Eye fatigue is a temporary deterioration in the functioning of the eye, following excessive use. Eye fatigue includes eye strain and eye strain.

Visual fatigue is recognizable by the occurrence of various symptoms that may be associated with it:

• reduced visual acuity

• decreased sensitivity to contrasts

• a feeling of dazzling

• an alteration of the visual field

• diplopia, or the feeling of seeing double

Eye fatigue manifests itself by:

• the prickly eye, irritated, becomes dry, consequences of insufficient tear secretion

• red eye

• infrequent blinking. Note that the blink frequency is generally of the order of 12 to 20 blinks per minute, which is necessary for the formation of a new tear film before the previous one breaks.

Eye fatigue can also be associated with headaches.

Eye fatigue occurs in many circumstances. The most frequent being prolonged exposure to a computer screen, increasingly essential in our modern society, both in the world of work and in leisure.

In addition to screen workers or those who spend their free time there, eye fatigue can occur as a result of:

• reading poorly printed documents

• a long period of driving a vehicle

• excessive or insufficient lighting

• special working conditions, such as fault detection on a production line, observation under a microscope, etc.

Eye fatigue can also be due to causes directly related to the eye. These include:

• uncorrected farsightedness or astigmatism

• a binocular imbalance, such as strabismus

• eye diseases, such as inflammation, cataracts, age-related macular degeneration

Note that unsuitable or poorly adapted visual corrections are conducive to eye fatigue.

When the eyes are tired, they tend to turn red and too dry. Focusing becomes difficult and vision may become blurry or double.

Eye fatigue can have a direct influence on the quality of the work to be done: reading slower, information less understood and integrated, reduced concentration, etc.

Treatments differ depending on the factor (s) causing eye fatigue.

These include in particular:

• find a suitable optical correction

• undergo visual rehabilitation (orthoptics)

• protect your eyes

For workers using a computer screen, there are ways to prevent eye fatigue from occurring. These include:

• avoid glare on the computer screen: use anti-glare filters, blinds or curtains so that light does not reach the screen directly, place the screen perpendicular to the light source

• Take regular breaks, trying to look into the distance, and try to alternate tasks as much as possible