Cloudy vision can make you partially blind. Here is an insight into what it means, causes in one eye and both eyes, why it may be sudden or come and go plus treatment options

What is Cloudy vision?

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Aug 02, 2019 When blurred vision is the result of a decrease in blood sugar, treatments include consuming foods high in fast-acting sugars. This includes juice and candies. You can also take glucose tablets. Fluctuating vision is a common concern for those with chronic eye diseases. One day your vision may be sharper and clearer than normal and the next it’s blurred and the clarity seems to have disappeared.

Cloudy vision, commonly known as blurred vision refers to a situation in which you lose clarity in making observation resulting into incapability to spot very little and fine details. When this happens, you develop the urge to rub, squint or blink your eyes so as to regain the normal sight.

Once in lifetime, you may experience this condition for months or years. Sometimes, this occurs suddenly but can also happen for a prolonged moment. Loss of sharp vision, as described by doctors can occur either on one or both eyes.

In case of unclear vision, you are advised not to worry so much as it is not anything critical. Unfocused vision can be as a result of aging or need for medication or change of lenses of your glasses. However, you are advised to seek medical assistance as sometimes this can be as a result of a critical underlying health condition that requires examination and treatment.

One eye

Occasionally, you can have unfocused vision that involve either of your eyes. This may be caused by a number of factors that range from trouble-free causes like eye discharge to severe cases such as brain injury affecting only one of the optical nerves.

However, in some cases, one eye blurred vision may occur as a result of a disease entailing the central nervous system. This may also come with pain causing discomfort. You are therefore advised to seek medical checkup in cases where cloudy vision is associated with ache.

Smoky vision in both eyes

The loss of sharp vision can also occur on both eyes. This is usually as a result of disorders such as cataracts development, glaucoma, brain tumor, migraine, diabetes and conjunctivitis among others.

If you happen to have cloudy vision on both eyes, seek medical attention as this may be as a result of a serious health condition. Some of these problems are sight threatening and when left untreated for a prolonged period, can lead to blindness.

Causes & Symptoms

There are various causes of unclear vision as discussed below;

Diabetes

Diabetis refers to a condition in which the body fails to either generate sufficient amounts of insulin hormone or respond to the insulin therefore affecting the metabolic reactions in your body. Mostly, diabetes causes retinopathy; damage of the eye retina.[1]

Besides, there are other several ways in which diabetes can interfere with your eye sight of which some can be corrected through medication. WebMD says that high levels of blood sugar leads to inflammation of the eye lens which leads to cloudy vision.

Additionally, high blood pressure that frequently accompanies diabetes may interfere with the normal functioning of the optical nerves which eventually leads to cloudy vision. In severe conditions, this can occur on daily basis leading to permanent blindness.

Brain tumor

Growth of cancerous cells in the brain can lead to either blurred vision or double vision. When this happens, pressure builds up in your skull that causing damage to the optical nerves that transmit visual signals to the brain for interpretation.

Alternatively, growth of cancerous cells can occur on the cells near the brain thereby impacting pressure on the cranial nerves or the blood vessels. Optic glioma is a slow growing tumor that compresses the optic nerves leading to an increase in blood pressure which makes the eye bulge outwards, hence unclear vision.

Migraines

Migraine is basically a term used to describe a severe headache; In fact, migraine is a horrible headache. Besides the ache experienced, migraine leads to changes in vision especially during the hurt moment. However, this can also occur before or after the pain.

During this moment, you are likely to experience blurry vision, blind spots, double vision and instant loss of sight among other signs. Research reports that the change in vision due to migraines is associated with changes in the flow and pressure of blood.

Glaucoma

This describes a condition linked with high blood pressure that leads to destruction of the eyes’ optic nerves which when left untreated worsen with time. Glaucoma is passed from generation to the other through the genes but it is rarely noticed until a certain age in your life.

Intraocular pressure, an increased pressure in the eye, causes destruction of the optic nerve that transmits the visual signals to the brain. This can lead to blindness in a short period of time as they gradually develop with time.

There are two most common forms of glaucoma; open-angle, that is hardly noticed unless a considerable failure in vision has occurred, and angle- closure. In the latter, you will notice the loss of vision at the edges of your eyes which may eventually result in entire inability to see.

Additionally, glaucoma has no significant symptoms or pain in its early stages. As a result, you are advised to visit your optician for an examination in case there are traces of the disorder in your family.

