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Dr. Chrysoula I. Liakou MD, PhD
- Treated online: Yes, usually. Eye strain is recognised from your symptoms and habits and managed with advice by video; an eye test and any glasses are in person.
- What it is: tired eyes from intense use, such as screens, reading or long drives. It is common, and it usually has no serious or long-term effects.
- Symptoms: sore, tired, burning or itchy eyes, dry or watery eyes, blurred vision, headaches, and a sore neck or shoulders.
- What helps: every 20 minutes, look at something about 6 metres away for 20 seconds; place the screen well; blink often; and have an eye test.
- Emergency: call 112 for sudden loss of vision, a painful red eye with blurred vision, a sudden, extremely painful headache, or blurred vision with weakness or difficulty speaking.
Do not book a video appointment if you have suddenly lost vision, have a painful red eye with blurred vision, have a headache that came on suddenly and is extremely painful, or have blurred or double vision with weakness of the face, arm or leg, or difficulty speaking. Call 112 or go to an emergency department.
Can an online doctor help with eye strain?
Yes. Eye strain is recognised from your symptoms and your habits, and a doctor can assess it by video, check for dry eyes, migraine and the signs of other eye problems, and help you change what is straining your eyes. If you may need glasses, an eye test at an optician is the next step. New blurred or double vision, eye pain or sudden symptoms need in-person care.
How an online consultation helps with eye strain
- Is it really eye strain?: Dry eyes, needing glasses, migraine and sinusitis can feel similar, and some signs need an eye examination.
- Your set-up checked: Screen distance and height, lighting, glare and breaks: the changes that make the most difference.
- Dry eyes treated: Lubricating drops and blinking habits when dryness is part of the problem.
- An eye test when needed: Whether you may need glasses for screen work, and your right to an eye test as a screen worker.
What the doctor checks in an online eye strain consultation
The doctor asks about the warning signs first, then about your eyes and your day. The doctor asks about:
- Warning signs: sudden blurred or double vision, loss of vision, eye pain, a red eye, or a sudden, severe headache.
- Your symptoms: tired, sore, burning, dry or watery eyes, blurring, headaches, and neck or shoulder pain.
- Your day: hours at a screen without a break, reading, driving, and the lighting where you work.
- Your set-up: screen distance and height, glare from windows or lights, and the devices you use.
- Your vision: when you last had an eye test, and whether you wear glasses or contact lenses.
- Your health: migraine, dry eyes, sleep, stress, and the medicines you take.
Before the call, note how many hours you spend at a screen without a break, and take a photo of your desk set-up if you can.
What does eye strain feel like?
Eye strain is what happens when your eyes get tired from intense use. It usually feels like:
- sore, tired, burning or itchy eyes
- watery or dry eyes
- blurred or double vision
- a headache
- a sore neck, shoulders or back
- sensitivity to light
- difficulty concentrating, or a feeling that you cannot keep your eyes open
Long spells of screen work can also cause temporary short-sightedness. Eye strain can make you tired and less able to concentrate, but it usually has no serious or long-term effects on the eyes.
What does eye strain look like?
Eye strain is mostly felt rather than seen: tired, sore or burning eyes. The eyes may water, or look red if they are dry, and the symptoms ease once you rest your eyes.
Can eye strain cause headaches?
Yes. A headache is one of the main symptoms of eye strain, often with sore eyes and a stiff neck and shoulders after long hours at a screen. A headache that comes on suddenly and is extremely painful, or a severe headache with blurred or double vision, is an emergency: call 112. The headaches page covers other causes.
What causes eye strain?
Long periods of focusing without a break. The most common causes are:
- Screens: you blink less, and screens often sit at the wrong distance or angle, with glare or poor contrast.
- Reading or close work: long spells without pausing.
- Driving: long distances, and other tasks that need long spells of focus.
- Lighting: glare or bright light, or straining to see in dim light.
- Your eyes: uncorrected vision problems, or dry eyes.
- Your day: stress, tiredness, and dry air from fans, heating or air conditioning.
People who look at a screen for 2 or more hours in a row every day are most at risk. Screen text is less sharp and lower in contrast than print, which makes the eyes work harder.
Why do my eyes feel tired but not my body?
Because screen work and reading keep the eyes focusing and moving hard while the rest of you is still. You blink less at a screen, which dries the eyes, and an uncorrected vision problem or a change in focusing with age adds to the effort.
