Information on symptoms and visual disorders
Symptoms
Eye pain
If you experience significant pain in the eye, the cause must always be examined. There are many possible causes including increased intraocular pressure or a serious infection. These may cause sudden severe pain, and redness of the eye and even nausea. If you have these symptoms you should seek treatment as soon as possible.
Eye redness
There can be several causes for eye redness. The most common causes are usually quite harmless, for example dryness, allergies, fatigue or dust. If you experience eye redness without experiencing pain or reduced vision, you can treat the symptoms with an over-the-counter medication found at your local pharmacy. However, the symptoms can be caused by an eye disease, especially if you experience any pain, light sensitivity or having a small item in your eye. In this case, you should make an appointment with an eye doctor.
Eye redness and discharge
If you experience eye redness and discharge (pus), the cause is may be a bacterial infection that can be treated with antibiotic eye drops. If any pain and/or reduced vision is experienced, you should see an eye doctor.
Eye redness and itching
Allergic redness and itching of the eyes is usually seasonal, and usually these symptoms appear together with other symptoms such as sneezing and sniffles. The treatment is allergy medicine, either eye drops or pills.
Eye redness and feeling something in the eye
These symptoms may be caused by corneal ulcer, an open sore in the eye, or perhaps a foreign body. Usually you experience tearing and sharp pain as well. You should see an eye doctor.
A blood red spot on the white of the eye
These symptoms are usually caused by a harmless bleed under the mucosa covering the eye, a “subconjunctial haemorrhage,” which heals by itself and does not require treatment. If it is caused by an injury, you should see an eye doctor.
Eye redness and sensitivity to light
Watery eyes
Eye redness, sensitivity to light and watery eyes
If these symptoms start suddenly during the night, they are often caused by a burn on the surface of the cornea (“snow blindness”). The burn can be caused by long exposure to sunlight or by radiation from an arc welder. The treatment is lubricating ointment, pain medication and keeping your eyes closed until the symptoms resolve. If the symptoms don’t improve within a half a day, then contact an eye doctor.
Visual disorders
Reduced vision with age
This is usually caused by cataracts. We recommend an examination performed by an eye doctor, to evaluate if further check-ups are necessary or if surgical treatment is recommended.
Reduced vision with blurred or non-straight lines
Floating opacities, perhaps with light flashes
Curtain over the field of vision
Flashing lights and headache
Defects in visual field
Sudden and painless loss of vision in one eye
Sudden deep pain and blurred vision
Sensitivity to light and blurred vision
Reduced near vision
Double vision