Stroke

Stroke is a condition in which the blood circulation in the brain becomes poor due to either a presence a blood clot in the blood vessels in the brain or bleeding. If left untreated, it can lead to permanent damaging of the brain tissue.

In addition to cloudy vision, you may also experience some numbness in the legs, fatigue that is associated with balance loss and sudden rise in blood pressure. Stroke is referred to as an emergency and therefore requires sudden treatment so as to prevent further complications such as brain damage and eventually death.

Cataracts

This refers to a condition in which the internal lens of your eyes become cloudy preventing light from penetrating to the retina making it difficult to see clearly. In this case, the protein that makes up the lens form masses of the cloud which prevents you from clear vision of objects.

The growth of cataracts is gradual; at the beginning when the cloudy region is formed, you are usually in a position to notice certain objects.

However, if not treated on time, cataracts may increase in size and eventually cause blindness.[2] They mostly occur in older or aged people though sometimes they can be found in young people.

When light fails to reach retina, visual signals are barred from being transmitted through the optical nerves to the brain for interpretation. Due to this, you experience a problem of seeing foggy images, the blurred vision.

Some of the symptoms that you are likely to experience include the following;

• Eye pain and irritation
• Sensitivity to light
• Headache
• Redness in the eyes
• Eye floaters and light flashes

Cloudy vision in one eye that comes and goes

Unclear vision in one of your eyes can be as a result of myopia or hyperopia. However, you may experience blurred vision caused by other conditions such as cataracts or tumors.

Occasionally, the decrease in vision can occur in one of your eyes then fade away within a short time. Probably this may be caused by factors like cataracts, hereditary corneal disorder or inherited eye abnormalities. On the other hand, this may result from health emergency.

Intra-ocular pressure is another possible cause of decreased vision in one eye. Often, this occurs in the morning. You are therefore advised to calmly take a deep breath. You can also visit your health specialist for a checkup since sometimes the cornea can isolate from the eye socket lining.

This can also be as a result of allergic reactions with foreign objects such as dust particles. Dry eyes can reduce your eyesight. In such cases you are advised to use artificial tear drop, have sufficient rest and enough sleep.

Cloudy vision after cataract surgery

Cataract surgery involves removal of your natural eye lens that is cloudy then substituting it with intraocular lens that function like the natural lens.

Studies show that this is one of the most flourishing surgeries performed bearing like 98 percent of patients with little or no complications after the operation.

However, you can develop a posterior capsule opacity problem either during the recovery moment or sometime after healing leading to a situation known as posterior capsule opacification. In this case, the lens becomes cloudy and thicker.

After operation, the epithelial cells of your lens start growing back which causes clouding on the artificial lens. If this happens, your optician will use a YAG laser that eradicates the foggy capsule from the visual or light passage without hurting the eye.

Sudden Cloudy Eyes

A sudden cloudy eye is not anything serious to get you worried. Unlike serious blurred vision, sudden cloudy eye can be due to the following factors;

• Nearsightedness, commonly known as myopia, which refers to a condition whereby you are only able to note or see objects nearer to the eye. In this case, you strive to see objects that are far. This may lead to sharp headache and excessive eye strain.
• Astigmatism which is originates from a change in the shape of eye cornea. When this occurs, light is barred from reaching the lens. You are advised to use corrective eye glasses or go through eye surgery for severe cases.
• Dry eyes may also lead to sudden foggy vision. In this case, use of artificial eye drops help you sooth the situation.
• Prolonged use of contact lenses may also lead to sudden vision. This occurs as a result of protein build up in the lenses. You are encouraged to change your lenses after sometime of use so as to avoid eye complications.
• Some eye medication can also cause sudden unclear vision as they contain some preservatives that irritate the eyes.
• According to research findings, pregnancy can also lead to sudden blurred vision especially in the morning hours due to changes in the levels and type of hormones.

Treatment for cloudy vision

When suffering from unclear vision, you need to seek medical attention so as to prevent the eye condition from worsening.

However, you may find out that the optical nerves have been fully damaged and the situation is irreversible. In such cases, your optician can perform some operation to help you regain some sight.

