The eyes are very expressive, and one of the many things we can do with them is to squint. You may squint to express skepticism, confusion, and other emotions. But if you find yourself squinting almost involuntarily, it may indicate something else is happening with your eyes. Your Jesup, GA, optometrist can do an eye exam to help determine the cause if you feel you always have to squint. In the meantime, here are some common reasons.

Dry Eyes

Dry eye syndrome, commonly called “dry eyes,” is when the eyes are not sufficiently lubricated. While the cause of dry eyes varies, this condition almost always causes chronic squinting. You may be squinting unconsciously to try to bring on eye moisture or protect your eyes from the drying effects of the air.

Refractive Errors

If you find yourself squinting to see things more clearly, you may have refractive errors in your eyes. This simply means that you may be nearsighted, farsighted, or have some other eyesight problem. Squinting sometimes helps in these situations because it narrows the pupil, which might temporarily bring an object into focus.

Brightness or Glare

Squinting is also a way to keep excess light from entering the eyes. By squinting, you reduce the pupil size, decreasing the amount of light that enters the eye. This helps in reducing discomfort and improves the ability to see details by minimizing light scattering within the eye, which would otherwise cause glare.

Eye Strain

If you’re a person who works online every day and then comes home to read or be entertained by screens, you may have eye strain. Eye strain, or eye fatigue, is brought on by muscle fatigue, similar to what other muscles in your body may experience with over-exertion. You may need to limit your screen time to resolve this problem. Another option is to install screen filters, which block the blue light that’s emitted from screens.

Another drawback to chronic squinting is the resulting wrinkles around the eyes. Since this area has thin skin, the wrinkles will show up faster and deeper than in other areas. No matter why you are squinting, you may find help when you have an eye exam in Jesup, GA, at Vision Source. Contact us today to book an appointment.