Do screens damage your eyes?
No. Screen work does not cause permanent damage to the eyes. Long spells can cause tired eyes, discomfort, temporary short-sightedness and headaches. Most symptoms fade after screen work stops, but they keep coming back if the cause, such as an uncorrected vision problem, is not dealt with.
How do you relieve eye strain?
Rest your eyes often, set up your screen well, and have your eyes tested. These steps help most:
- The 20-20-20 rule: every 20 minutes, look at something about 6 metres (20 feet) away for 20 seconds.
- Longer breaks: after 2 hours of continuous screen work, rest your eyes for a quarter of an hour.
- Blink: blink often, to keep the front of the eyes moist.
- Lubricating drops: if your eyes feel dry or gritty.
- Glare: position the screen to avoid glare from windows and overhead lights, use blinds, and use an adjustable desk lamp or an anti-glare cover.
- Screen settings: enlarge the text, and set the contrast and brightness to a level that is comfortable.
- The air: a humidifier helps in dry, heated or air-conditioned rooms.
- Glasses: glasses made for screen work can help, even if you do not need glasses for anything else.
Swipe sideways to compare →
| Setting | What to aim for |
|---|---|
| Distance | About 50 to 70 cm from your eyes, roughly an arm’s length |
| Height | The centre of the screen 15 to 20 degrees below eye level, about 10 to 13 cm |
| Position | Directly in front of you, with the top of the screen at or just below eye level |
| Light | No glare from windows or overhead lights; blinds on the windows and an adjustable desk lamp |
| Breaks | 20 seconds every 20 minutes, and a quarter of an hour after 2 hours |
How do you relieve eye strain fast?
Look away from the screen at something in the distance, blink a few times, and use a lubricating drop if your eyes feel dry. Cut glare where you can. Most eye strain eases soon after you rest your eyes.
How long does eye strain last?
It usually goes away with rest. If it keeps coming back, or lasts despite breaks and a better set-up, see an optician: an uncorrected vision problem or dry eyes may be behind it.
Do blue light glasses help with eye strain?
Probably not. A Cochrane review of 17 studies with 619 people, published in August 2023, found that blue-light filtering lenses may not reduce short-term eye strain from computer work, and could not say whether they improve sleep. Breaks, a good set-up and glasses prescribed for your screen distance are what help.
Eye tests for screen workers: your rights in Europe
If you use a screen for work, you are entitled to an eye test. Under the EU directive on work with display screen equipment (90/270/EEC), workers are entitled to an appropriate eye and eyesight test before starting screen work, at regular intervals after that, and if they have problems with their vision at work, with an examination by an eye specialist if the test shows it is needed.
In the UK, the law says employers must arrange and pay for an eye test for screen users who ask for one. Employers only have to pay for glasses if the test shows you need special glasses for screen work; if your normal glasses are suitable, they do not have to pay for them.
Eye strain or something else?
Tired, sore eyes and headaches have other causes too. These patterns help tell them apart:
Swipe sideways to compare →
| Condition | What points to it | Online care |
|---|---|---|
| Eye strain | Tired, sore eyes and headaches after screens, reading or driving, easing with rest | Handled online |
| Dry eyes | Dry, gritty, sore or itchy eyes, worse with screens, wind or air conditioning | Treated online |
| Needing glasses | Blurred vision that does not clear with rest | An eye test at an optician |
| Migraine | A throbbing headache, sometimes with zigzag lines or flashing lights beforehand | Treated online |
| Sinusitis | Pain and tenderness around the cheeks, eyes or forehead, with a blocked or runny nose | Treated online |
| Acute glaucoma | Intense eye pain, a red eye, blurred vision, coloured rings around lights, feeling or being sick | Emergency: call 112 |
What could be causing pressure behind my eye?
Often eye strain, migraine or sinusitis, which causes pain and tenderness around the eyes, cheeks or forehead. Intense eye pain with a red eye and blurred vision can be acute glaucoma, which is an emergency: call 112.
Which eye strain treatment might the doctor recommend?
