Issues with your eyes are pretty much a normal occurrence that people have. So much that it often gets overlooked. It’s normal to have had blurry vision your whole life with a need for glasses.
If it happens all of a sudden then there are some means for concern. Eye problems are also a common thing for people who are battling multiple sclerosis(MS). You could potentially experience blurred vision, double vision, and in some cases loss of vision.
Similar to the other symptoms caused by MS, any symptoms that involve your eyes can come with a flare and then go away with time.
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Attacking of the Cells
MS is a disease where the immune system attacks your healthy nerve cells by mistake. As a result, the body’s coating of the cells gets damaged. These particular cells are called the myelin sheath, when they are damaged it can cause permanent scarring in the brain. Unfortunately, this can lead to many uncomfortable symptoms.
MS can bring about different symptoms for everyone who has it, but according to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society (NMSS), blurred vision problems are something that occurs very often.
MS can cause inflammation that affects the nerves in the eyes. This is referred to as optic neuritis.
When people have optic neuritis they may have problems with their vision, and it’s usually in one eye. Depending on the damage done it can come suddenly or slowly.
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Signs and Symptoms
Most people with MS will experience some form of vision loss with time. Typically the vision problem will be in one eye, and gradually get worse. Anything from blurred vision, loss of color, partial blindness in one eye, lack of peripheral vision, and dull pain in the eyes.
Another sign of MS in the eyes would be a disorder called nystagmus that causes your eye to have uncontrollable eye movements. This disorder can cause your eye to move back and for in a repeated manner. It could make you feel as the objects around you are moving even when they aren’t.
The severity of this disorder can vary, some may experience very mild symptoms with blurred vision while others will completely distort your vision.
What to Expect
Just like in a lot of disorders, symptoms vary across the board. It’s hard to gauge how long symptoms will last. Sometimes the symptoms can slow down as the inflammation of the nerve cells ease up. This could last for a few weeks or even an entire year.
Even things like heat can affect your symptoms. High temperatures from intense workouts or even a fever can worsen the symptoms. Also, when it comes to eyes in general it’s common to get a headache from straining.
It can come from reading or looking at a screen all day, but with MS the same strain can make your symptoms even more intense. If you have MS and are experiencing eye pain it is important to give your eyes a break throughout the day.
The symptoms people may experience with their eyes can come from the immune system attacking the myelin sheath of the nerves that control the eye. Some of the causes can come from different medications, viral or bacterial infections like Lyme Disease, mumps, or measles. MS can even be sparked by lupus or sarcoidosis.
The bottom line, doctors don’t have a full understanding of the exact cause of MS, but they do know some of the possible environmental risk factors. Anything from cigarette smoking, low vitamin D, or an infection with the Epstein-Barr virus.
Bottom line, an early diagnosis, and treatment are highly important when it comes to relieving the symptoms of MS. As time goes by symptoms usually become worse, so catching it early is the best option.
