Thanks to his vision, a person receives almost 90% of the information about everything that surrounds him. That is why it is so important to take care of your eyes throughout your life.
However, not everyone can boast of good eyesight. According to statistics, today 130 million inhabitants of our planet have it rather bad. The reasons for this are sometimes congenital, as well as acquired he alth characteristics.
In most cases, vision deteriorates gradually and very slowly. Thanks to this, people have time to adapt to this or take all the necessary measures that can stop this process.
However, there are times when a person notes that his vision has fallen sharply. For many, this causes panic, depression, and significantly worsens the quality of life. Why does a person suddenly stop seeing well and how to restore he alth to the eyes?
Main reasons
Can vision drop sharply?Of course, yes. Moreover, such a phenomenon can be different - temporary or permanent. In the first case, such a risk factor for human he alth does not pose. Complaints that vision has dropped sharply can come from people after a long sitting at a computer monitor.
Often the same symptom is observed with overwork or excessive overexertion. In such cases, complaints that vision has dropped sharply arise due to prolonged exposure to negative factors on the eyes. In addition, the causes of this symptom can be stress, as well as lack of sleep. There is no need to worry in such cases. If for these reasons vision has fallen sharply, what should be done to restore it? A person only needs to relax, without straining his eyes.
Often, parents worry that their child's eyesight has dropped sharply. The reasons for this phenomenon will be discussed further.
In childhood, a real scourge of the eyes is a spasm of accommodation. This is the so-called false myopia, which is provoked by overwork of the muscle that serves as a regulator of the curvature of the lens. At an early age, the development of congenital myopia, or true myopia, often occurs. This happens, as a rule, at school due to a sharp increase in eye strain.
However, it is always worth remembering that our body is a rather complex, interconnected system. That is why not always the fall in vision can be associated with the eyes. And if there was no load on this organ, then it is worthgo to the doctor and check your general condition. After all, a person begins to see poorly, for example, due to diabetes, pituitary adenoma and other diseases. In general, all causes of sudden visual impairment can be divided into two groups. Among them are ophthalmic, which are directly related to the eyes, as well as general, provoked by the state of the body.
Varieties of pathology
There is a certain classification of the process, which is characterized by symptoms that confirm that vision has dropped sharply. Among these states:
- Problems with accommodation. In this situation, the clarity of vision is reduced. The person begins to look at objects, increasing the distance.
- Problems with peripheral vision. In this situation, a person is not able to clearly see objects that are on the side of his eyes.
- Problems with refraction. With such a deterioration in vision, it is difficult for the eyes to distinguish objects that are at a distance.
- Violation of adaptation. In this case, it is difficult for the eyes to quickly get used to the lighting, which is changing rapidly. At the same time, it becomes difficult for a person to distinguish the colors of objects.
- Characteristic violations. Similar problems are accompanied by clouding in the lens area and the appearance of spots on the cornea. In this case, doubling of objects is often observed, as well as the formation of areas sensitive to light.
Be that as it may, if vision has fallen sharply, the causes of the pathology must be established immediately. After all, such a symptom is a kind of signal toaction.
Ophthalmic factors
If vision in one eye or in two at once has fallen sharply, then diseases of the organs of vision can serve as the reason for this. Sometimes a similar problem occurs in those people who have a predisposition to such pathologies.
If for these reasons vision has fallen sharply, what to do in this case? First of all, you need to contact a specialist to exclude the possibility of an ophthalmic disease. Let's take a look at those that are most common.
Cataract
Why did my eyesight plummet? This could happen due to the development of one of the pathologies of the lens, the most common of which is cataract. The elderly are at risk. However, such a disease can also be congenital.
It is believed that irreversible changes in the lens caused by cataracts develop due to metabolic disorders. Injury can have a negative impact, as well as the influence of free radicals.
The first symptom of a cataract is decreased vision. What to do in this case? You should contact an ophthalmologist and start treatment immediately. If the disease is not stopped, then blindness is likely to develop. Conservative therapy in this case is ineffective. Cataract removal is only possible with surgery.
Acute infections
Such pathologies, as a rule, affect not one, but both eyes at once. Infections can be fungal, viral, or bacterial in nature. Considersome pathologies included in this group.
Ulcers of the membranes of the eyes
A similar disease, due to which there is a sharp decrease in vision, is formed as a result of infection. Sometimes mechanical damage contributes to its development.
Corneal ulcers are treated with antibacterial drops, anti-inflammatory and hormonal drugs.
Keratitis
This pathology is an inflammatory process that affects various structures of the eyeball. In addition to viral and bacterial keratitis, they are also allergic, as well as toxic. After contacting a doctor and competently carried out treatment, vision, as a rule, is completely restored. However, after keratitis, cloudy spots on the cornea can sometimes remain. A similar phenomenon is accompanied by a persistent loss of vision.
Conjunctivitis
If a child's vision has dropped sharply, then the causes of this condition are often precisely these inflammatory diseases of the mucous membrane covering the sclera and the inner surface of the eye. Conjunctivitis also occurs in adults. Diagnosis of pathology is carried out by an ophthalmologist. The specialist conducts an external examination, instillation tests, biomicroscopy, as well as cytological and enzyme immunoassay of the conjunctiva scraping.