Treatment follows the cause. This is the framework the doctors use:
Swipe sideways to compare →
| What you have | Likely first step | Suitable for online care? | When in-person care is needed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tired, sore eyes after screen work | Breaks, the 20-20-20 rule and a better screen set-up | Yes | Not usually needed |
| Eye strain with dry, gritty eyes | Lubricating drops, blinking and humidity | Yes | If it does not improve after a few weeks |
| Blurring that does not go with rest, or no recent eye test | An eye test at an optician | Yes, to advise | For the eye test |
| Screen worker with eye strain | An eye test arranged through your employer | Yes, to advise | For the eye test |
| Headaches with eye strain | Breaks and an eye test; assessment for migraine and other causes | Yes | If headaches change or come with other symptoms |
| Sudden blurred or double vision, eye pain or a red eye | An urgent eye examination | No | Urgently, in person |
| Sudden loss of vision, a painful red eye with blurred vision, or a sudden, extremely painful headache | Emergency care | No | Call 112 now |
Tired, sore eyes every day? A doctor can help you work out the cause in one consultation.
See available times →Treatment options for eye strain
What you can do yourself
- Take short breaks often, and use the 20-20-20 rule.
- Set your screen at arm’s length, directly in front of you, with the top at or just below eye level.
- Blink often, and use lubricating drops if your eyes feel dry.
- Use an adjustable desk lamp, and an anti-glare cover if glare is a problem.
- Have regular eye tests, as your optician advises, and wear any glasses prescribed for screen work.
- Rest when you are tired, and keep air from fans, heaters and air conditioning from blowing into your eyes.
Prescription treatment
A prescription is never issued without a consultation. Eye strain itself does not need a prescription medicine. The doctor may recommend or prescribe treatment for dry eyes, and treatment for migraine if that is part of the picture. Glasses come from an eye test. If the doctor prescribes, use the prescription at a pharmacy near you.
What does not help
Working through hours at a screen without breaks. Redness-relief drops: they only reduce redness, should not be used for more than 3 days, and long-term use makes the redness worse. Putting up with blurring that does not go with rest instead of having an eye test.
Special situations
Contact lens wearers
Contact lenses make dry eyes more likely, and long screen sessions add to it. Take your lenses out and wear glasses to rest your eyes, and ask your optician about glasses or lenses designed for screen work.
Over 50
Dry eyes are more likely over the age of 50, and the natural change in focusing with age (presbyopia) adds to eye strain at a screen. An up-to-date eye test helps.
Drivers
Long drives cause eye strain too. Take regular breaks to rest your eyes, and have your eyes tested if you find it harder to see clearly when driving.
Eye strain while travelling in Europe
Long drives, flights spent at a screen and glare from bright sun all add up. Rest your eyes, pack lubricating drops, and see the jet lag page for help with tiredness after long journeys.
Children
Mobi Doctor consultations are for adults aged 18 and over. A child who is unwell needs a paediatrician or a local doctor in person, and emergency signs in a child mean 112.
When eye strain is treated online, and when you need in-person care
Treated online: eye strain and its causes, screen and lighting advice, dry eyes, headaches linked to screen work, and deciding whether you need an eye test.
In-person care: eye tests and glasses, new blurred or double vision, eye pain or a red eye, and any sudden change in vision.
When to get in-person care
Call 112 or go to an emergency department now for:
- sudden loss of vision in one or both eyes
- sudden, severe eye pain, or a painful red eye with blurred vision
- flashes of light with a dark shadow or curtain across your vision
- a headache that comes on suddenly and is extremely painful
- a severe headache with blurred or double vision
- blurred or double vision with weakness of the face, arm or leg, or difficulty speaking
Get medical advice the same day for:
- blurred or double vision that came on suddenly
- eye pain, or an eye that is painful and red
- seeing flashing lights or shapes, or new floaters
How Mobi Doctor works
- Book a time that suits you: daily 7am–11pm CEST. You can see a doctor over video, usually within 15 minutes. No subscription, and the exact price is shown before you pay.
- Speak to a licensed doctor about your eyes: describe your symptoms, how long you spend at a screen without a break, your lighting, and when you last had an eye test.
- Leave with a plan: what to do, what to take and for how long, and which signs mean you should be seen in person. If the doctor prescribes, use the prescription at a pharmacy near you.
No sign-up needed
Not sure it’s eye strain? Tick every symptom you have to see each condition page that mentions it. It finds the right page, not a diagnosis: a doctor gives you that on a video call.
Tap the body — an area or a point — to browse symptoms anywhere
Similar symptoms, different condition? Dry eye syndrome can start the same way. Compare them, or look up any other symptom in the full symptom checker.
Frequently asked questions about eye strain
What is eye strain?
