The eye can be affected by many common symptoms which can adversely affect your vision and comfort. Most are harmless and many will clear up by themselves, but it’s important to remember that your eyes are delicate and, in some cases, treatment is needed quickly to prevent long-lasting damage to your vision.
If you have noticed any changes to your vision or the health of your eyes, it is well worth seeking professional advice from your optician and booking an eye examination. Below we have listed some signs and symptoms that require urgent care from your optician.
Common Eye Symptoms Requiring an Emergency Eye Test
#1 Floaters
Black or grey shapes across your vision could be a sign of retinal detachment, which is a serious eye condition. Treatment should be sought within 24 hours to prevent permanent loss of vision, so head immediately to your optician or hospital if you’re experiencing floaters and flashes across your sight.
#2 Weeping Eyes
Excessive production of tears can be caused by blocked or inflamed tear ducts. Eyes often weep but when the tears are occurring excessively for long periods of time it can be a sign of a more serious illness that you should have checked by your local optician.
#3 Blurred Vision
Sudden blurred vision can be a sign of cataracts, glaucoma or macular degeneration, all of which should be treated promptly to prevent long-lasting damage. Blurred vision can either affect your entire sight or just parts of your vision, such as your peripheral vision.
#4 Severe Eye Pain & Migraines
Eye emergencies, such as glaucoma, can be identified by severe eye pain, nausea, vomiting and headaches. Because of the raised eye pressure and risk of optic nerve damage, it’s important to have an eye doctor identify and treat the situation quickly.
#5 Sudden Loss Of Vision
When your visual pathways are damaged, such as retinal or nerve abnormalities, it can lead to a sudden loss of vision. This can affect one or both of your eyes, either partially or completely obscuring your entire line of sight. In some cases, this is only temporary but depending on the cause, damage can be permanent if not treated.
#6 Visible Changes In Your Eyes
Dark-pigmented spots appearing on your iris, yellowing of the eyes, drooping eyelids and more are all examples of visible symptoms of a change in the condition of your eye. An eye examination and evaluation should be conducted to determine the cause of these changes and to check there is no underlying medical condition.
Book an Emergency Eye Examination with Reynolds & Slater Opticians Today
If you’re suffering from one of the symptoms above, or just want to check the general health of your eyes, then you should book an appointment today with Reynolds & Slater.
Regular eye tests can help to prevent the risk of any long-lasting damage to your vision, including that caused by any of the symptoms listed previously. These symptoms can be caused by a series of eye conditions that can have a lasting effect on your vision, and can cause issues when you are driving or doing your job.
Get in touch with our friendly specialists, we’re happy to check you over and give advice on the health of your vision, or check out our Zeis DriveSafe Lenses for superior vision whilst driving.
I appreciate how you mentioned that sudden blurred vision can be a sign of glaucoma, which needs immediate treatment in order to prevent lasting damage. My sister has been telling me of her difficulty seeing lately even though she’s never had poor vision in her life. I’ll have to recommend that she find an ophthalmologist in her area that specializes in the treatment of glaucoma that can consult with her about her symptoms and possible solutions. Thanks for the information.
I wanted to thank you for explaining when it could be good to visit an optician. It’s good to know that dropping eyelids is a visible symptom of your eyes’ conditions changing. I’m interested to learn how severe the drooping should be or if you should get a minor changed examined to be safe.