How Can a Stroke Affect the Eyes?

How Can a Stroke Affect the Eyes?

How Can a Stroke Affect the Eyes?

How Can a Stroke Affect the Eyes?

A stroke is a serious, life-threatening medical emergency that occurs when the bloody supply to part of the brain is cut off. There are primarily two reasons why this happens. The first and most common is a blood clot, which prevents blood from reaching the brain. The second is a hemorrhage which is where a weakened blood vessel supplying the brain bursts. Treatment for a stroke is time-critical. Unfortunately, many patients are left with long-term problems caused by the damage to their brains. One of these can be visual difficulties.

 

A stroke can affect your vision in a few different ways. In some cases, the vision problem you experienced may be mild, but other patients may find that they have a very real impact on their quality of life, making even simple tasks like watching television, moving around, or shopping more difficult than before. Exactly how your vision will be affected will depend on where the stroke occurred in your brain. 

 

Here are some of the most common ways in which a stroke can affect the eyes.

 

Visual field loss


The visual field refers to everything that you can see, both right in front of you and off to the side (your peripheral vision). People who have visual field loss will have a section of their visual field missing, causing a blank space in what they can see. Exactly how much visual field loss will have occurred will vary based on the severity of the damage caused by the stroke. In most cases, both eyes will be affected. People with this complication may bump into things, have difficulty reading or getting around.


 

Visual hallucinations


Some patients who have a stroke will find that they start to see things in their visual field that aren’t really there. This is referred to as having visual hallucinations and can be quite disconcerting. However, it is rarely harmful.


 

Eye movement problems


When we look around, our brain works in conjunction with muscles around the eyes to move them. This is facilitated by fine nerve control. In patients who haven’t suffered a stroke, this nerve control is usually very good. However, someone who has had a stroke may find that the nerve control to their eye muscles is affected, preventing them from moving them correctly.

 

Eye movement problems caused by a stroke can lead to double vision, impaired depth perception, blurred vision, and a noticeable squint. Some people will even develop dizziness and headaches as a result of the misalignment of their eyes.


 

Visual processing difficulties


Visual processing refers to the way in which our eyes tell our brain what we can see. Some patients who have had a stroke will find that their visual processing system has been disturbed which can make some simple tasks, like telling different colors apart, much harder. Visual neglect is the most common processing problem, and this is where patients become unaware of their surroundings on the side of the brain where the damage occurred. This can reduce your ability to move around safely and react to your environment. 


 

Can vision problems caused by a stroke be repaired?


Just like the other effects of stroke, vision problems often start to improve over time as the brain starts to recover from the episode. However, there are some things that your eye doctor may be able to do to support this process. One of these is known is visual scanning training.

 

Visual scanning training is an innovative technique that prompts you to systematically look to your left and right sides – something which gives you greater awareness of your visual field loss and reminds you to look into your blind side. This helps you to be more aware of your blindside and reminds you to take it into account when you are looking around.

 

In addition to visual scanning, your eye doctor may recommend visual aids such as line guides when reading, brighter lighting indoors, and special lenses in glasses. They will talk to you about the recommendations that they make and monitor how they improve your vision.

 

If you would like more information about how a stroke can affect the eye or to schedule an appointment, call Quality Eye Care in Jacksonville, Florida at 904-601-1300. 

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