Working at a job where you look at a digital screen all day can cause eye strain. Using your eyes to look at computers, type, write, or even drive all day can cause your eyes to feel tired, and dry, and lead to headaches. Patients may be curious if certain lenses or blue light-blocking glasses could help prevent eye strain. Different options do exist to prevent your eyes from damage and help you have better vision in your older years. If you are dealing with tired eyes or computer vision syndrome, read this blog to learn how visiting an eye care professional could help. 

Common Symptoms Of Eye Strain

Not all patients with eye strain will experience the same symptoms, but there are some common ones to look out for. Feeling irritation in your eyes is an obvious symptom, but there are other physical symptoms that can be caused by eye strain. 

• Itching eyes
• Dry eyes
• Watering eyes
• Headaches
• Sore neck
• Increased sensitivity to light
• Difficulty concentrating
• Blurred vision
• Discomfort in keeping eyes open

Screen Time And Its Affect On Your Eyes

According to Pew Research, 85% of adults are plugged in daily. This can mean using a computer at work, using social media after work, or watching TV in the late night hours. Our entire world revolves around screens and technology nowadays. Some people believe that the cause of eye strain is blue light, which is emitted by computers, cell phones, and TVs, but the reality is that our eyes are not truly damaged by blue light. 

Looking at screens in a dark room or later into the evening is when the light can damage your eyes or cause restlessness. Using a device with a warmer light or wearing blue light glasses while working in the dark can help with eye strain. 

How Blinking Helps With Eye Strain

The reason your eyes are strained after looking at screens is that we tend to forget to blink and our eyes receive a lot less moisture. Being on devices, reading articles, or watching videos causes us to stare more than normal. We forget to blink and our eyes become tired and dry. This staring process can be the leading cause of tired eyes at the end of your work day or lead to a budding headache. Taking a break during work hours can help prevent eye problems without the need for any kind of glasses or lenses. 

Can Blue Light Glasses Prevent Eye Strain?

Blue light glasses are most effective when you are using screens late at night or are having trouble sleeping after using screens. Blue light isn’t really damaging to your eyes, but it can cause strain. If you are experiencing eye strain or headaches during your work day, reflective lenses may help more than blue light-blocking glasses. 

Preventing Glare With Anti-Reflective Lenses

Lenses with a coating that cuts through glare may be more effective than blue light-blocking lenses. Glare can come from computer screens, headlights, bright sunshine, overhead lighting, etc. When your eyes don’t have to work as hard to avoid glare or bright lights, you will be able to avoid eye strain for longer. Protecting your eyes from strong lights and other environmental strains is an important part of physical health.

How An Optometrist Can Help

Getting your eyes checked by an optometrist can also help you avoid eye strain. Updating your prescription and adding an anti-reflective coating to your lenses can be done by your eye doctor. 

Some patients also start to feel eye strain when their prescription lenses are out of date. If you haven’t been to the eye doctor in some time, your vision could have worsened or changed without your knowledge. Wearing the wrong prescription can cause your eyes to have to work much harder to see. 

More About Glasses And Contacts From Wolcott Optical

Our team at Wolcott Optical has been helping improve vision for over 75 years. Our optometrists can help you see in a clearer way and avoid hurting your eyes by adjusting your prescription or prescribing different lenses. We will ensure that your lenses are the perfect fit for your eyesight and fit your personality. Whether you like bold patterns or stylish and timeless colors, we have multiple options. Wolcott Optical also offers contact lenses for those who don’t feel that glasses are their best option. 
Some brands we carry include Kate Spade, Hugo Boss, Jimmy Choo, Nike, and more. If you want to learn more about the benefits of eyewear, reach out to our team today!

Glasses can greatly help students in their academics and life as a whole, however, wearing glasses can be challenging, especially when heading back to school. If your kids just got their first pair of glasses, they may struggle to adjust to them or they may not want to wear them either because they’re worried about what others might say or they don’t like how they look or because they’re uncomfortable. Fortunately, there are things you can do to help your children with glasses head back to school.

#1. Know If Your Child Needs Glasses

First things first, it’s important to know that most children under the age of 12 won’t know if there’s something wrong with their vision. As such, they’ll suffer in silence and their academic performance can take a huge hit. Keep an eye on your kids, especially as they head back to school. If you notice them sitting too close to screens or holding books or notes closer than usual, they may be having vision problems.

As part of your back-to-school routine, schedule an eye exam. If your child needs glasses, it’s best to take care of this before the school year starts, but better late than never. Vision problems can impact learning, behavior, and confidence. Proving your child with glasses as needed is essential to their educational and social development.

Studies show that students who were in the bottom 25% of their grades showed significant improvement after getting glasses. Corrective lenses allow your children to see the world clearly, reduce eye strain and headaches, and complete their school work or fun activities more easily.

#2. Ensure The Glasses Fit

If your child’s glasses don’t fit correctly, they won’t want to wear them. Glasses must be comfortable and suitable for your child’s head in order for them to actually want to wear them. Your optician will be able to help your child find glasses that are comfortable and adjust them as needed.

Pay attention to what your child says about their glasses too, such as if they are pinching their nose or behind their ears or something. These are signs that the glasses don’t fit properly. 

#3. Let Your Child Pick Out Their Frames

Within reason, such as budget, of course. They’re the ones who are going to have to wear them after all! The more your child likes their frames, the more they’ll want to wear their glasses. There are more children who wear glasses now than before, reducing the risk of bullies and their “4 eyes” comments. Since glasses are more and more commonplace, having cool frames could even help your child make friends!

Even adults are reluctant to wear glasses if they don’t like the frames, they feel like they don’t suit their face, or they’re uncomfortable, and children are no different. In this back-to-school season, check in with your child and ensure that they like their frames and are wearing them as needed.

#4. Focus On The Benefits

If your kid has never needed to wear glasses before, they may not understand why they need to. Explain to your child why glasses are a good thing and how they can help them. You can talk about how glasses will improve how they see the world, reduce headaches and eyestrain, help them participate in fun activities with their friends, and more.

Having your child start wearing their glasses during activities they enjoy can help them notice the difference and form a positive association with them. It’s easier to want to wear glasses if your kid sees that, oh yeah, they really do make it easier to read this beloved fantasy novel, as opposed to, can you see the whiteboard any better?

#5. Teach Your Kid How To Take Care Of Their Glasses

Kids are rougher on their glasses than adults tend to be. There are some things you can do to help their glasses last as long as possible, like picking sturdy frames and good lens material. However, your child should also know how to take care of their glasses. If they get dropped or fall off in the school hallway, they could need fixing from your optician. If the glasses get dirty in class, your child may just wipe them off on their shirt.

Teach your child about proper eye hygiene. We have a previous blog with more information about this that you can read here: 3 Essential Eye Hygiene Tips.

These are just 5 tips that can help your children with glasses as they’re heading back to school. To learn more about proper glasses fit or for questions about frames we carry and the like, please don’t hesitate to contact the experts here at Wolcott Optical.