, blurred vision, eye discomfort, and light sensitivity

Eye strain, also medically termed as asthenopia (from  astheno- 'loss of strength' and  -opia 'relating to the eyes'), is a common eye condition characterized by non-specific symptoms such as fatigue, pain in or around the eyes, blurred vision, headache, and occasional double vision.[1]

These symptoms tend to arise after long-term use of computers, staring at phone screens, digital devices, reading, or other activities that involve extended visual tasks.[2] Various causes contribute to eye strain, including uncorrected vision problems,[1][3][4] digital device usage,[5][6] environmental factors,[1] and underlying health conditions.[3] When concentrating on a visually intense task, such as continuously focusing on a book or computer monitor, the ciliary muscles and the extraocular muscles are strained, also contributing to the symptoms.[7] These symptoms are broadly classified into external (related to the ocular surface) and internal symptom factors (related to eye muscles).[1]

Treatment involves environmental modifications, visual aids,[7] and taking periodic breaks.[7][8] The experience of eye strain when reading in dim light has given rise to the common misconception that such an activity causes permanent eye damage.[9]

## Causes

[edit]

Asthenopia can result from various factors. These causes can be categorized as ocular issues,[1][3][4] digital use patterns,[5][6] environmental factors,[1] or underlying health conditions,[3] including:[1][4]

* Uncorrected refractive errors (astigmatism, hyperopia, anisometropia, etc.)[6]
* Eye movement coordination
* Accommodative[6] and vergence stress

* Glare
* Flickering lights

* Allergy[3]
* Close viewing distance
* Dry-eye
* Fatigue[3]
* Upward gaze
* Prolonged reading from smartphone[5]

## Symptoms

[edit]

Eye strain's symptoms can be broken into two groups: Internal Symptom Factors (ISF) and External Symptom Factors (ESF).[1] ESFs consist of symptoms related to dry-eye such as burning and irritation, seemingly linked to the ocular surface.[1] ISFs are related to pain and ache sensations behind the eye and are linked to accommodative and vergence stress, caused by poor visual conditions.[1][10]

Symptoms of eye strain can include:[1][5][6][10]

* blurred vision
* headache
* sore, irritated, burning, or itching eyes
* dry eyes or watery eyes
* eye discomfort
* difficulty concentrating
* sensitivity to bright lights

## Therapy

[edit]

Given that asthenopia is caused by different factors, treatment may involve the work environment or visual conditions.[1] One known method of relieving strain of the ocular muscles is taking periodic breaks by closing the eyes[7] and blinking frequently.[8] Often found in connection to Digital Eye Strain (DES), eye strain can be reduced by following the 20-20-20 rule, which consists of looking at something 20 feet away for 20 seconds every 20 minutes.[8]

## See also

[edit]

* Eye examination
* Light-on-dark color scheme
* Ocular neurosis
* Photophobia
* Vision therapy
* Visual looming syndrome

