LASIK doctors in Los Angeles can all agree that blurriness is one of the most common complaints they have from patients, and most of the time it is nothing to worry about. That is because most experts of LASIK eye surgery will tell you that blurriness could just be a sign that your glasses or contacts prescription requires updating. However, there are times that doctors notice that a patient’s fuzzy vision is something more to worry about.
Many corrective eye surgery physicians will tell you to always look into what is causing your blurry vision. Sometimes understanding the reason behind your fuzzy vision could mean the difference to your overall perfect vision.
Here are a few instances when blurry vision may be a symptom of a serious eye problem.
Eye conditions and diseases
If you suddenly experience blurry vision in one eye and are over the age of 60, you could have developed a macular hole in the central zone of your retina.
Unexpected blurry vision may also signify a detached retina, eye herpes, or optic neuritis (optic nerve inflammation).
Specific eye conditions and diseases can result in permanent loss of vision, so it is vital that you see a LASIK surgeon in Los Angeles like Doctor Moosa for diagnosis and treatment if you experience out-of-the-blue blurriness.
Cataracts
You may have cataracts if you are starting to notice vision changes such as blurred or cloudy vision and glare or halos around lights at night. If cataracts are left untreated, they can eventually worsen and obstruct vision to the stage of blindness. However, if you undergo cataract surgery, it will restore your lost vision.
Glaucoma
If you are experiencing blurry vision or “tunnel vision,” this could be the first symptom of glaucoma. Without treatment, vision loss will worsen and permanent blindness can follow.
Age-related macular degeneration
Blurry vision and visual distortions can make straight lines look wavy or broken, which are symptoms of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), a prominent cause of blindness among older people.
Diabetic retinopathy
If you suffer from diabetes, unexplained blurred vision may be because of the onset of diabetic retinopathy, which is a sight-threatening disease that damages the retina of the eye.
Cardiovascular disease and other systemic diseases
Blurred vision, often when it is associated with double vision, can be a symptom of an underlying health emergency such as a stroke or brain hemorrhage. Additionally, it could be an early sign of multiple sclerosis. If you have sudden blurry or double vision, visit an eye doctor immediately.
You have a concussion
If you have recently banged your head severely and are now experiencing vision issues, you may suffer from a head injury. Concussions can result in blurry vision and many other visual changes such as double vision, difficulties with shifting gaze shifting from one point to another, problems focusing, and loss of binocular vision, otherwise known as eye alignment. If you believe you are suffering from a concussion, you should talk to your doctor immediately.
You are stressed out
Stress and anxiety can greatly affect your health in various ways, and that includes your vision. Not many people know how stress can deteriorate their vision and eye health. Sometimes stress can cause the pupils to dilate needlessly, and adrenaline can escalate pressure on the eyes.
Even though the long-term impact of stress on the eyes can vary, most mild discomfort can be dealt with by just naturally lowering your stress level. Nevertheless, continuous heightened stress levels can cause permanent vision loss. Therefore, to prevent stress-related vision issues, you should try to maintain a healthy lifestyle, take frequent visual breaks from screens and technology, and practice other stress-reducing activities such as meditation and exercise.
You have a rare condition called uveitis
If you are experiencing eye blurriness and dryness that is accompanied by inflammation in or around the eye, then you could be suffering from uveitis, a group of diseases that can be linked with auto-immune or infectious disease; however, it is usually restricted to just the eye.
The number of people with uveitis is very low, but the damage it can cause is very severe. Symptoms can vary depending on what part of the eye is affected. For instance, if there is inflammation in the front part of the eye, there is usually redness, light sensitivity, and pain, while inflammation in the back part of the eye presents floaters, fuzzy vision, and flashing lights.
Stroke
You could have blurry or lost vision in both eyes after having a stroke that has affected the part of the brain that controls vision. A stroke that involves your eye causes blurred or lost vision in only one eye.
Other symptoms accompany a stroke, such as weakness on one side of the body or the inability to communicate.
Transient ischemic attack
A transient ischemic attack (TIA) is a stroke that lasts less than 24 hours. One of its symptoms can sometimes be blurred vision in one or both eyes.
Wet macular degeneration
In the middle of your retina, you have something that is called the macula. When abnormal vessels grow, it can result in blood and other fluids leaking into the macula. This is known as wet macular degeneration.
It results in blurriness and vision loss in the center part of a person’s visual field. This is very different to dry macular degeneration since this type can start suddenly and progress very quickly.
On the flip side, if you have mild blurry vision that comes and goes, this could just mean you are overworked, have eye strain, or you are over-exposed to sunlight.
Nonetheless, sudden or continual changes in vision such as blurriness, double vision, tunnel vision, blind spots, halos, or dimness of vision could be symptoms of serious eye disease or other health issues, according to Doctor Moosa, a LASIK expert in Los Angeles.
If you have unexpected changes to your vision, you should always see your eye doctor for laser vision correction as soon as possible.
