Blurry vision may be a sudden medical emergency.
But even if it’s not an emergency, the problems that cause vision changes are often progressive.
Without prompt treatment, the problem worsens, putting your vision at risk.
WIN-Initiative / Neleman / Getty Images
WIN-Initiative / Neleman / Getty Images
Causes
Common and uncommon conditions can affect one eye.
As a result, your vision changes, and symptoms affect one eye.
Refractive Errors
The cornea and lens work together to produce clear, sharp vision.
The cornea bends (refracts) light entering the eye from all directions, focusing it on the lens.
The lens refines the focus, bending light to precisely target the retina at the back of your eye.
Refractive errors occur when the light isnt focused properly.
In many cases, the cornea has an irregular shape or the eye is too long or short.
But you might also have a problem in the lens.
Though rare, you’re able to be nearsighted in one eye and farsighted in the other.
Amblyopia
Amblyopia(lazy eye) causes blurry vision in one or both eyes.
This eye condition typically appears before age 6.
This is typically done by wearing an eye patch or putting blurring eye drops in the dominant eye.
Cataracts
Cataractsdevelop when the lens goes from clear to cloudy.
The cloudiness is resulting from proteins in the lens.
In addition to blurred vision, cataracts often cause:
Cataracts can affect one or both eyes.
In the early stages, eyeglasses and contacts correct your vision.
Eventually, you’ll need surgery to remove and replace the lens.
If from an infection, it may start in one eye and then spread to the other.
It’s also highly contagious.
An injured cornea is often very painful.
As they gradually enlarge, they affect the macula, damage cells, and cause gradual vision loss.
Dry macular degeneration generally affects both eyes but can be asymmetric.
Wet macular degeneration: This bang out pops up if abnormal blood vessels grow under the retina.
The vessels leak fluids, causing swelling that damages the macula.
Without treatment, wet macular degeneration results in rapid vision loss.
The exact cause of this is unknown.
Optic neuritisalso affects about half ofpeople with multiple sclerosis (MS), a progressive neurologic disorder.
It’s frequently the first symptom of the condition.
However, the condition will often go away on its own without treatment.
More men than women develop this eye disease.
The condition is painless and doesn’t usually come with other symptoms.
There are currently no effective treatments for Leber hereditary optic neuropathy, but antioxidant supplements are sometimes used.
Scientists are working on genetic therapy treatments.
Emergency Eye Conditions
Blurry vision is an emergency any time it appear suddenly.
These signals go to your brain, which interprets them and results in vision.
Certain conditions pull the retina away from force the retina to pull away from the back of your eye.
This is called retinal detachment.
Retinal detachmentmay occur when fluids build up behind the retina.
Angle-Closure Glaucoma
There are several types ofglaucoma.
The most common, open-angle glaucoma develops gradually as an increase in eye pressure damages the optic nerve.
This key in may not cause symptoms until you start losing vision.
Angle-closure glaucoma is different.
This throw in appears suddenly when a blockage prevents fluids from draining.
Eye Stroke
A retinal artery occlusion (RAO) is also called aneye stroke.
It’s a blockage in one or more arteries of the retina.
An eye stroke is brought on by a clot or cholesterol build-up in an artery.
This can occur in all or part of one eye.
Other symptoms can include:
There is no effective treatment for this condition.
The most important thing is to confirm you don’t develop a cerebral artery infarction or a stroke.
The same goes if you lose some or all of your vision in the eye altogether.
Other concerning symptoms include:
Blurry vision in one eye is also a symptom that appears during a stroke.
Causes range from refraction errors and common conditions like infections and macular degeneration to eye problems requiring emergency treatment.
National Eye Institute.Refractive errors.
National Eye Institute.Amblyopia (lazy eye).
National Eye Institute.Causes of cataracts.
National Eye Institute.Pink eye.
National Eye Institute.Age-related macular degeneration.
Johns Hopkins Medicine.Optic neuritis.
American Association of Ophthalmology.Leber hereditary optic neuropathy.
National Eye Institute.Retinal detachment.
National Eye Institute.Types of glaucoma.
American Academy of Ophthalmology.What is a retinal artery occlusion?
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Signs and symptoms of a stroke.
