Vision problems are usually an ophthalmological problem. The most common causes of visual disturbances include refractive errors, retinal diseases, cataracts or glaucoma. Vision disturbances may also indicate systemic diseases such as diabetes and hypertension, and even a brain tumor. Check the symptom of which disease may be visual disturbances.

Visual disturbanceis a term for various visual dysfunctions that are subjectively observed by the patient.Causeschanges in visual acuity, double vision, blurred images, scotomas, bright flares or loss of visual field are most often refractive errors (myopia, hyperopia, astigmatism), glaucoma, cataracts or age-related macular degeneration. However, sometimes visual disturbances may indicate systemic diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, anemia, and even infection with toxoplasmosis or cancer - multiple myeloma and brain tumor.

Vision disorders: blurry eye structures

  • Cataractis characterized by a gradual development of symptoms, which include loss of sense of contrast, disturbance in judging distance, and difficulty seeing in bright light.
  • Corneal haze(post-traumatic or post-inflammatory) is manifested by disturbances in the structure of the cornea, visible on a slit lamp examination.
  • Iritisoruveitisis manifested by photosensitivity, pain and redness of the eye accompanied by a headache and a generally blurred field of vision .

Vision disorders: retinal disorders

  • Age-related macular degeneration is manifested by gradual loss of vision (more central than peripheral) and scotomas in the central part of the visual field. There are also druses or macular scars and the neovascular membrane.
  • Retinitisand may be the result of an infection with toxoplasmosis or appear in the presence of HIV infection. The symptoms are the abnormal appearance of the retina, redness and pain in the eye.
  • Retinal pigment degenerationmanifests itself mainly by night blindness and pigmented lesions of the retina.
  • Retinal detachmentmanifestsvisual field disturbance (usually monocular) in the form of scotomas, light flares and loss of the side field of vision.

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Visual disturbance: diseases of the optic nerve or the visual pathway

  • Open angle glaucomais characterized by symptoms of visual field loss (difficulty walking up stairs, seeing some written or read words) and increased intraocular pressure.
  • Optic neuritisis manifested by pain during eye movements, often one-sided, impaired direct reaction to light, sometimes blurring of the optic disc and soreness of the eyeball.
  • Disturbances in the visual cortexare manifested by bilateral, symmetrical defects in the field of vision.

Visual disturbance: foreign body in the eye

Eyeball injuries can also cause visual impairment through direct mechanical damage to it.

Read also: Eye diseases: diseases of the retina and vitreous are treatable eye diseases

Visual disturbance: visual acuity disturbance

Vision defects(myopia, hyperopia, astigmatism) - visual acuity depends on the distance of the observed object, which improves after the use of appropriate refraction.

Important

Retinopathy can lead to blindness!

Hypertension, lupus erythematosus, diabetes, Waldenstrom's macroglobulinemia, multiple myeloma and other conditions that cause increased blood viscosity can lead toretinopathy, which is damage to the blood vessels of the retina . Then, hemorrhages, exudates or swelling of the optic nerve disc appear, as well as dilated veins.

Vision disorders: what diseases can they cause?

Hyperthyroidism is manifested by double vision accompanied by exophthalmos, warming the skin and increased heart rate, and migraine with the presence of light spots and scotomas in the field of vision.

In turn, bilateral hemi-vision is a consequence of damage to the optic crossing and most often occurs in cases of strokes and tumors of the pituitary gland.

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Visual disturbance - rarer conditions

Patients with certain conditions causing blurred vision (e.g. corneal erosion, ulceration, keratitis associated withHerpes zoster , ocular shingles, acute attackglaucoma) are more likely to experience other symptoms such as redness or pain in the eye.

Rare visual acuity abnormalities include hereditary neuropathies (dominant II nerve atrophy, Leber's hereditary neuropathy) or corneal scarring due to vitamin A deficiency or amiodarone administration.

Visual disturbance: cardiac medications

Drugs, , mainly those used in heart rhythm disorders, such as quinidine, disopyramide, mexiletine, phenytoin or propafenone, also contribute to visual impairment. Eyesight symptoms may include:

  • double vision,
  • nystagmus,
  • blurred vision,
  • angle-closure glaucoma,
  • disturbed color perception or scotoma in front of the eyes.

Aamiodarone, used in ventricular and supraventricular arrhythmias, causes special symptoms: it causes the appearance of microcomponents in the cornea.

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