Peripheral vision causes and treatments

Tuesday, November 24th, 2009 at 1:37 pm Post in Eye Diseases

People with healthy eyes have two parts of vision: central vision and peripheral vision, which are independent. If a person has difficulty in seeing dim light or navigating while walking, he or she probably has peripheral vision problems. People with good central vision may be unable to see properly around the edges. These people can only rely on their central vision, just like the vision through a narrow tube (tunnel vision).

Peripheral vision loss has a variety of potential causes. Optic nerve damage caused by glaucoma, high IOP, eye strokes and blood flow blockage in the eye are some of the possible reasons for peripheral vision loss. Other factors include eye occlusions, detached retina, certain brain damage, optic neuritis, concussions and so on.

Once you have realized a peripheral vision loss, visit your eye doctor for a visual field testing, which can search out the position of potential blind spots. Sudden peripheral vision loss is sometimes associated with retina detachment, which requires immediate treatment. Peripheral vision loss can affect many aspects of our daily lives such as driving. Some states’ laws even impose strict rules on vision requirement for a driver’s license.

Peripheral vision is important for certain sports such as football and basketball, which require good teamwork. People with normal vision may also need to use some techniques taught by sports vision specialist. Unlike common vision problems such as myopia and hyperopia, peripheral vision problems can not be cured or corrected simply by conventional eyeglasses or contact lenses. However, special lens type named prism is created to expand the vision field. These special lenses can only be prescribed by certain low vision specialist.

Other treatments for peripheral vision loss involve resolving the underlying causes. For instance, to prevent vision loss caused by glaucoma, patients should strictly follow the doctor’s instruction in taking eye drops, in order to control their IOP. Without proper treatments, glaucoma can lead to permanent peripheral vision loss.