Vision Archives

Blurry Vision and Headache: 8 Common Causes & Treatments

Written By Courtney Dryer

It’s often said the brain is an extension of the eye, and for that reason, a headache may be a symptom of a vision problem. Headaches that are related to the eye can be of the forehead, temples, behind the eyes, and at the back of the skull. They may be excruciating or dull. They may or may not be alleviated by Tylenol or sleep. They may even present with blurred vision. If you are having blurry vision and headache, your eye doctor may ask you the following questions:

Where do your headaches occur?
Do you wake up with headaches? Do they worsen with near work?
How long does your vision stay blurry when you have the headache?
If you were to grade the severity of the headache on a 1-10 scale, what number would you give?

Here are the 8 most common reasons for blurry vision and headache, and how they are diagnosed and treated.

Sun Damage to Eyes: How Can You Protect Yourself?

Written By Michael Healy

The harmful effects of the sun’s ultraviolet rays have been well documented. However, one of the most important, but often overlooked, areas of concern is the possible sun damage to eyes.

A recent report from The Vision Council estimates nearly 35% of the adult population has experienced eye or vision damage resulting from prolonged exposure to the sun’s ultraviolet rays.

To shed light on the importance of protecting the eyes from ultraviolet rays, it’s important to understand the various types of ultraviolet rays, the serious eye conditions that can occur, and how to protect your eyes and your vision from damage caused by exposure to the sun.

10 Helpful Tips for Dry Eye Symptoms

Written By Courtney Dryer

Approximately 16 million Americans have been diagnosed with dry eye, and millions more have symptoms but remain undiagnosed. Dry eye can result from inadequate tear production or poor tear quality. Symptoms include:

Watery eyes
Light sensitivity
Burning /gritty eyes
Blurred or fluctuating vision

Those over 65 and female are most likely to have symptoms. However, children are commonly diagnosed due to their significant digital device use. Once you have been diagnosed, it is important to understand that dry eye is a chronic condition that will always require treatment.

Your doctor will prescribe dry eye treatment tailored to your eyes, however, there are several lifestyle changes you can make to alleviate or improve your symptoms.

How Environmental Factors Affect Your Eyesight

Written By Michael Healy

Remember the classic song, When Smoke Gets In Your Eyes, by the Platters? While it’s true the occasional plume of smoke from a campfire wafting directly into your eyes never feels good, the discomfort is usually short-lived and typically relegated to minor irritation, stinging, and brief tearing up.

Regardless, you never want to experience eye irritation from any outside, environmental factors – and there are certainly many more dangerous, damaging, and even surprising environmental factors than a puff of wood smoke to be aware of.

How to Improve Depth Perception: Try This Now

Written By Courtney Dryer

Depth perception is the ability to see in three dimensions: length, width, and depth and to judge how far away the object is located. Depth perception is only possible when we have good binocular vision which means the effective use of both eyes to view the world.

Our eyes view an object from slightly different angles and our brain compares and processes the two sets of information to form a single image. When both eyes see clearly and the brain can process a single image effectively, it is called stereopsis. Stereopsis is not present at birth but develops at 3-6 months of age.

An eye doctor may use one of many tests to check your depth perception. The most common test is called a vectograph and uses polarized 3D glasses. You may be asked to point out which animals, circles or forms are coming out of the page towards you.