Eye strain is described by Medicine Net as "ocular fatigue, tired eyes, blurring, headaches, and occasionally doubling of the vision are brought on by concentrated use of the eyes for visual tasks. By clenching the muscles of the eyelids, face, temples, and the the jaw after extended use of the eyes, there can become discomfort and pain of those muscles. Other symptoms of eye strain are soreness of the back of the neck, blurry vision, teary and watery eyes, dryness of the eyes, light sensitivity, and headache, which is the most common of all of the symptoms. For people who commonly get headaches, eye strain can cause even worse headaches or possibly migraines.
Your eye doctor can diagnose you with eye strain if you are experiencing some of these symptoms. From there, they will be able to help you to determine the root of your eye strain, such as an incorrect prescription or astigmatism. Since you are not able to immediately go to the doctor (usually), there are some helpful step-by-step instructions on how to help you to deal with the annoying symptoms of eye strain.
1. Close your eyes.
This may sound simple, but the first step to relieving the eye strain is to stop making your eyes strain. The only way to truly do this is by closing your eyes. This also makes the next few steps WAY more comfortable to do.
2. Gently massage your upper eyelids against your brow bone using your index and your middle finger.
The image to the right shows where the two fingers should be resting during this gentle massage. Make sure to not hurt yourself or put too much pressure on that area as it is very sensitive and only requires a light pressure to feel results.
3. Gently massage your lower eyelids against your lower eye socket bone using your index and your middle finger.
The image to the right shows where the two fingers should be resting during this gentle massage. Follow the same guidelines as the prior step.
4. Massage the outside of each eye.
Use one finger on both sides to give a gentle massage to the outside of the eyes where the eyeball meets the side of the eye socket.
5. Massage the front of your temples.
Use two fingers on both sides of the front of your temples and apply a good amount of pressure. Massage for at least 60 seconds.
Massage is a very beneficial at-home tool to help with eye strain. If you continue to experience these symptoms, contact your doctor to seek out a further explanation and treatment plan.