Sudden vision problems: open your eyes!

You wake up one morning and you can not read the newspaper or the billboards anymore because your eyesight has dropped. You see more blurry than usual, a black spot obstructs part of your field of vision or "flies" fly brutally in front of you.

The right attitude

If you notice flying insects, such as small black spots that move and interfere with your vision, without any other sign, call your ophthalmologist to program a fundus. These anomalies are most often explained by the presence of floating bodies that are detached from the cornea and end up resorbing themselves. If your vision seems strange to you, hide one eye and then the second to check if you see less or better of one or the other. Never underestimate the problem, even if everything returns to normal after about 10 minutes, as this may be indicative of a transient ischemic attack (TIA).

Go to emergencies or not?

As soon as there is a sudden drop in vision, even slight, or if flying flies are accompanied by flashes in front of the eyes (a sign of a tearing of the retina), it is essential to make a fundus, either to the ophthalmologist if he can receive you very quickly, either in emergencies. If you have a means of transport (obviously, you can not drive yourself), you do not have to call Samu.

And if it's more serious?

When the ophthalmologist suspects a vascular cause, he usually does an MRI to detect a possible lesion in the vessels of the neck or brain. Management is urgent (embolization, anticoagulant treatment, etc.). In case of tearing or detachment of the retina, surgery is necessary. Doctors can also diagnose optic neuropathy, which requires treatment. This disease of the optic nerve has multiple causes, for example Horton's disease that occurs especially after 65 years. Rapid support helps preserve the eye's vision.

Alarm signals

- A vision that suddenly breaks down, overnight ...

- ... or drop and then return to normal a few minutes later.

- A red and / or painful eye.

Be even more vigilant:

- If you have cholesterol, high blood pressure, diabetes, etc. These factors may promote atherosclerosis and increase the risk of occlusion of the artery or central vein of the retina or even TIA.

- If you are very nearsighted and / or have suffered eye trauma or eye surgery: this increases the risk of retinal detachment.

- If you have had a cataract surgery: sudden vision loss and / or pain may be a sign of infection.

Thanks to Dr. Eric Tuil, ophthalmologist at the National Hospital of Ophthalmology of Quinze-Vingts, Paris.

Read also

⋙ Vision disorders: an application to better understand the daily lives of people who suffer.

⋙ Myopia, cataract: 5 ideas about the vision