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  • Why is my vision blurry after close-up work?


    Question:

    I am an artist and have been working long hours on a painting. Yesterday, towards the end of the day, after painting for maybe 6 hours, my close up vision was completely blurry, but if I closed one eye, I could see fine. It was the same with both eyes. This morning my vision was normal. Today, after working a shorter time (4 hours) the same thing happened. I am writing this now with one eye closed. I should add that the room that I paint in has fluorescent lighting, the paint is water based. I also have a history of migraines and take Adderall. Do you know what might be causing this symptom?


    Answer:

    You may be suffering some sort of binocular problem, because when you close one eye, the visual disturbance is relieved. This is a strong indication that there is a problem using both of the eyes together, such as eye misalignment. You may have convergence spasm. Convergence spasm usually happens when someone is using their eyes intently and doesn’t look up or away from time to time. The muscles that control focus can become accustomed to that exact working distance. When the person tries to do something visually different, the muscles do not change to allow the new focus.

    You may also need bifocals or have bifocals that are not fully correcting your needs. In this case, people often use reserve focusing ability to achieve clearer near vision. This is a form of eyestrain and one way the focusing muscle of the eye can go into spasm.

    I would recommend that you see a neuro-ophthalmologist if possible, or a pediatric ophthalmologist who treats adults with eye misalignment.


    Answered By:

    General Eye Health Glasses, Contacts and Vision Correction