In patients, whether young or old, sometimes poor vision can be caused by a number of factors including changes in the body or abnormalities in the eye or visual system, diseases affecting the eye, side effects caused by medication or injury. Lots of people also suffer from visual disturbances resulting from aging or eye strain. These experiences can lead to changes in your eyesight, which may sometimes cause discomfort and even make it harder to get through normal activities such as reading books or using a computer for long periods. These vision problems can be expressed via the following symptoms: eye strain, headache, blurred vision, squinting and problems seeing at short or long distances.
Blurred vision is one of the most oft-reported signs of a vision problem. If you report blurred vision when focusing on faraway objects, you may very well be nearsighted, or myopic. If you have blurred vision when you’re viewing anything close by it may be a sign of hyperopia, or farsightedness. It can also be a sign of astigmatism because of an flaw in the shape of the cornea, or sometimes the curvature of the lens inside the eye. No matter the reason you have blurry vision, it’s vital that an eye care professional examine your vision and decide on the most effective way to improve your sight.
Another common indicator of a vision problem is the inability to distinguish between shades or brightness of color. This indicates a problem perceiving color, or color blindness. Interestingly, this condition is often unknown to the patient until diagnosed with a test. Color blindness is mostly found in males. If present in a female it might represent ocular disease, and an optometrist needs to be consulted. For people who struggle to distinguish between objects in dim light, it is a sign of possible night blindness.
An issue commonly found in aging patients is cataracts, which have several telltale signs including: hazy sight that weakens in bright light, trouble seeing in the dark or reduced light, trouble discerning small writing or objects, the need for brighter light when reading, improvement in near vision but a decline in distance vision, redness around the eye, and a pale appearance to the normally dark pupil.
Throbbing eye pain, headaches, blurry vision, redness in the eye, rainbow halos around lights, nausea and vomiting are also indicators of glaucoma, a severe medical condition, which needs immediate medical attention.
When it comes to children, we recommend you watch for weak eye movement, or eyes that cross in or out, which may indicate a condition called strabismus. Specific things children might do, such as rubbing eyes, squinting, or the need to close one eye in order to see things better, can often indicate strabismus.
While clearly some conditions could be more serious than others, anything that restricts good sight will be a burden, and impact your quality of life. A short consultation with your optometrist can prevent being avoidably uncomfortable, not to mention even more severe eye damage.
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