Asthenopia: frequency and objective findings.

Fifty young adults were interviewed about the asthenopic symptoms experienced in the preceding 6 months by means of a questionnaire; they then underwent ophthalmic investigation. We established the frequency of occurrence of single asthenopic symptoms and looked for their prevalence in subgroups determined by objective findings such as phorias, different accommodation widths, different fusional vergence widths, and others. The frequencies of single complaints were: headache 42/50 (84%), ocular pain 17/50 (34%), foreign body sensation 25/50 (50%), red eyes 22/50 (44%), photophobia 24/50 (48%), double vision 5/50 (10%), difficulties when changing fixation distance 21/50 (42%). We did not find any obvious preference for one of the symptoms in any of the subgroups mentioned above.