Hi! This is Dr. Neeru Khullar, your local Maple Ridge optometrist at . At our eye clinic, we care about each and every one of our patients. We get to know them and encourage them to come in for a comprehensive eye exam every year to ensure that their eyes are healthy and their vision is clear. However, sometimes coming in just once per year isn’t enough. Certain symptoms may require you to come in before your next annual exam.
These symptoms can signal eye conditions such as retinal detachment, glaucoma, wet macular degeneration, or diabetic retinopathy, which require immediate attention from an eye doctor to prevent significant vision loss or even blindness.
Here are 3 of the most prominent symptoms to look out for:
Blurry Vision That Comes On Suddenly
This is among the most obvious symptoms of something being wrong with your vision.
Blurry or distorted vision can come on suddenly either in your central vision or in your peripheral vision. In either case, it can be a sign of very serious eye conditions, some of which require immediate attention from your Maple Ridge optometrist.
Some of these conditions include:
- Wet age-related macular degeneration
- Diabetic retinopathy
- Retinal detachment
- Macular edema
- Angle-closure glaucoma
- Corneal infection
Persistent Swelling On or Around The Eye
There are a number of causes for swelling in and around the eye. Trauma or injury anywhere on the head, neck, or face can cause swelling, as can mild to severe allergic reactions to pollen, bug bites, animal dander, or other allergens and irritants in your surroundings.
In many cases, swelling will begin to go down as the affected area heals or the reason for the allergic reaction goes away.
However, if the swelling doesn’t seem to be going down over a long period of time, you may be experiencing symptoms of something more serious, such as:
- Graves’ disease
- Corneal ulcer
- Scleritis
- Cellulitis
Hypersensitivity To Light
Our eyes are naturally able to adjust to various degrees of light, as we move from indoors to outdoors, darker environments to lighter ones, and back again.
During the time of adjustment from lower lighting to higher lighting, our eyes will sometimes experience momentary sensitivity, known as photophobia. This is completely normal, day-to-day.
However, severe photophobia that doesn’t seem to go away is a sign that your eyes are not adjusting properly, and may be a symptom of underlying issues, such as:
- Keratoconus
- Cataracts
- Strabismus (eye turn, either inward or outward)
- Corneal abrasion (a scratch on the eye)
Want to learn more about some of the conditions listed above, and what you can do to prevent them? Come visit our Maple Ridge optometrist at today!