Vision Changes That Should Not Be Ignored

By Afsoon Khoshnevis, OD

Recently, a 57-year-old patient came in on a Friday afternoon whose chief complaint was loss of side vision. He'd noticed it Monday of that week. When asked why he had waited so long, he said, “I thought it would go away on its own.”

If you experience peripheral or side vision loss that lasts more than an hour, you should see an eye care provider. This patient had retinal detachment, which luckily was reattached in emergency surgery and he had no visual damage.

Other signs that shouldn't be ignored are flashes of light or seeing a lot of black dots (floaters). Retina is the lining in the eyes; like a film in the camera, images form on it. If this tissue detaches from the back layers that provide nourishment, it will die in a few days, which leads to permanent vision loss in that eye. Retinal detachment is more prevalent among boxers, nearsighted people, diabetics, people who have some congenital disorders, and people with a history of head or eye trauma.

Vision changes such as sudden decrease in clarity or vision loss are also a medical emergency. The sooner you see your eye care provider, the higher the chances are of saving that eye, protecting the other eye, and even saving your life. Many vision changes are due to a health (systemic) disorder for example high blood sugar or high blood pressure may affect sight.

Dimming of vision, even for few seconds, could be a sign that your eye's optic nerve is not receiving enough blood flow. An ultrasound of the carotid artery is needed to ensure perfusion and lack of blockage.

Sudden double vision, unequal pupil size between eyes (without history of migraine headaches) and sudden eyelid droop could all be signs of increased pressure inside the head such as an aneurysm.

Finally, a common and under-diagnosed sign is the eyes being further out of the eye socket (proptosis), which gives a staring look. The eyelids are retraced and the white above the cornea is not covered. The pushing forward of the eyes one eye may be worse than the other has irreversible damage to eyes' soft tissues and sight loss, therefore, it should not be ignored.

Needless to say, if you're experiencing redness, eye pain or sudden sensitivity to light, you should see your eye care provider immediately.