Nike Prescription Glasses: How to Avoid Eyewear Pain

Prescription glasses aren’t supposed to cause pain or discomfort. If a pair of shoes is uncomfortable, you would likely blame the problem on a stitch rubbing your foot, or on a poor fit. Perhaps you might realize that you’re simply lacing them up too tight. Likewise, similar reasons exist for painful eyewear glasses. Eyewear pain is either caused by its physical fit on your head or by its effect on your vision.

Here are three common types of eyewear pain and their causes:

Headache, Blurred Vision, or Tired Eyes

Headache, blurred vision, or tired eyes are symptoms of eye strain. The facial muscles surrounding the eyes as well as those responsible for eye movement will become fatigued when the eyes fixate on something such as a computer screen for too long. These muscles work best when they’re moving and easily tire when held in fixed positions.

Staring for hours at a screen involves little eye movement or changes of the eye lens focus. Fatigue of the eye muscles as well as the facial muscles cause a general feeling of tired eyes and headache. Because the focal length (reading distance) never changes, the small muscles that change the shape of your eye lens remain rigid and fatigue as well. This temporarily reduces their ability to properly focus your eye lens and therefore causes blurred vision.

Take a break every twenty minutes from reading by looking at something in the distance at least twenty feet away. Keep this up for about 20-30 seconds, or longer if you wish. These little rest breaks “recharge” the muscles associated with your eyes and vision.

Another cause of eye strain is glare. When using a computer, make sure other light sources such as a window or a bright light aren’t shining in your face. This includes their reflections off your computer screen. Another problem with digital screens is their blue light emission, which interfere with the eye’s ability to focus. This also fatigues the eyes. Yellow tint or a clear blue blocker lens, both of which are optional when buying Nike prescription glasses, will block out blue light.

Anything that makes your eyes work harder will contribute to eyestrain. For example, dirt and/or scratches on the lenses reduce image clarity and can cause glare when light strikes it at certain angles. Keeping your Nike prescription glasses clean and getting an anti-scratch coating will prevent or reduce this problem.

Another source of glare comes from intense sunlight and its reflections. The best solution for outdoor glare is a pair of polarized Nike sunglasses with a gray or brown tint. An anti-reflective (AR) coating prevents light reflections off the inside of your eyewear lenses. This helps in both outdoor and indoor situations where multiple light sources are present.

Pinched Nose

Pain from the pads pressing into the bridge of the nose can be caused by a poor sizing of the frames. A bridge size that’s too short poorly positions the pads, while short eyewear temples will pull the pads in against the nose.

Yet another reason for this problem is glasses that are too heavy. This may happen when using heavy lenses. Increasing the lens index level will give you lighter lenses yet retain the same prescription strength. For example, if you’re using a standard plastic lens, you could try polycarbonate instead, or perhaps a high index plastic lens.

Pain Behind the Ears

Some metal prescription glasses frames use a nickel alloy. If you’re allergic to nickel, this could cause the pain. A common reason for pain behind the ears however, is a poor fitting frame. The temple arms of many frames curve inward at their ends to provide a better grip. If these arms are too short, they will curve inward near the ears rather than behind the head. This will create a painful pressure behind the ears. Another possibility is that the arms of your particular frame style are too curved for the shape of your head.

For frame problems causing a pinched nose or ear pain, an optician can make frame adjustments that relieve the discomfort. If the optician can’t help you, you may need to buy a better fitting frame. If you have concerns about choosing a frame style and the right lens options that won’t cause discomfort, we can help. Contact us today.