Blurred vision

Causes

There are many causes of blurred vision:

• Use of atropineor other anticholinergics

• Presbyopia -- Difficulty focusing on objects that are close. The elderly are common victims. (Accommodation tends to decrease with age.)

• Cataracts -- Cloudiness over the eye's lens, causing poor night-time vision, halos around lights, and sensitivity to glare. Daytime vision is eventually affected. Common in the elderly.

• Glaucoma -- Increased pressure in the eye, causing poor night vision, blind spots, and loss of vision to either side. A major cause of blindness. Glaucoma can happen gradually or suddenly—if sudden, it is a medical emergency.

• Diabetic retinopathy -- This complication of diabetes can lead to bleeding into the retina. Another common cause of blindness.

• Macular degeneration -- Loss of central vision, blurred vision (especially while reading), distorted vision (like seeing wavy lines), and colors appearing faded. The most common cause of blindness in people over age 60.

• Eye infection, inflammation, or injury.

• Floaters -- Tiny particles drifting across the eye. Although often brief and harmless, they may be a sign of retinal detachment.

• Retinal detachment -- Symptoms include floaters, flashes of light across your visual field, or a sensation of a shade or curtain hanging on one side of your visual field.

• Optic neuritis -- Inflammation of the optic nerve from infection or multiple sclerosis. You may have pain when you move your eye or touch it through the eyelid.

• Stroke or Transient ischemic attack

• Brain tumor

• Bleeding into the eye

• Temporal arthritis -- Inflammation of an artery in the brain that supplies blood to the optic nerve.

• Migraine headaches -- Spots of light, halos, or zigzag patterns are common symptoms prior to the start of the headache. An ophthalmic migraine is when you have only visual symptoms without a headache.