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Sheedy, James E.; Hayes, John N.; Engle, Jon (November 2003). "Is all asthenopia the same?". Optometry and Vision Science. 80 (11): 732–739\. doi:10.1097/00006324-200311000-00008. ISSN 1040-5488. PMID 14627938. S2CID 16299425.
2. ^ FT, Vaz; SP, Henriques; DS, Silva; J, Roque; AS, Lopes; M, Mota (April 2019). "Digital Asthenopia: Portuguese Group of Ergophthalmology Survey". Acta Med Port. 32 (4): 260–265\. doi:10.20344/amp.10942. hdl:10400.10/2236. PMID 31067419. S2CID 148571110.
3. ^ a b c d e f Stein, Harold A; Stein, Raymond M; Freeman, Melvin I, eds. (2013-01-01), "Chapter 7 - History taking", The Ophthalmic Assistant (Ninth Edition), London: W.B. Saunders, pp. 99–110, doi:10.1016/b978-1-4557-1069-0.00007-4, ISBN 978-1-4557-1069-0, retrieved 2025-04-14
4. ^ a b c García-Muñoz, Ángel; Carbonell-Bonete, Stela; Cacho-Martínez, Pilar (2014-10-01). "Symptomatology associated with accommodative and binocular vision anomalies". Journal of Optometry. 7 (4): 178–192\. doi:10.1016/j.optom.2014.06.005. ISSN 1888-4296. PMC 4213865. PMID 25323640.
5. ^ a b c d Antona, Beatriz; Barrio, Ana Rosa; Gascó, Adriana; Pinar, Ana; González-Pérez, Mariano; Puell, María C. (2018-04-01). "Symptoms associated with reading from a smartphone in conditions of light and dark". Applied Ergonomics. 68: 12–17\. doi:10.1016/j.apergo.2017.10.014. ISSN 0003-6870. PMID 29409625.
6. ^ a b c d e Shukla, Yogesh (August 2020). "Accommodative anomalies in children". Indian Journal of Ophthalmology. 68 (8): 1520–1525\. doi:10.4103/ijo.IJO_1973_18. ISSN 1998-3689. PMC 7640847. PMID 32709767.
7. ^ a b c d S, Lertwisuttipaiboon; T, Pumpaibool; KJ, Neeser; N, Kasetsuwan (May 2017). "Effectiveness of a participatory eye care program in reducing eye strain among staff computer users in Thailand". Risk Manag Healthc Policy. 10: 71–80\. doi:10.2147/RMHP.S134940. PMC 5436759. PMID 28546777.
8. ^ a b c Kaur, Kirandeep; Gurnani, Bharat; Nayak, Swatishree; Deori, Nilutparna; Kaur, Savleen; Jethani, Jitendra; Singh, Digvijay; Agarkar, Sumita; Hussaindeen, Jameel Rizwana; Sukhija, Jaspreet; Mishra, Deepak (2022-10-01). "Digital Eye Strain- A Comprehensive Review". Ophthalmology and Therapy. 11 (5): 1655–1680\. doi:10.1007/s40123-022-00540-9. ISSN 2193-6528. PMC 9434525. PMID 35809192.
9. ^ Rachel C. Vreeman, Aaron E. Carroll, "Medical Myths", The British Medical Journal (now called The BMJ) 335:1288 (December 20, 2007), doi:10.1136/bmj.39420.420370.25
10. ^ a b Sheedy, J. E. (2007-06-15). "The physiology of eyestrain". Journal of Modern Optics. 54 (9): 1333–1341\. Bibcode:2007JMOp...54.1333S. doi:10.1080/09500340600855460. ISSN 0950-0340.

Classification|

* ICD-10: H53.1
* ICD-9-CM: 368.13
* MeSH: D001248

|

* v
* t
* e

* Diseases of the human eye

Adnexa

| Eyelid|

| Inflammation|

* Stye
* Chalazion
* Blepharitis
* Meibomian gland dysfunction

|

* Entropion
* Ectropion
* Lagophthalmos
* Blepharochalasis
* Ptosis
* Blepharophimosis
* Xanthelasma
* Ankyloblepharon

Eyelash|

* Trichiasis
* Madarosis
* Distichiasis
* Trichomegaly

Lacrimal apparatus|

* Dacryoadenitis
* Epiphora
* Dacryocystitis
* Xerophthalmia

Orbit|

* Exophthalmos
* Enophthalmos
* Orbital cellulitis
* Orbital lymphoma
* Periorbital cellulitis

Conjunctiva|

* Chemosis
* Conjunctivitis
* allergic
* Pterygium
* Pseudopterygium
* Pinguecula
* Subconjunctival hemorrhage

Globe

| Fibrous tunic|

| Sclera|

* Scleritis
* Episcleritis

|

Cornea|

* Keratitis
* herpetic
* acanthamoebic
* fungal
* Exposure
* Photokeratitis
* Corneal ulcer
* Thygeson's superficial punctate keratopathy
* Corneal dystrophy
* Fuchs'
* Meesmann
* Corneal ectasia
* Keratoconus
* Pellucid marginal degeneration
* Keratoglobus
* Terrien's marginal degeneration
* Post-LASIK ectasia
* Keratoconjunctivitis
* sicca
* Corneal opacity
* Corneal neovascularization
* Kayser–Fleischer ring
* Haab's striae
* Arcus senilis
* Band keratopathy

