Eye Strain: Symptoms, Treatment, and Tips

What is eye strain? Doctors at Batal Specialized Medical Complex have recently noticed a relative increase in the number of younger patients suffering from eye strain. Most complaints revolve around marked light sensitivity, difficulty focusing on something for a long time, and other related symptoms.

Doctors largely attribute this to the increased time students spend on computers at home for remote learning, along with the shift of many corporate employees to working from home after the emergence of COVID‑19.

To protect the eyes from strain, they need to stay consistently lubricated. This happens automatically with every blink, without us noticing. However, the more we focus on screens, the fewer times we blink. A 1991 study found that the average blink rate was 18.4 blinks per minute, which dropped to 3.6 blinks per minute during computer use.

Eyes can also become strained with age, as well as when they are overused or forced to focus for long periods on a book or a digital screen, or when doing visually demanding tasks in a room that is either too bright or too dim. This significant effort can lead to what is known as an eye strain headache.

Symptoms of an Eye Strain Headache:

Can Eye Strain Cause Dizziness?

Eye fatigue can indirectly cause dizziness. Focusing on something for a prolonged period can tire the eyes, trigger an eye strain headache, and in some cases this headache can make you feel dizzy. Certain eye diseases can also cause dizziness, including cataracts, retinitis, and diabetic retinopathy.

What Do Doctors Recommend to Avoid Eye Strain?

Treatment of Eye Strain

The ideal way to relieve eye strain is to cut back on the time you spend reading, using screens, or doing activities that require intense visual focus. However, this is often difficult in practice, so what can you do to reduce strain?

1. Use the Right Glasses or Contact Lenses

One cause of eye strain is using glasses or contact lenses with an incorrect or unsuitable prescription—or not using glasses at all when you actually need them. If you experience significant discomfort or pain when looking at a screen or reading, it’s best to have a comprehensive eye exam and consult an ophthalmologist about getting prescription glasses.

As we age, especially after the age of 40, our vision changes and the eye loses some of its ability to accommodate (focus at near distances). Eye strain may simply be a sign that you need reading glasses (presbyopia correction).

2. Using Contact Lenses Along With Glasses

It’s important to remember that your visual needs can change throughout the day. People who wear contact lenses tend to experience a certain level of dryness, which often worsens the longer they stare at screens. Daily disposable contact lenses are often recommended, and it’s also wise to keep prescription glasses on hand and switch from contacts to glasses if eye dryness worsens as the day goes on.

3. Optimizing Your Work Environment

Airflow used to ventilate or cool a room—whether from a fan or an air conditioner at work or at home—can contribute to dry eyes, and in turn, eye strain. It’s best to avoid sitting directly in the path of moving air, especially while using a screen.

You should also increase the font size on your screen as much as possible so your eyes don’t have to work too hard to read. Adjust the screen’s brightness and contrast to comfortable levels and reduce glare. In addition, sit in a comfortable, ergonomic position and use a supportive chair to help prevent neck and back pain, which can worsen the overall sense of fatigue.

4. Eye Drops for Inflammation and Dryness

Blinking is the body’s natural way to keep the eyes lubricated. However, when you look at a screen for a long time, your blink rate drops involuntarily, and you may need to use lubricating eye drops (artificial tears) to maintain adequate moisture. It is also important to use drops that treat eye surface inflammation caused by severe dryness. In this way, you’re addressing the root problem—the inflammation that led to dryness—so the eye strain gradually improves.

5. Relaxing the Eye Muscles

Warm compresses help relax the eye muscles and soothe eye discomfort at the end of the day. Doctors recommend applying warm compresses before bedtime, as this can significantly reduce symptoms of eye strain.

6. Healthy Foods

Following a healthy, balanced diet supports the overall health of your body and your eyes as well. Foods rich in vitamins C and E help strengthen eye health, and omega‑3 fatty acids—found in nuts and salmon—support tear production and help relieve dry eyes. Reducing your intake of sugars also lowers your risk of diabetes, which is one of the main causes of visual impairment and even vision loss.

7. Visiting an Ophthalmologist

Since 2010, the ophthalmologists at Batal Specialized Medical Complex have been caring for their patients’ eyes with extensive experience and high-level expertise. They are continuously striving to provide the best possible eye care using more precise and efficient diagnostic tools. Their ongoing commitment is to remain the most trusted specialized medical center in the field of eye care.  

If your symptoms of eye strain persist despite following the previous tips, it may be time to see an eye specialist. This does not necessarily mean that there is a serious problem; the solution may be as simple as updating your glasses prescription or getting reading glasses.

Doctors are concerned that continuous eye strain could contribute over time to an increased prevalence of myopia (nearsightedness), but there is currently no solid scientific evidence that eye strain by itself causes permanent vision deterioration. It is generally considered a temporary response to overworking the eyes or focusing on a single task for too long, and it usually does not cause long‑term damage.  

However, it can lead to bothersome eye pain and make daily tasks more difficult. That’s why it’s important to take the time to identify and correct the underlying causes of your eye strain.