By Medicover Hospitals / 18 Jan 2021
What is Blurred Vision?
Blurred vision refers to a lack of clarity that results in an inability to see fine details. It can result from abnormalities such as myopia, hyperopia, presbyopia, or astigmatism. Blurry vision can be improved with corrective lenses or by signaling the presence of an eye condition. Depending on the cause, blurred vision can be felt in one or both eyes.
Blurry vision can also be a symptom of many conditions that do not directly affect the eye, such as migraine or stroke. Medications can also cause temporary blurring of vision as a side effect. Depending on its cause, blurred vision can sometimes be associated with other symptoms, including headache, sensitivity to light, or redness and irritation of the eyes.
Conditions Causing Blurry Vision Symptoms
There might be several reasons for the blurry vision. As mentioned, this might be a symptom of other conditions. Find the list of conditions requiring immediate assessment and treatment for blurred eyes:
Detached Retina
A detached retina occurs when the retina pulls away from the back of the eye and loses blood and nerves. When this happens, you see flashing lights and black spots followed by an area of blurry or no vision. Without emergency treatment, vision in this area can be permanently lost.
Stroke in the Brain
When a stroke affects the part of the brain that controls vision, blurred or lost vision in both eyes can occur. Other symptoms of a stroke may also occur, such as weakness on one side of the body or an inability to speak.
Transient Ischemic Attack
Transient ischemia (TIA) is a stroke of fewer than 24 hours. One of its symptoms may be a blurred vision in one or both eyes.
Wet Macular Degeneration
The centre of your retina is called the macula. Abnormal vessels can develop, leaking blood and other fluids into the macula, causing wet macular degeneration, blurring, and loss of vision in the central part of your visual field.
Unlike dry macular degeneration, this type can start suddenly and progress quickly, requiring immediate treatment.
Angle-Closure Glaucoma
Closed-angle glaucoma occurs when the drainage system in the eye is blocked. In this situation, the pressure inside the eye can build up quickly, causing redness, pain, and nausea.
This medical emergency requires treatment with eye drops to open the angle, decrease pressure, and decrease inflammation. In many cases, a laser procedure, known as laser iridotomy, is necessary.
Other Causes of Sudden Blurred Vision Symptoms
Eye Fatigue
Eye fatigue or strain can occur after looking and focusing on something for a long time without interruption.
Focusing on an electronic device like a computer or cell phone is sometimes called digital eye strain. Other causes include reading and driving, especially at night and in bad weather.
Conjunctivitis
Conjunctivitis, or pink eye, is an infection of the eye's outer wall. A virus usually causes it, but bacteria or allergies can also cause it.
Corneal Abrasion
Your cornea is the clear coating in the front of your eye. When scratched or injured, you can develop corneal abrasion. In addition to blurred vision, you may feel like something is in your eyes.
High Blood Sugar
Very high blood sugar causes swelling of the eye lens, which leads to blurred vision.
Hyphema
The dark red blood that collects in the front of your eyeball is called hyphema. It is caused by bleeding that occurs after an eye injury. If it increases the pressure inside the eye, it may cause pain.
Iritis
Iris is a coloured part of your eye. It occurs when an autoimmune reaction or infection causes inflammation of the iris.
Iris can occur independently or as part of an autoimmune disease, such as rheumatoid arthritis or sarcoidosis. Infections like herpes can also cause it. It may cause pain and sensitivity to light, also known as photophobia.
Keratitis
Keratitis is inflammation of the cornea, usually caused by an infection. Wearing contacts for too long or reusing dirty contacts increases the risk of keratitis.
Macular Hole
The macula is the centre of your retina and is responsible for your central vision. It can develop a tear or break that causes blurred vision. It usually only affects one eye.
Migraine with Aura
Migraine attacks are often preceded by an aura, which can cause blurred vision. You can also see wavy lines or flickering lights and have other sensory disturbances. Sometimes, you can have an aura without pain in your head.
Optic Neuritis
The optical nerve connects your eye with your brain. Optic nerve inflammation is also known as optical neuritis.
