3 symptoms you shouldn’t ignore when it comes to your eye health.
Our eyes allow us to experience so much in the world: the comfort of a smile, the joy of seeing a familiar face, the sight of a beautiful sunset. Its easy to take our eyes for granted; they do so much for us yet require little thought on our part to operate efficiently and profoundly. Our eyes are truly amazing and so very important to protect.
So here are 3 symptoms you don’t want to ignore when it comes to your eyes.
Light sensitivity outside of your normal. This doesn’t include normal bright sunny days during the year when you step outside under the glaring bright sun. Nor does this apply to glare with night driving. This is when normal room illumination is uncomfortable. Lighting overhead hurts your eyes. This is especially important sign if you are a contact lens wearer who is noticing more light sensitivity and signs like redness or tearing. Contact lens associated red eye which can lead to an infection often presents in this manner as does different types of infection occurring inside the eye.
Sudden foggy vision that doesn’t go away in one eye or the other. When no amount of cleaning your glasses or changing your contacts seems to help, this could signal a change inside the eye, specifically a retinal detachment or tear. A few questions that your optometrist will ask is, have you had floaters or flashes in your vision, outside of your normal? Does your vision look distorted? Changes in the retina can be an emergency situation so don’t take any chances and discuss any vision changes with your optometrist.
Double vision and this doesn’t mean the double vision that accompanies a few drinks. Double vision that comes on suddenly could potentially indicate a neurological issue; if accompanied by slurred speech or pain, head to the emergency room as soon as possible. Seeing two of the same thing side by side or one on top of the other? Sudden double vision or after your eyes are fatigued? These are important details that your eye doctor will want to know.
My number one advice would be to not ignore symptoms; they are your eye’s way of telling you that something may be wrong. Play it safe and check in your with eye doctor!
Stay Happy and Healthy!
Dr. Jennifer Wademan, OD
