Visual disorders are, as the name itself suggests, disturbances of vision or the eye. Thereby, the impairment of vision can have many forms. Visual disorders are not infrequently a symptom of an underlying disease. Visual impairments are generally understood to be long-lasting or chronic visual disturbances.
What are visual impairments?
Because visual disturbances often occur as a symptom of an underlying disease, it is also followed by accompanying symptoms, such as headache, vomiting, or general weakness. Visual disorders are mostly pathological disturbances of the visual apparatus. A visual disturbance can have various manifestations. Often tunnel vision, flickering, flashes, bright spots, double images or a restricted field of vision occur with vision disorders. But also distorted, hazy and blurred visualizations occur. Since visual disturbances often occur as a symptom of an underlying disease, it is also followed by accompanying symptoms, such as headache, vomiting or general weakness. In most cases, visual disturbances occur only for a short time. In some cases, however, they may persist for a long time or even years. If visual disturbances occur regularly, medical help should definitely be sought.
Causes
Visual disturbances can have a wide variety of causes. Not always hide behind them immediately more serious diseases. For example, visual disturbances can occur with migraine, circulatory shock and hypoglycemia. Other causes of visual disturbances are: Inflammation of the optic nerve, arterial occlusion of the retina, bleeding in and around the eye, circulatory disorders of the eye or retinal detachment. More harmless are visual disorders related to myopia or hyperopia. Here, the visual disturbances usually occur over years or forever. Rather rarer are causes due to cataracts, age-related reduction in visual acuity and regression of the cornea.
Diseases with this symptom
- Cataract
- Nearsightedness
- Farsightedness
- Retinal disease in hypertension
- Astigmatism
- Brain tumor
- Migraine
- Optic neuritis
- Retinal detachment
- Presbyopia
- Age-related macular degeneration
- Multiple sclerosis
- Circulatory shock
- Hypoglycemia
- Glaucoma
- Uveitis
- Myasthenia gravis pseudoparalytica
- Diabetes mellitus
Diagnosis and course
A diagnosis of visual disturbances usually begins initially with a detailed description of the patient’s complaints. Important information includes, for example, the time of a first occurrence of visual disturbances, the possible presence of accompanying symptoms (such as headache and nausea) or visual field defects, as well as any vision of flashes or double images. Further diagnostic steps include eye tests, eye pressure and visual field measurements, and ophthalmoscopy. If a diagnosis is suspected, ultrasound and blood tests as well as neurological examinations may follow. Depending on the cause(s) of visual disturbances, they can start suddenly or gradually. While some visual disturbances resolve after a short time, other vision impairments may worsen acutely with a time delay.
Complications
Vision disorders usually do not need to be treated unless the person directly desires it or is unhappy with the situation. Those who have a visual disorder should definitely make use of a visual aid, which primarily includes glasses or contact lenses. Those who do not make use of visual aids may risk that the visual disorder will worsen even more. It is very tiring for the muscles of the eyes if they can only see blurred outlines all the time and then have to strain to correct the curvature of the lens. In addition, headaches and dizziness may occur if the eyes are exposed to blurred vision for a long period of time. There are usually no complications when wearing a vision aid or contact lenses. Contact lenses must be removed from the eye at night to prevent them from sticking or slipping behind the eyeball. Side effects or complications are extremely rare with laser correction.In most cases, the patient’s vision improves immediately after the procedure, and the procedure is not dangerous.
When should you go to the doctor?
In case of vision problems, a doctor should always be consulted. It is a very unhealthy condition. If a doctor is not consulted for vision disorders, they will usually worsen as the eye muscles are unnecessarily strained. Most of the time, the disorders do not go away on their own. Therefore, if the patient suffers from visual disturbances over a longer period of time, a doctor must be consulted. The doctor can diagnose a visual impairment or an eye disease. In any case, a visit to the doctor is necessary if the visual disturbances are also associated with eye pain or if the affected person complains of a foreign body sensation in the eye. This may be a disease of the eye that needs to be treated. In some cases, visual disturbances may occur temporarily during a migraine. In this case, no treatment is necessary if they disappear again on their own after a short time. If it is only a matter of visual disturbances, an optician can also be consulted in order to find an appropriate visual aid for the patient. However, if there is pain or unusual sensations in the eye, it is necessary to visit the ophthalmologist directly. If an accident has occurred to the eye, an emergency doctor must be called or the hospital must be visited.
Treatment and therapy
In the case of visual disturbances, a doctor should generally always be consulted, if only to have an eye test done for glasses. If the visual disturbances occur in the context of an underlying disease, he doctor will try to diagnose it by an intensive examination. The doctor will ask the patient about the extent of the visual disturbances. Above all, he will want to know the extent of the visual impairment (e.g., flashes, spots of blur). In addition, he will also address accompanying symptoms, such as nausea, vomiting, and headaches. Of course, an eye test is also part of the doctor’s examination. This involves measuring and determining the visual performance, as well as the eye pressure and the visual field. Furthermore, an ophthalmoscopy may also be necessary to examine the retina more closely for disorders and abnormalities. Other diagnostic tools include: Ultrasound examination, blood tests and neurological examinations. Depending on the cause, individual treatment or therapy is undertaken. Since in most cases a disease is responsible for the visual disturbances, it should be treated immediately. Visual disturbances caused by migraine are usually treated with antiemetics. If the cause is a retinal detachment, surgical intervention will often be necessary. In the meantime, there are new laser procedures that promise excellent visual performance. Please consult your ophthalmologist for further information. Visual disturbances in the context of harmless long-sightedness or short-sightedness can of course be treated with the help of suitable eyeglasses. Modern eye laser surgery can provide a permanent improvement in vision. Here, too, their ophthalmologist can give them further, specific information.
Outlook and prognosis
In most cases, vision problems are a non-reversible condition, so direct treatment is not possible. People often experience visual disturbances temporarily as a result of migraine. In this case, it is very likely that the visual disturbances will also disappear on their own. In the case of visual disturbances, the affected person must in any case wear a visual aid. This includes either glasses or contact lenses. If the visual aid is not worn, the visual disturbances will usually worsen, since the muscle of the eyes must make a great effort to see sharply. Therefore, especially in children, vision tests should be performed regularly. The removal of visual disturbances is possible, for example, with a laser. However, this treatment is only performed on adults, as the visual acuity of children can still change. If the visual disturbances occur due to a disease or an infection in the eye, a doctor should be consulted in any case. In this case, surgical intervention may also be necessary. In most cases, visual disturbances can be corrected or limited in such a way that the patient can see sharply again by using a visual aid. In this case, everyday life is only slightly restricted and the quality of life is not reduced.Visual disturbances are common, especially in older age, and are a common symptom.
What you can do yourself
Short-term vision problems do not necessarily need to be treated by a doctor. Often, the blurred or double vision is based on a harmless cause, which can be treated independently with the help of a few tricks and home remedies. If the vision problems occur while working at a computer screen, it is usually sufficient to take a short break and rest the eyes. A change of environment, physical activity and fresh air give the eyes the opportunity to regenerate and usually lead to an immediate improvement of the symptoms. In case of visual disturbances caused by a foreign body or irritating substances, the eyes should be rinsed with cool water. Eye drops with the active ingredient of tamarind have also proven effective. Fresh blueberries can help with blurred vision, burning or flickering eyes. Vision problems with dry and irritated eyes can be treated with evening primrose oil from the pharmacy. If the visual disturbances are accompanied by dizziness and numbness in the limbs, an emergency doctor should be alerted immediately. Possibly it concerns a heart attack or a stroke, which must be absolutely medically treated. First aid measures should be administered, if possible, until the ambulance arrives.