Houston optometrist offers ways to save your eyes in technology age

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- The small print we read in books and on our hand-held devices means our eyes are working overtime. Just ask aspiring eye doctor Lisa Kakade. The long hours of studying took their toll and before long she knew she need help.

"I would see pictures one on each side. After 10 minutes, I would experience headaches," remembered Kakade. "You can't be a blind optometrist exactly so that's probably what motived me to go in and see."

Kakade decided to undergo vision therapy at the University of Houston's College of Optometry.

"I would do some exercises for 30 minutes to an hour five days a week." said Kakade.

She said the therapy helped here more than she imagined. Her doctor, Janice Wensveen, explained glasses can't fix everything she's seeing in patients nowadays, some as young as 6 years old.

"We've gone beyond that into what I call extra demands that your eyes have to meet...that are really superhuman, that we were never designed to do," said Dr. Wensveen. "We know for a fact when people use these devices, they don't blink. They are fixated on what they are doing."

The doctor warned in the technology age, everyone needs to give their eyes a break.

"We advise people every couple of hours to get up go to the fridge, go to the bathroom, look out the window," said Dr. Wensveen.