An autoimmune reaction or early multiple sclerosis usually causes it. Other causes are autoimmune diseases, such as lupus or infection. It usually only affects one eye.
Temporal Arteritis
Inflammation of medium-sized arteries is called temporal arteritis. The vessels around your temples can be involved, causing throbbing headaches in your forehead. It can also make your vision blurry or disappear.
Uveitis
The uvea is a group of pigmented structures within the eye, including the iris. An infection or autoimmune reaction can cause inflammation and pain, called uveitis.
Blurry Vision Diagnosis
An ENT specialist or general physician will diagnose the reasons for your blurred vision by looking at symptoms.
The physician may also ask about your medical history and a family history of eye conditions. Here are a few examples of questions they may ask:
- When did you first notice the blurred vision?
- What makes blurred vision worse or better?
Find the lists of tests that are done as part of blurry vision diagnosis;
Eye tests:
Your physician may then want to examine your eyes. They can test your vision by asking you to read an eye chart. They may also perform other eye tests, such as:
- ophthalmoscopy
- refraction test
- slit-lamp examination
- tonometry, which measures intraocular pressure
Blood tests:
Your doctor may also perform blood tests. Blood tests can be used to help them determine if bacteria are present in the blood. They may also use tests to get your white blood cell count (WBC) if they suspect there might be an infection.
Blurred Vision Treatment
The treatment will depend on your sight condition. Here is the list of conditions and how their blurred vision symptoms are treated.
- Detached or torn retina: This requires emergency surgical repair to prevent irreversible vision loss.
- Stroke: Timely and appropriate treatment for the type of stroke you are having is essential to prevent the death of your brain cells.
- Transient ischemic attack: Symptoms go away on their own within 24 hours. You may be given blood thinners to reduce the risk of stroke in the future.
- Wet macular degeneration: Medicines injected into the eye can help improve vision. Laser photocoagulation treatment can slow vision loss but cannot restore your vision. Special vision enhancement devices are sometimes used to improve your vision.
- Eye strain: If your eyes are tired, pause, and rest your eyes. One thing you can do to prevent it is to follow the 20-20-20 rule. To do this, focus on something 20 feet away for 20 seconds every 20 minutes when looking at a screen or something for a long time.
- Conjunctivitis: Usually goes away on its own, but antibiotics or antiviral drugs can often speed healing and reduce the risk of spreading.
- Corneal abrasion: This usually heals on its own within a few days. Antibiotics can treat or prevent infection.
- High blood sugar: Lowering blood sugar will fix the problem.
- Hyphema: When there are no other injuries and your eye pressure is not increased, bed rest and an eye patch should help. If it is more severe and the pressure is very high, your ophthalmologist may surgically remove the blood.
- Iritis: It generally gets cured on its own or with steroids. However, it recurs frequently. Suppose it becomes chronic and resistant to treatment. You may lose sight in that case, and immunomodulatory drugs may be needed to prevent this
- Keratitis: When caused by infection, keratitis is treated with antibiotic drops. For severe infections, oral antibiotics and steroid eye drops may be used.
- Macular hole: If it does not heal on its own, surgical repair of the hole is usually done.
- Migraine with aura: An aura does not need treatment, but it is a signal that you need to take your usual medicine for your migraine.
- Optic neuritis: This is managed by treating the underlying disease, but steroids can be helpful even if there are no systemic signs.
- Temporal arteritis: It is treated with long-term steroids. Treatment is important to prevent permanent vision issues.
- Uveitis: Uveitis like iritis, resolves spontaneously or with steroids. Repeated recurrence can lead to resistance to treatment and, potentially, blindness.
When to visit a Doctor?
You should call or see the local emergency services and get immediate medical attention if your blurred vision suddenly appears and you experience any of these symptoms:
You should consult the physician as soon as possible if:
- Severe headache
- Difficulty speaking
- Loss of muscular control on either side of the body
- Falling face
- Difficulty seeing
- These signs are similar to those of stroke.
- Other symptoms that may require immediate attention include severe eye pain or sudden vision loss.
- Slow-onset vision or other blurred vision symptoms.
