Dilated eye examinations are not harmful to the eyes. The effect of astigmatism is to paralyze the ciliary muscles of the eye, relax the regulation, and obtain an accurate refractive state. For patients with “pseudomyopia” due to accommodation spasms and some cases of over-adjustment resulting in visual fatigue or rapid progression of myopia, ciliary muscle paralysis (dilating medication) is an effective treatment. The side effect of dilating the pupil while the ciliary muscle is paralyzed and the regulation is relaxed can cause photophobia and blurred vision. However, when the effect of the medication wears off, the pupil will return as before. In general, slow pupil dilators, i.e. atropine, may take up to 3 weeks for the effects to wear off. Fast pupil dilators, i.e., compound tropicamide, take 4-6 hours to wear off. A small number of people may experience redness, dry mouth, and fever when using atropine for pupil dilatation. The symptoms disappear after stopping the medication. Pupil dilators are contraindicated in patients suspected of having closed-angle glaucoma.