What term refers to symptoms caused by uncorrected refractive error?

The term that refers to symptoms caused by uncorrected refractive error is asthenopia. This condition involves visual discomfort or fatigue that typically arises when the eyes struggle to focus due to uncorrected refractive errors, such as nearsightedness, farsightedness, or astigmatism. Individuals experiencing asthenopia may report symptoms such as eye strain, headaches, blurred vision, and difficulty maintaining focus, especially during prolonged visual tasks.

In contrast, ametropia encompasses the broader category of refractive errors and refers to any deviation from emmetropia, where the eye's optical system does not focus light correctly on the retina. While asthenopia can result from ametropia, the term specifically emphasizes the symptoms rather than the refractive error itself.

Esotropia describes a type of strabismus (misalignment of the eyes) where one eye turns inward. Anisometropia refers to a condition where the two eyes have different refractive powers, which may contribute to discomfort but is not specifically about the symptoms that arise from uncorrected refractive error. Thus, asthenopia is the most accurate term when discussing the symptoms caused by uncorrected refractive errors.