What Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Tells You about Your Vision

An estimated 836,000 to 2.5 million Americans suffer from chronic fatigue syndrome each year. Most people do not get this illness diagnosed and have to live with the symptoms for a major part of their lives. While there is no single test to confirm the onset of the illness, there is a series of other tests to rule out other problems that have symptoms similar to chronic fatigue syndrome.

Some common symptoms include:

• Headaches
• Sore Throat
• Extreme exhaustion due to physical or mental exercise
• Enlarged lymph nodes in the neck or armpits
• Poor concentration or loss of memory
• Chronic insomnia

There are also a number of other symptoms that patients suffering from chronic fatigue syndrome may experience. These may include dizziness or fainting, food or medication allergies, anxiety, irritability or depression, and patients may also experience visual disturbances such as blurry vision and sensitivity to light.

The Connection between Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Vision

Patients with chronic fatigue syndrome usually complain of itchy or watery eyes. While rubbing your eyes may seem like a harmless thing to do, chronic eye rubbing can lead to poor vision. Itchy eyes can feel like a foreign body stuck in your eye and the most natural instinct is to remove the object. However, this is not a good idea because rubbing against the object or the spot where your eyes itch can very easily scratch the cornea. This most often results in blurry vision which can affect your ability to perform day-to-day activities. Here are 3 daily activities that can be affected by poor vision:

1. Reading
   We rely majorly on our vision to read everything from small fonts on our computer screens to street signs. It is difficult to get through the day with poor vision and simply wearing your glasses may not be enough to correct your vision.
2. Driving
   Being able to drive requires maximum attention to detail, but most of us take this ability for granted. If you have blurry vision, you may lose some of your independence and driving in the daylight may be your only option.
3. Household Chores
   Keeping the house clean requires a good amount of time. But when your vision is compromised, household chores take a longer time to finish.

Problems Due to Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
The most common problem that patients of chronic fatigue syndrome report is periods of blurred or foggy vision. This happens mostly when they stand up and feel lightheaded. However, chronic fatigue syndrome is associated with a few other problems such as:

1. Slowness or difficulty in focusing on objects, especially the ones that are closer
2. Tunnel vision i.e. not being able to see objects in peripheral (side) vision
3. Feeling dizzy looking at moving objects
4. Seeing flashes of light
5. Being uncomfortable in sunlight or brightly lit rooms
6. Having a itchy, dry, or burning sensation in eyes

Treatment Options

1. For temporary and instant relief, artificial tears can soothe dry or irritated eyes.
2. Apply a warm washcloth over your eyes three to four times a day to relieve itchy and sensitive eyes.
3. Prescription drugs or over-the-counter medications can also provide relief from dizziness and fatigue.

Lifestyle Changes

1. Eliminate caffeine from your diet and consume beverages like green tea, chrysanthemum tea, and lemon water.
2. Limit your alcohol and nicotine intake.
3. Follow a sleep schedule and sleep at the same time every night.
4. Incorporate yoga and tai chi to your morning routine.

While these tips can improve your vision, it is important to consult a doctor before altering your routine or consuming medicines. If you have been suffering from this condition and are looking for experienced Ophthalmologists in Fresno, visit Insight Vision today.

Aaron Barriga

Aaron Barriga is the online marketing manager for Insight Vision Center. With a knack for understanding medical procedures, and an interest in eye and vision health, Aaron loves to share what he knows and what he learns. He blogs to inform readers about the latest eye care technology and other topics related to eye care, especially LASIK.

www.insightvisioncenter.com

An Early Eye Test can Unearth Alzheimer’s Eyes

In the Journal of Clinical Insight, researchers have found that performing retinal scans can pick up amyloid plaques which cause Alzheimer’s in the brain. Getting a yearly eye test can be a way to pick up early stages of Alzheimer’s and early intervention will be helpful to caregivers and family members. Researchers may have brought a step closer that can detect a hallmark of the disease.

Alzheimer’s is the most common cause of dementia, affecting more than 40 million people worldwide. And yet, finding a cure is something that still eludes researchers today. It includes difficulty sleeping, disturbed memory, drastic mood changes, and an increase in confusion.

Continue reading An Early Eye Test can Unearth Alzheimer’s Eyes

Aaron Barriga

Aaron Barriga is the online marketing manager for Insight Vision Center. With a knack for understanding medical procedures, and an interest in eye and vision health, Aaron loves to share what he knows and what he learns. He blogs to inform readers about the latest eye care technology and other topics related to eye care, especially LASIK.

www.insightvisioncenter.com

Do Online Eye Tests Work?

The easier access to the internet has significantly improved our lives, and with more services being made available on our mobile devices, the multitasking smartphone does even more today. You can do a lot on your smartphone today including shopping, watching television, checking the weather, and now even an online eye test that determines the vision and potential problems in your eye.