Eye strain is tiredness of the eyes from intense use, such as screens, reading or long drives. It is common and usually not serious, and it eases with rest and changes to how you use your eyes.
What does eye strain feel like?
Eye strain feels like sore, tired, burning or itchy eyes, dry or watery eyes, blurred vision, headaches, a sore neck or shoulders, sensitivity to light, and difficulty concentrating or keeping your eyes open.
How do you relieve eye strain fast at home?
Look away from the screen at something in the distance, blink a few times, and use lubricating drops if your eyes feel dry. Cut glare where you can. Most eye strain eases soon after you rest your eyes.
How long does eye strain last?
Eye strain usually goes away with rest. If it keeps coming back or lasts despite breaks and a better set-up, see an optician, because an uncorrected vision problem or dry eyes may be behind it.
Can eye strain cause headaches?
Yes. Headaches are one of the main symptoms of eye strain, often with sore eyes and a stiff neck after long hours at a screen. A headache that comes on suddenly and is extremely painful, or a severe headache with blurred or double vision, is an emergency: call 112.
How can I prevent eye strain?
Follow the 20-20-20 rule, blink deliberately and use lubricating drops in dry rooms, set the screen an arm’s length away with its top at eye level, match its brightness to the room and cut glare with blinds or a matt screen, increase text size, keep the room lit evenly, take a 5-minute break every hour, wear the right glasses for the distance, have an eye test every 2 years, drink enough, and sleep well. Eye strain is almost entirely preventable with set-up and habits.
What is the 20-20-20 rule?
The 20-20-20 rule for eye strain: every 20 minutes, look at something about 20 feet, or 6 metres, away for 20 seconds. It gives your eyes regular short breaks from close focus during screen work.
Do screens damage your eyes?
No. Screen work causes eye strain but not permanent damage to the eyes, though long spells can cause tired eyes, discomfort, temporary short-sightedness and headaches. Symptoms keep coming back if the cause, such as an uncorrected vision problem, is not dealt with.
How far away should my screen be?
To limit eye strain, about 50 to 70 cm from your eyes, roughly an arm's length, directly in front of you, with the centre of the screen 15 to 20 degrees below eye level and no glare from windows or lights.
Does my employer have to pay for an eye test?
Across the EU, screen workers with or without eye strain are entitled to an eye and eyesight test before starting screen work, at regular intervals and if they have visual problems. In the UK, employers must arrange and pay for the test when a screen user asks.
What could be causing pressure behind my eye?
Often eye strain, migraine or sinusitis, which causes pain and tenderness around the eyes, cheeks or forehead. Intense eye pain with a red eye and blurred vision can be acute glaucoma, which is an emergency: call 112.
Do I need glasses for screen work?
Some people with eye strain do, even if they do not need glasses for anything else. An eye test shows whether glasses made for screen distance would help, and tell the optician how far away your screen is.
Can an online doctor help with eye strain?
Yes. A doctor can assess eye strain by video, treat dry eyes, check for migraine and the signs of other eye problems, and tell you when you need an eye test.
- Eyestrain: symptoms and causes, Mayo Clinic (US), 2 July 2024.
- Eyestrain: diagnosis and treatment, Mayo Clinic (US), 2 July 2024.
- Computer vision syndrome, American Optometric Association (US), accessed 15 October 2026.
- Display screen equipment: eye tests, HSE, Health and Safety Executive (UK), updated 20 March 2025.
- Directive 90/270/EEC: display screen equipment, EU-OSHA, European Agency for Safety and Health at Work, updated 16 January 2025.
- Dry eyes, NHS, National Health Service (UK), reviewed 6 January 2025.
- Sinusitis (sinus infection), NHS, National Health Service (UK), reviewed 31 January 2024.
- Migraine: symptoms, NHS, National Health Service (UK), reviewed 10 March 2026.
- Home remedies for bloodshot eyes, and when to see a doctor, American Academy of Ophthalmology, 7 April 2023.
- Vision loss, NHS, National Health Service (UK), reviewed 28 August 2025.
- Glaucoma, NHS, National Health Service (UK), reviewed 13 June 2025.
- Blue-light filtering spectacle lenses for visual performance, sleep, and macular health in adults, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, Singh S et al., 18 August 2023.
This page is for information only and is not a substitute for a medical consultation. Guideline links are provided for transparency; treatment decisions are made with your doctor.
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