Vascular tunic|

* Iris
* Ciliary body

* Uveitis
* Intermediate uveitis
* Hyphema
* Rubeosis iridis
* Persistent pupillary membrane
* Iridodialysis
* Synechia

|

Choroid|

* Choroideremia
* Choroiditis
* Chorioretinitis
* Focal choroidal excavation
* Polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy

Lens|

* Cataract
* Congenital cataract
* Childhood cataract
* Aphakia
* Ectopia lentis

Retina|

* Retinitis
* Chorioretinitis
* Cytomegalovirus retinitis
* Retinal detachment
* Posterior vitreous detachment
* Retinoschisis
* Ocular ischemic syndrome / Central retinal vein occlusion
* Central retinal artery occlusion
* Branch retinal artery occlusion
* Retinopathy
* diabetic
* hypertensive
* Purtscher's
* of prematurity
* Bietti's crystalline dystrophy
* Coats' disease
* Sickle cell
* photic
* Macular degeneration
* Retinitis pigmentosa
* Retinal haemorrhage
* Central serous retinopathy
* Macular edema
* Epiretinal membrane (Macular pucker)
* Vitelliform macular dystrophy
* Leber's congenital amaurosis
* Birdshot chorioretinopathy

Other|

* Glaucoma / Ocular hypertension / Primary juvenile glaucoma
* Floater
* Leber's hereditary optic neuropathy
* Ocular hypotony
* Red eye
* Globe rupture
* Keratomycosis
* Phthisis bulbi
* Persistent fetal vasculature
* Persistent tunica vasculosa lentis
* Familial exudative vitreoretinopathy
* Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada disease

Pathways

| Optic nerve
Optic disc|

* Optic neuritis
* optic papillitis
* Papilledema
* Foster Kennedy syndrome
* Optic atrophy
* Optic disc drusen

Optic neuropathy|

* Ischemic
* anterior (AION)
* posterior (PION)
* arteritic anterior (AAION or arteritic AION)
* non-arteritic anterior (NAION)
* Kjer's
* Leber's hereditary
* Toxic and nutritional

Strabismus
Extraocular muscles
Binocular vision
Accommodation|

| Paralytic strabismus|

* Ophthalmoparesis
* Chronic progressive external ophthalmoplegia
* Kearns–Sayre syndrome

palsies|

* Oculomotor (III)
* Fourth-nerve (IV)
* Sixth-nerve (VI)

Other strabismus|

* Esotropia / Exotropia
* Hypertropia
* Heterophoria
* Esophoria
* Exophoria
* Cyclotropia
* Brown's syndrome
* Duane syndrome

Other binocular|

* Conjugate gaze palsy
* Convergence insufficiency
* Internuclear ophthalmoplegia
* One and a half syndrome

Refraction|

* Refractive error
* Hyperopia
* Myopia
* Astigmatism
* Anisometropia / Aniseikonia
* Presbyopia

Vision disorders
Blindness|

* Amblyopia
* Leber's congenital amaurosis
* Diplopia
* Scotoma
* Color blindness
* Achromatopsia
* Dichromacy
* Monochromacy
* Nyctalopia
* Oguchi disease
* Blindness / Vision loss / Visual impairment

Anopsia|

* Hemianopsia
* binasal
* bitemporal
* homonymous
* Quadrantanopia

subjective|

* Asthenopia
* Hemeralopia
* Photophobia
* Scintillating scotoma

Pupil|

* Anisocoria
* Argyll Robertson pupil
* Marcus Gunn pupil
* Adie syndrome
* Miosis
* Mydriasis
* Cycloplegia
* Parinaud's syndrome

Other|

* Nystagmus
* Childhood blindness

Infections

* Trachoma
* Onchocerciasis

Eye strain at Wikipedia's sister projects:

* Definitions from Wiktionary
* Media from Commons

Authority control databases

National|

* United States
* Israel

Other|

* Yale LUX

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