When the disease is confirmed, local treatment is carried out using eye ointments and drops. In addition, the conjunctival sac is washedspecial solutions.
Leukoma
This disease has another name - thorn. The cause of the pathology, one of the symptoms of which is a sharp decrease in visual acuity, is inflammation or injury of the cornea of the eye. The disease is also manifested by persistent clouding of the cornea.
Pathology often develops due to thermal or chemical eye burns, penetrating wounds, corneal ulcers, bacterial and herpesvirus inflammatory diseases, recurrent pterygiums of the 3rd-4th degree. One of the risk factors for the development of walleye is operative ophthalmic intervention. Congenital forms of the disease occur during intrauterine infection of the fetus. In addition to decreased vision, a patient with leukoma complains of increased lacrimation and photophobia. You can determine the pathology by the milky white color of the affected cornea. The only cure is surgery.
Optical neuropathy
If a person complains that his vision has fallen sharply in one eye, the reasons for this may be ischemic lesions. At the same time, a person does not feel pain syndrome. The examination reveals the pallor of the retinal membrane, as well as the presence of false edema of the optic nerve.
Retinal migraine
Complaints that vision has dropped sharply occur in patients with discirculation in the region of the central artery of the retina. In this case, the patient, when looking at objects, has a blind area of a certain size. This type of migraine can alternate with ophthalmic. In this case, with a sharp headachethere are visual dysfunctions in the form of flickering or sparks before the eyes.
Retinal detachment
A similar pathology occurs when the light-sensitive membrane in the eyeball detaches from the choroid. A similar process is accompanied by a decrease in vision, the appearance of a veil in front of the eye, flashing "lightning", "flashes", "sparks", "flies", etc. Diagnosis of the disease is carried out using tonometry, perimetry, visometry, ophthalmoscopy, biomicroscopy, ultrasound of the eye, as well as electrophysiological studies. The treatment is carried out surgically or using laser methods.
There are various causes of retinal detachment. So, pathology can be caused by thinning of this layer, eye injuries, tumor and inflammatory diseases of the organs of vision, heredity and other factors.
Retinal hemorrhage
The causes of this phenomenon, which causes a sudden drop in vision, are excessive physical activity, venous congestion, fragility of the walls of blood vessels, intraocular hypertension, or prolonged labor activity. Sometimes visually, this pathology is almost invisible. However, it is a great danger due to the presence of visual receptors in the retina. In case of any hemorrhage, an urgent appeal to an ophthalmologist is necessary, because in this case there is a high probability of detachment of the retina.
Symptoms of eye hemorrhage include:
- decrease in clarity and visual acuity withdouble image;
- restricted eyeball movements;
- the appearance of a grid in front of the eyes and the flickering of “flies”.
What should I do if my eyesight has dropped sharply for this reason? First of all, see a doctor. Diagnosis of this disease is made by examining the fundus by a specialist using an ophthalmoscope. In addition, a general blood test is given, which will clarify the causes of hemorrhage. In the most difficult cases, surgery is performed.
In case of moderate hemorrhage, doctors recommend giving the eyes maximum rest and rest. Drug treatment can be prescribed in the form of taking vasoconstrictor and hemostatic agents.
Injuries
They can be chemical or mechanical. This group of pathologies also includes bruises of the eyeball. Thermal burns and fractures of the orbit provoke a decrease in vision. Foreign objects that have fallen into the eye are also considered injuries. Wounds caused by cutting and stabbing agents become especially severe. The loss of the eye's visual function is often the result of just such an impact. As for chemicals, when they enter the eye, as a rule, its deepest structures are affected. If an injury occurs, seek immediate medical attention.
Other pathologies
A sharp deterioration in vision can be the result of not only eye diseases. Often, its causes are various ailments of the internal organs. Among them:
- Toxic neuropathy. In case of intoxication of the body with alcoholic substitutes or products resulting from the breakdown of methyl alcohol, sometimes there is a partial loss of vision.
- Intervertebral hernia and osteochondrosis of the cervical region. With the development of degenerative disorders in the area of the spinal canal, vascular compression occurs. This is the cause of poor blood supply to the eyes.
- Tumor of the pituitary gland. With neoplasms, the place of localization of which is this endocrine gland, the optic nerves are compressed and the quality of visual perception decreases.
- Diabetes. With this endocrine disease, metabolic disorders occur and prerequisites for diabetic retinopathy arise with the formation of a large number of capillaries in the retina.
- Hypertension. Such a disease negatively affects the capillary network and disrupts the process of transporting oxygen to the retina.
- Craniocerebral injury. In cases where a fracture or injury occurred in the area located at the base of the skull, or in the visual center, the visual ability of a person will be instantly impaired.
- Retrobulbar neuritis. This disease accompanies the inflammatory process that occurs in the nerve endings. Among the main symptoms of the disease are decreased vision, flashing of "sparks" and "flies" before the eyes, pain and burning in them. The disease affects either one eye, or both at the same time.
In case of diagnosing the diseases listed above, the doctor prescribes their treatment, which will alloweliminate the symptoms of pathology, including decreased vision.
