It’s a sad fact of life that, as we age, vision changes are nearly inevitable. However, most of the time, these changes are progressive and gradual, happening over the course of years. But if your vision suddenly gets noticeably worse in a short amount of time, that almost always indicates a medical condition which should be investigated by a qualified Arizona eye doctor.
So let’s talk about three of the most common conditions that can cause rapid changes to your vision.
Diabetic Retinopathy
If you have diabetes, you’re at high risk of developing a condition known as diabetic retinopathy. In this, the blood vessels in your retina (the back of the eye, where images are focused) develop tears due to high blood sugar, which bleed into the fluid within your eye. This can cause sudden dark spots in your vision, or spiderweb-like dark strands.
If you have diabetes, it’s very important to have your eyes checked at least once a year. Diabetic retinopathy has no obvious symptoms until it’s late-stage, but can be caught early with eye exams.
Strokes and Other Brain Trauma
Damage to the brain very often causes vision problems, often severe. For some people, the first sign they’ve had a stroke is that their vision suddenly goes blurry with no warning. In some cases, they may even go blind, at least for a short time.
If you ever suddenly lose your vision, that indicates severe problems and should not be ignored, even if your vision comes back a few minutes later. Get to a doctor as soon as you can.
Acute Glaucoma
Glaucoma is a condition where fluid builds up inside the eye because it’s unable to properly drain out, due to an obstruction in the drainage path. (Called the “drainage angle.”) Typically, glaucoma develops slowly over time, and can be caught with regular eye exams before it causes noticeable vision changes.
However, a more serious form called closed-angle glaucoma can occur, where the drainage angle is suddenly blocked off. This is typically due to the iris covering up the drainage path. In this case, the fluid buildup will happen rapidly, leading to sudden severe pain in the affected eye along with a significant loss of vision. This is a genuine emergency, and the eye could quickly go blind without medical attention.
Valley Eyecare Center is here to serve the Phoenix area with top-quality optometry. If you ever have sudden severe vision changes, contact us ASAP for help.
