Eye Symptoms You Shouldn’t Ignore
The percentage of Kentucky residents diagnosed with Diabetes surpasses the national average, making it important for you to visit your Paducah, KY optometrist regularly. This helps to keep your eye doctor informed of your eye health and prepared for possible problems in the future.
It is normal to have occasional symptoms such as eye redness, watery or scratchy eyes, and irritation, as allergies or local irritants might cause this. However, there are some symptoms that you should track over time, as well as those that you should never ignore. Some of the eye symptoms that might indicate a need to visit your local optometrist include the following:
Eye Floaters: Eye floaters are small squiggles or lines that appear in your vision. They are made of collagen, part of the vitreous, a gelatinous substance located at the back of the eye. Eye floaters are most common in older people, as the protein fibers that make up the vitreous break down and clump together, producing a shadow. While the occasional eye floater is normal as you get older, if you are under 30 and have floaters, or experience a bright light that accompanies the lines, this could be a sign of a retinal tear and should be checked by an optometrist as soon as possible.
Eye Pain: When you experience sudden eye pain that has been ruled out as a headache or debris in the eye, you should visit your local eye doctor to make certain that the pain is not the result of an infection, disease, or a scratch on the cornea. You may try to rinse your eyes, which might flush out debris, but if the pain continues, it is important that you visit a licensed and experienced Paducah, KY optometrist, like the professionals at Brush Optical.
Double Vision: Seeing double is often associated with blood pressure spikes or extreme tiredness, but if you experience double vision for a prolonged period or in a single eye, it could mean you have a larger problem that needs treatment. The most common causes for your double vision that requires treatment include those involving the cornea, like cataracts, neurotrophic conditions, or infection.
Blurry Vision: You can mistake blurry vision for failing eyesight, as that is one of the major reasons you might need glasses, but if you notice a sudden change in your eyesight, or if it looks like you’re looking through a pane of glass and cannot clear it by squinting, you might be developing cataracts, which needs to be treated to preserve your long-term eye health.
Loss of Vision in one or both eyes: This should be apparent, but if you lose sight in one eye or both, even if only for a short time, you should visit your local emergency room or your Paducah, KY optometrist immediately, since it might be a sign of a neurological disorder, a serious eye injury or a blood clot of the retinal artery, which if untreated could result in a stroke. Temporary vision loss can also be caused by migraines, vasospasm of the retina, closed-angle glaucoma, or epilepsy, all of which need treatment, particularly if you haven’t had symptoms before.
Contact Lenses and Eye Symptoms
If you wear contact lenses on a regular basis or often sleep with your contact lenses in, there are some unique symptoms that might indicate a problem that needs to be treated immediately. One is redness in the eyes, especially if it is accompanied by eye pain since this could indicate an infection or a corneal scratch that could impact your sight. Another symptom that needs to be evaluated is a sudden change in vision.
