What causes blurred vision and how to get rid of it
Blurred vision is nothing pleasant. If it has appeared suddenly, it may be a symptom of excessive exhaustion, but also of more serious diseases. Always remember that long-lasting blurred vision requires a medical check-up.
Blurred vision and multiple sclerosis
One of the signs of multiple sclerosis is blurred vision. It is caused by so-called optic neuritis, which is an inflammation of the optic nerve; besides blurred vision, its symptoms include eye pain, impaired colour vision or "grey" vision, or loss of peripheral vision. The disease can appear in one eye, but rarely also in both eyes at once. Optic neuritis is treated, or rather alleviated, with corticosteroids, which speed up the healing of the inflammation and suppress the activity of the immune system; however, corticosteroids do not affect how well the patient will see after treatment.
It is not unusual for a patient to lose some sharpness of vision after optic neuritis, and if it is left untreated, even to lose their sight completely.
Sudden blurred vision and stroke
According to older statistics, stroke, i.e. cerebral infarction, is the third most common cause of death in the world and in Slovakia, right after cancer and myocardial infarction.
One of the signs of a minor stroke can be sudden blurred vision. However, it is usually not the only symptom, so you do not need to panic straight away if you happen to notice that your image is not completely sharp. Vision disorders, which can include complete loss of vision in one or both eyes, are accompanied by other unpleasant signs and complications, such as loss of sensation or movement in the face, the facial muscles and the lower and upper limbs, dizziness, headaches and similar.
Dry eye syndrome
Much has been written about dry eye syndrome , but it is precisely this that can be the reason for blurred vision. It is a disorder of the wetting of the eye surface, which means that the tears our eye secretes through the tear ducts do not form a sufficient tear film on the surface of the eye to protect us.
Without the eye's specific moisture, its surface is more prone to mechanical damage and to unpleasant sensations that can lead to mechanical damage through our own carelessness. An unmoistened eye is not in its natural state: blinking causes unpleasant, irritating sensations because the eyelid does not glide over the surface of the eye.
By rubbing the eye often, we can damage it mechanically, or bring bacteria or viruses into the eye with unwashed hands and cause conjunctivitis.
In dry eye syndrome, besides insufficient tear secretion, the quality of the secreted tears is also a big problem. Tears consist of water, oils and mucus, which is the ideal combination for the protective film of our eyes. If one of the components decreases and is present in an insufficient proportion, our eye starts to feel it. That is why dry eye syndrome is related not only to work habits, such as looking at a screen for a long time, but also to lifestyle, which affects not only the health of our organs, but also the body functions that the organs need.
Blurred vision can be a result of astigmatism
Hazy and blurred vision can originate in a disorder called astigmatism. This disorder is also called a cylindrical refractive error. It shows as reduced visual acuity and failing to notice various details, and the patient rarely even suspects that they have it.
In astigmatism, light rays are not refracted onto one point on the retina, the focus, because the cornea is unevenly curved. As a result, the image that our eye perceives and our brain processes is unsharp, hazy and unclear.
The cornea is never perfectly regular; it has a slight curvature. In astigmatism, however, this curvature is more pronounced, which affects vision. Astigmatism is present from birth, but only fully shows later. This is partly because the eye can correct lower degrees of astigmatism by itself. Children therefore often say nothing, and it is not clear to adults, whether parents or doctors, that they have problems with their eyesight.
Correcting astigmatism
Astigmatism is corrected with so-called toric glasses or contact lenses. Vision aids for correcting astigmatism have special cylinders that change the refraction of light and so compensate for the incorrect curvature of the cornea. In the past, you had to wait longer for these cylinders, as they were more difficult to make. Today we know many degrees of astigmatism and production is faster. But there are also more effective methods of correcting astigmatism.
You can also get rid of astigmatism with a laser
Laser eye surgery can also help you with astigmatism. One of the most suitable methods for treating this condition is Relex Smile 3D. It is used for patients with astigmatism of up to 5 cylinders.
The Relex Smile 3D method is a surgical procedure developed by Carl Zeiss that uses a femtosecond laser. The laser removes excess tissue in the eye by creating a so-called lenticule, without damaging other parts of the eye. You can find out more in the video (in Slovak).
What to do in the case of blurred vision
Whether you have sudden blurred vision in one or both eyes, if it persists for a long time you should turn to a professional. This does not always mean an ophthalmologist or other eye doctor, but with the growing number of patients with astigmatism, it is quite possible that an ophthalmologist will be the one who helps you.
Astigmatism is not such a serious condition that you need to fear it, but it can make your life considerably unpleasant. So do not needlessly postpone a visit to a specialist, who can improve your quality of life overnight.
