Blurred vision is the inability to see minute details due to a loss of vision clarity. Blurred vision might give you the impression that someone has covered your eyes with a filter, making everything out of focus. This can also be described as a clouded or dim vision. This blog will discuss the different causes of blurred vision along with the symptoms and treatment options available.
Causes of Blurred Vision
There can be many causes of blurred vision, Common examples are:
Refractive Errors
The most frequent reason for vision blur is a refractive error. A refractive error develops when the eyes cannot focus on images which include astigmatism, farsightedness, and nearsightedness. These disorders are often treatable with eyeglasses, contact lenses, or surgery.
Dry Eye Syndrome
Dry eye syndrome can cause transient blurred vision. If your eyesight improves when you blink, you may have dry eyes. Itching, redness, and soreness are other symptoms of Dry eyes. Lubricating eye drops usually helps, but severe variants of the disease may require medical attention.
Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD)
Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is an eye disease that happens when the small central portion of your retina, called the macula, wears down. It’s one of the leading causes of severe, permanent vision loss in people over age 60. Blurred vision is the key symptom.
Cataract
A cataract is a clouding of the normally clear lens of the eye. It may be associated with colored halos and glare, along with intolerance to bright lights. Early cases are treated with glasses, but surgery is the only effective cure.
Corneal Opacification or Scarring
Corneal opacity occurs when the cornea becomes scarred. This stops light from passing through the cornea to the retina and may cause the cornea to appear white and cause blurry vision.
Infectious Retinitis
Infectious retinitis is an inflammation of the retina resulting from infection by bacteria, viruses, fungi, or parasites. Some patients with infectious retinitis will notice “floaters” or blurry vision, while others have no symptoms at the time of diagnosis.
Retinopathy, such as Diabetic Retinopathy
Diabetic retinopathy can affect anyone who has diabetes. This condition can result in complete blindness. It weakens the blood vessels in your retina. Common symptoms include spots or dark strings floating in your vision (floaters), blurred vision, fluctuating vision, dark or empty areas in your vision, and vision loss.
Optic Neuritis
Optic neuritis refers to inflammation and irritation of the optic nerve. It causes blurred, grey, and dim vision.
Stroke
A stroke occurs when the blood supply to the brain is interrupted. Stroke can affect the visual pathways of your eye which in turn affect your vision in different ways including visual field loss, blurry vision, etc.
Migraine
Severe headaches due to migraine may also be associated with temporary blurring of vision along with the flickering light, halos, or zigzag patterns before a headache.
Trauma or Injury to the Eyes
In some cases, injury to the eyes can result in blurred vision, double vision, pain, or light sensitivity.
Symptoms of Blurred Vision
Depending on the cause of the visual blur, additional symptoms may or may not be present, and it may affect one or both eyes.
These consist of:
- Light sensitivity or photophobia
- Ocular discomfort or headaches
- Spots, mosquitoes, or floating objects in front of the eye
- Itchiness and dryness in the eyes
- Eye tiredness and strain
- Having watery or discharges in the eyes
- Trauma symptoms in the eyes
- Whitish color in pupils.
Treatment of Blurred Vision
Treatments for blurred vision can depend on the condition that’s causing your symptoms.
Eyeglasses and Contact Lenses
These help to treat blurriness caused by refractive errors and other causes, including cataracts to improve vision.
Medications
Your eye doctor may prescribe medications to treat the condition that’s causing your blurry vision. The medications vary depending on the underlying disease.
Surgery
In some cases, like cataracts or LASIK to treat refractive errors, surgery will be the option.
Shekar eye hospital promises you the best quality eye care services. Make sure you get an appointment with your eye doctor if you have unexplained, persistent blurry vision or vision problems accompanied by other symptoms.