Medical treatment for blurred visualization depends on its cause as the underlying condition has to be dealt with before attempting any other option. Some of the medical choices taken include;

Use of prescribed eye lenses

For cases such as myopia, hyperopia and astigmatism you are urged to use either concave or convex lenses to enable you have clear visualization of images. Your optician will always be in a position to know the type of lenses required and how often you are to replace them.

Additionally, refractive faults caused by the changes in the shape of your cornea can be corrected using LASIK laser surgery.[3] Besides, long sightedness that results from aging can be taken care of by use of reading glasses.

Medical surgery

Generally, surgeries can be performed to ensure that the lens are corrected or replaced with artificial lenses. For conditions like cataracts, medical surgery can help you regain full vision if the treated on time.

Glaucoma is rarely noticed especially in its early stages as it is painless. Dr. Shah says that vision loss due to glaucoma takes place within a long time hence there is no known way of how you can notice its occurrence apart from undergoing regular eye checkups.

However, when diagnosed at earlier stages, you can get rid of it by using prescribed medication alongside surgery and laser treatment.

Tonometry treatment

Tonometry refers to a treatment option whereby your health specialist uses tonometer to measure your eye pressure. You are therefore given some medication depending on the pressure level as observed.

Other treatment options include insulin therapy in cases of diabetes, use of blood thinners, and antihypertensive drugs for stroke treatment and preventing fatigue.

How to get rid at home

You can also treat blurred vision at home by taking the following steps;

Eye exercise

This can be achieved by rolling your eyes in the clockwise direction for some time. You are advised to wink your eyes during the exercise.

Additionally, you can use objects by bringing them closer to the eyes then moving them away until you cannot observe them anymore. Frequent blinking of eyes without completely closing them can also help in bringing back clear vision especially if it occurs suddenly.

Eye exercise help in increasing the eye muscles flexibility as well as making them strong. It also facilitates regular blood flow throughout the eye cells.

Ginkgo Biloba

These are capsule that increase blood distribution in the body that leads to increased vision. Further, it helps in preventing glaucoma and macular degeneration.

Researchers say that it can also be of help if you are affected with retinopathy. It reduces nervousness and helps in memory development.

Use of bilberry

Bilberries are very rich in natural chemicals including antioxidants properties that prevent cell damage and repair damaged eye cells in the retina.

Moreover, its extracts are used in the treatment of glaucoma as well as advancing blood distribution in the body cells, minimizing eye tension which results into improved nerve functioning.

In addition, bilberries facilitate the treatment of myopia and prevention of diabetic radiotherapy. You are therefore advised to eat about half a cup of berries or consume its supplements as advised by your health specialist.

Sunning and palming

Sunning involves exposing your eyes to the sun permitting direct contact of sunrays with your eyes whereas in palming entails rubbing of palms until heat is generated then placing them on your closed eyelids without pressing them.

This exercise facilitates reactivation and improves the flexibility of your eye lens and ciliary muscles. Chinese culture suggests that sun contains life energies that help in healing abilities.

How to prevent

Foggy Vision Symptoms

Use of almonds

Almonds are rich in vitamin E which helps in preventing age based macular degeneration and cataracts. You are advised to take at around 15mg of vitamin E for better vision which is equivalent to 46 almond nuts. You can as well use sunflower seeds, hazelnuts or peanuts.

Besides, almonds contain antioxidant compounds and omega 3 fatty acid that help in memory development leading to increased concentration.

Procedure

1. Put 5 to 10 almonds in water and leave them for some time or overnight.
2. Peel off the outer coat the crush them to make a paste.
3. Mix the paste with warm milk in a glass and drink it.
4. Repeat this daily for about two months.

Use of Eggs

Egg yolk is rich in vitamin A which protects the cornea from invasion by foreign organisms. It also contain lutein and zeaxanthin that prevents the eye from serious infections as well as zinc which enables you to see at night.

Carrots and dairy products

Sudden Foggy Vision

Carrots are rich in vitamin A and beta carotene which is also found in the dairy products. These protect the eyes against serious infections.

Other vegetables such as kales and fruits like oranges can help you prevent occurrence of blurred vision.

Sources

Temporary Foggy Vision In One Eye

[1] https://www.diabetesselfmanagement.com/blog/diabetes-and-your-eyes-more-than-retinopathy/

[2] https://nei.nih.gov/health/cataract/cataract_facts

Foggy Vision In One Eye

[3] http://www.health.com/eye-health/blurry-vision-causes#blurry-vision-prescription