What is the best way to get rid of my tired eyes?

Often times patients will describe their vision with words that omit blur.  They see the world clearly for the most part but experience fatigue, strain, and sleepy eyes through out the day.  Even the glasses that were prescribed at some point, don't seem to help the discomfort.  Patients find themselves lost and feeling like they might be the only person experiencing this common phenomenon, tired eyes.  

Binocular vision, both your eyes working together to create a 3-D world, can affect your overall comfort on a daily basis especially when doing any near task.  As we sit in front of our computers and/or books our eyes converge (come closer together) to bring the images into clear view.  The external muscles communicate with the internal muscles, controlling near focus, and alerts that an object is near.  Most times children experience difficulty with this communication as the muscles are still growing, so we teach them with exercises to strengthen their disparity.  However this task may become more challenging with adults as muscles become more difficult to manipulate.  Binocular testing is seldom done after the age of 12, test that could aid the doctor in targeting the patient's actual complaint.  Any age group can experience this disparity and a simple pair of glasses may not eliminate this discomfort.  The patient could benefit from eye exercises or prism (a device used to move the image to a more comfortable position) in their glasses.  Thinking of the vision in a more global sense, clarity and comfort, will help the patient in every way. 

Optometrist have an immense responsibility to listen to their patients and in turn patients must also communicate with their doctors.  My advice would be to write down your symptoms before you visit with an eye care professional.  Explain the discomfort, it's amount, duration, frequency and any associated task that worsen it.  These specific complaints will always push me in one direction to conduct the proper test.  Prepare yourself always so that you are able to extract the best care for your body and mind with the aid of your health care professional.   

See and Be Seen! at Eyed LA Optometry in Brentwood, West Los Angeles

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