Screens, pollution, UV rays, pollen, make-up:your eyes are put to the test on a daily basis. During work or leisure, many attacks on the eye are responsible for eye irritation and fatigue. Here are our solutions to combat eye fatigue.
After a busy day at work, having concentrated on detailed work, or even after a simple walk in nature, you may experience eye fatigue. Symptoms, fortunately temporary, are of two types:those that affect your eyes as such, and those that alter your vision.
These are the symptoms that affect the eyeballs. This is most often:
The flapping of the eyelids distributes tear fluid over the surface of the eye to form a protective film. During eyestrain, you blink less frequently:your eyes are less hydrated and more prone to irritation!
Visual fatigue results in symptoms that can change your vision:
Sight allows you to analyze the world around you and also to memorize it. Visual fatigue can therefore affect your concentration and your ability to integrate information. It can also be responsible for headaches.
As we age, the secretion of tears decreases. Fatigue and eye irritation are then more frequent. Other factors cause eyestrain.
When the surface of the eye is irritated, the conjunctiva (protective membrane of the front part of the eyeball that lines the white of the eye and the inside of the eyelids) can become inflamed:this is called conjunctivitis.
Many inert particles are capable of irritating the conjunctiva, drying out and tiring the eyes:
Seasonal conjunctivitis is often synonymous with pollen allergies. However, there are perennial allergic conjunctivitis due to mold spores, animal allergens or dust mites present all year round. Irritated eyes are red and watery, respiratory and ENT symptoms are often linked, you can read our article on respiratory allergy to go further.
" Work is health ! » serines us the popular adage. Yet many tasks are hard on your eyes. They solicit the accommodating muscles of the eye for long hours, so that a sharp image is projected on the retina.
The blue light emitted by the screens of computers, tablets, smartphones, or televisions, by certain LED bulbs and the sun, is responsible for many visual disturbances. Certain wavelengths of blue light, close to violet, are high energy and are harmful to the retina and the lens (risk of cataracts, age-related macular degeneration, etc.).
The current massive use of screens considerably accentuates this phenomenon. The barometer of the National Association for the improvement of sight (Asnav) confirms a significant increase in sight disorders among 16-24 year olds. Functional myopia, a disorder of accommodation when sight is far away, are on the rise. It is the same observation concerning visual fatigue! These disorders are to be related to an ever longer exposure of 16-24 year olds to screens:9h57 per day on average in 2017.
Some eye strains require a quick medical consultation. This is the case if the discharge from the eye persists or is purulent, if the vision is blurred and does not recover, if the eye is swollen or painful, if a fever is associated, and if you can no longer bear the light.
If you are diabetic or immunocompromised, eye strain is not to be taken lightly and may underlie a complication of chronic disease. It is best to consult your doctor.
Prolonged contact lens wear can also cause eye fatigue and irritation. Their simple removal should relieve you. Otherwise, medical advice is required.
Finally, visual or ocular fatigue over the medium or long term can be the sign of a visual deficit that is setting in. Talk to your doctor.
Eye fatigue is not inevitable:solutions exist to limit eye damage. Reacting early is preserving your visual health.
If your job requires you to spend long hours in front of a computer screen, there are tips to reduce eye strain:
Whether you have to do detailed work, spend long hours driving or on a screen, or maintain increased concentration, take a break at least every two hours.
If the effect of anti-blue light glasses is not quantified for the moment, it is proven that they filter the most harmful rays emitted by screens, located in the blue-violet. However, the lenses of these glasses must not filter out other colors, otherwise your perception of the day will be disturbed. The blue-turquoise light waves are indeed responsible for the sleep-wake cycle that punctuates our days. Seeking advice from an optical professional is to ensure the quality of the filter lenses.
Sunglasses help protect the eyes from strong light intensity when you are outdoors, and therefore fight against eye fatigue. In addition, they have CE categorized UV filters from 1 to 4 depending on the degree of exposure to ultraviolet rays. Please note that driving is prohibited with CE 4 categorized lenses, designed for extreme UV exposure.
Washing the eyes with physiological serum (saline solution that resembles tears) contributes to good ocular hygiene and prevents the irritating effects of certain particles. Cleansing and soothing solutions with natural active ingredients also fight against irritation of the conjunctiva and eye fatigue. They contain floral waters of cornflower, chamomile or witch hazel.
Some eye drops contain molecules that restore and thicken the tear film to combat dry eye (carmellose, polyvinyl alcohol, carbomer, povidone). Your doctor and your pharmacist are at your disposal to inform you about these products.
