Visual disturbance Flashcards
What is blurred vision?
Loss of clarity or sharpness of vision
What are the main associated symptoms with blurred vision?
Visual loss
Double vision
Floaters
Main causes of blurred vision?
Refractive error: most common
Cataracts
Retinal detachment
Age related macular degeneration
Acute angle closure glaucoma
Optic neuritis
Amaurosis fugax
How do you assess for blurred vision?
Visual acuity with a snellen chart
- Pinhole occluders uses to check whether the blurring is due to refractive error. If blurring IMPROVES with pinhole, then likely due to refractive error
Visual Fields
Fundoscopy
Managment of blurred vision?
Depends on underlying cause.
If gradual onset and corrected with pinhole occluder–> optician review
Other pts seen by ophthalmology–> if associated sx such as visual loss or pain–> urgent
What is myopia?
Short sight
What is hypermetropia?
Long sight
What is astigmatism?
Refractive error characterised by a variation in the dioptric power of the eye from one meridian to another
Another definition: a defect in the eye or in a lens caused by a deviation from spherical curvature, which results in distorted images, as light rays are prevented from meeting at a common focus.
What causes myopia?
Long axial length and average cornea (most common)
OR
High power cornea with an average axial length
What causes hypermetropia?
Short axial length and average cornea
OR
low power cornea with an average axial length
What is asthenopia?
Frontal headache and intermittent blurry vision
What is presbyopia?
associated with older age
Declining amplitude of accommodation with age.
Better at focusing further away
How do you test visual acuity?
Snellen chart
6m test distance
6/6 is perfect vision.
Top number what pt can see vs what normal person can see at the bottom e.g 6/60 (pt can see at 6m what a normal person can see at 60m)
If pt can’t see at 6m, move them forward to 3m
What are cataracts?
Common eye condition where the lens of the eye gradually opacifies (cloudy)–> reduced/blurred vision
Who gets cataracts?
More common in women than men
Incidence increases with age
Causes of cataracts?
Normal ageing process- MOST COMMON
Other causes:
Smoking
increased alcohol consumption
Trauma
DM
Long-term corticosteroids
Radiation exposure
Myotonic dystropy
Metabolic disorders e.g. hypocalcaemia
Presentation of cataracts?
Gradual onset of:
Reduced vision
Fades colour vision- hard to distinguish
Glare
Halos around lights
Signs in a pt with cataracts?
Defect in red reflex. Cataracts prevent light getting to the retina–> defect
What is the red reflex?
Reddish- orange reflection seen through an ophthalmoscope when light in shone on the retina.
Investigations for cataracts?
Ophthalmoscopy: done after pupil dilation. Findings:normal fundus and optic nerve
Slit- lamp examination: visible cataracts
Classification of cataracts?
Nuclear: change lens refractive index, common in old age
Polar: localized, commonly inherited, lie in the visual axis
Subcapsular: due to steroid use, just deep to the lens capsule, in the visual axis
Dot opacities: common in normal lenses, also seen in diabetes and myotonic dystrophy
Management of cataracts?
Non-surgical:
Early stages- age-related cataracts can be managed conservatively by prescribing stronger glasses/contacts or by encouraging brighter lighting- will slow the progression
Surgical: only effective treatment for cataracts.
Removing cloudy lens and replacing it with an artificial one