A study reveals that 75% of Americans use some kind of corrective lenses. Getting the perfect pair of glasses can be time-consuming, which is why a new breed of vision test promises quick results. But can an online eye test replace your eye doctor?

Continue reading Do Online Eye Tests Work?

Aaron Barriga

Aaron Barriga is the online marketing manager for Insight Vision Center. With a knack for understanding medical procedures, and an interest in eye and vision health, Aaron loves to share what he knows and what he learns. He blogs to inform readers about the latest eye care technology and other topics related to eye care, especially LASIK.

www.insightvisioncenter.com

What Are Eye Floaters and How to Treat Them?

You have probably already noticed that small dark spots sometimes seem to follow the movement of your eyes. These curious black floats that question us are, in fact, an integral part of our ocular system. These shadows, which can manifest in many forms and move in our eye, obscuring part of our visual field, are called eye floaters. Observed in more than 70% of people, they appear as lines or black dots, sometimes gray.

What Are Eye Floaters?

These are dark spots in the form of dots, circles, lines or cobwebs that seem to move in the visual field. They are particularly noticeable when you look at a background with little colors such as a clear sky or a white wall. Eye floaters can appear in multiple shapes or numbers and they seem to move when looking in different directions.

Floating bodies are in principle, simple proteins from the gel-like substance in the eye called vitreous. This threadlike group of proteins blocks the arrival of the external light to the retina, causing a shadow in front of the latter. So, the dark shapes that you see and move in your field of view are actually the floating bodies themselves.

Symptoms

Eye floaters can be uncomfortable, but they usually do not interfere with your eyesight. However, here are some symptoms that help you identify if you are observing eye floaters or some other ocular problems:

• Black or gray dots
• Squiggly lines
• Threadlike strands, which can be bumpy and semi-transparent
• Cobwebs
• Profiled rings

Once you develop eye floaters usually they do not go away, but they tend to improve over time.

What Causes Eye Floaters?

The inside of the eye is filled with a transparent and gelatinous substance called the vitreous. The vitreous helps maintain the shape of the eye and allows light to penetrate through the retina – the thin, light-sensitive tunic that lines the back of the eye and works much like a film in a camera. Floating bodies are small gelatinous masses that form in the vitreous. Even if one has the impression that they are on the anterior part of the eye, they actually float in the vitreous and are perceived as shadows by the retina.

Other causes include:

1. Age-related eye changes: With aging, vitreous shrinks and often separates from the retina. In fact, between the ages of 50-70 years, the vitreous is separated from the retina in about 50% of people and this causes the appearance of vitreous floaters. These can be very annoying at first, but the brain gradually learns not to pay attention and after a few months, you barely notice them. Visit your ophthalmologist to keep a check on age-related eye diseases.
2. Inflammation in the back of the eye: Seeing floaters can sometimes result from internal inflammation or crystalline deposits that form in the vitreous.
3. Torn retina: Most of the time, the vitreous separates from the retina without causing any problem. In some people, there are adhesions between the retina and the vitreous and tearing of the retina can occur when the vitreous detaches, causing in the eye a slight bleeding that may look like a group of new bodies floating.
4. Other causes: Rare causes include tumors and the presence of intraocular foreign bodies. In some cases, the moving organs may be associated with diabetes, the results of ocular surgery or advanced cataract.

Eye Floaters Treatment

Benign eye floaters almost never need medical treatment. If they are unpleasant, you can move them away from your field of vision by moving your eyes. This maneuver moves the fluid in your eyes. Looking up and down is generally more effective than looking from side to side.

If eye floaters are so dense and numerous that they affect your vision, your ophthalmologist may consider a surgery called vitrectomy. During this procedure, a part or all of the vitreous body and its floating debris are removed and replaced with saline solution. Vitrectomy can have complications, such as retinal detachment, retinal tears or cataract. The risks of these complications are low, but if they occur, vision can be damaged permanently. Because of this, most surgeons will not recommend vitrectomy unless eye floaters are causing an extraordinary visual impairment.

Another option is laser vitreolysis wherein a laser beam is focused on large seeing floaters to break or vaporize them. However, you will need a good ophthalmologist to determine if you can benefit from this treatment. If you are in Fresno, you can find qualified and experienced ophthalmologists in Fresno for treatment of your eye floaters.

Aaron Barriga

Aaron Barriga is the online marketing manager for Insight Vision Center. With a knack for understanding medical procedures, and an interest in eye and vision health, Aaron loves to share what he knows and what he learns. He blogs to inform readers about the latest eye care technology and other topics related to eye care, especially LASIK.

www.insightvisioncenter.com