Five Warning Signs You Should Call an Ophthalmologist

Not to scare you, but we need to talk about common, subtle symptoms of major eye problems.

Unfortunately, more than 3 million Americans develop glaucoma. That’s a little less than 1% of Americans.

Even worse are the numbers surrounding cataracts. In 2010, the number of Americans with Cataracts was 24.41 million. This is 4 million more than a decade previous.

Add the 11 million with macular degeneration in the US and we come up with nearly 39 million Americans (almost 10% of the population) with major eye diseases.

Keep reading to find out the top signs of these and other common eye problems and how to get help!

1. Light Sensitivity

A raised eye pressure in young people can cause a sensitivity to light. This raised pressure manifests as a cloudy or waterlogged cornea. This causes light to refract on the inside of the cornea.

This refraction is an internal glare. This is a sign of glaucoma, but only an experienced ophthalmologist like Remagin.com can tell you for sure. That means the best defense against increased light sensitivity is going in for an eye exam.

2. Dry Eyes

Dry eyes can occur for a number of innocuous reasons, which makes it difficult to know if it’s truly a problem or not.

Dry eyes mean that your eyes aren’t producing enough tears to lubricate them. These tears protect your eyes from dust, pollen, small debris, and other irritants. Instead of grabbing an OTC eye drop bottle, get an eye exam.

Dry eyes are a starting sign for blepharitis and Bell’s Palsy.

3. Red Eyes

Red eyes can be a sign of tiredness or allergies, but it could also be a sign of something else. Red eyes can also indicate conjunctivitis (more commonly known as pink eye), blepharitis, or uveitis.

These conditions on their own aren’t too threatening unless you let them go on untreated. Conjunctivitis is very contagious as well, which could mean mandatory time out of the office for the safety of others.

4. Night Blindness

Night blindness isn’t a complete loss of sight, but it’s a form of light insensitivity. During the day, it might not be easy to notice that things look a little “darker” than they did before. It becomes more apparent at night when you can’t see things in the dark that perhaps you could have before.

It could also be a matter of reduced ability to adjust to light or deal with high light contrast situations. For example, driving at night and getting easily blinded by headlights or other lights.

5. Lights Are Wearing Halos

Let’s be clear about this sign because it’s easy to think “I have always seen halos around lights.” This isn’t the normal glare surrounding a light source but instead is a ring or circle around a light source.

This sign can lead to an ophthalmologist determining that you have glaucoma or cataracts, or that they’ve started developing.

Time to Call Your Ophthalmologist

All of these signs are subtle, but an increase you can notice could be indicative of an ongoing or starting problem. Our eyes represent our primary source of sensory input. Don’t let your eyes get worse, prevent or stop their degradation now, before things get too bad.

Need to know more? Keep browsing our articles for the information you need for your eye health!