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VISUAL SYMPTOMS
Visual
disturbances are common for persons with Multiple Sclerosis. Visual
acuity is measured as a fraction of normal vision. Vision that is
20/20 indicates "normal" vision. The following outlines eye
disorders that can occur with MS:
- Diplopia
- Double vision or the awareness of two images of the same
object. This occurs when there is a failure of the eyes to work in
a coordinated fashion. The use of an eye patch is sometimes
helpful in easing this symptom.
- Floaters
- Floaters can take many forms from little dots, circles, lines,
to clouds or cobwebs. Sometimes people experience one large
floater which can be distracting and make things difficult to read
while others experience many floaters. Floaters are often times
described as "lines".
- Nystagmus
- Nystagmus is rapid and involuntary movements of the eyes in
horizontal or vertical directions. This symptom can cause
dizziness.
- Optic Atrophy
- Optic Atrophy is a degeneration of the optic nerve fibers
which can lead to a loss of clarity, changes in the field of
vision or both. Symptoms of optic atrophy are loss of sight but
can vary from slight blurring of an image to serious site loss
affecting one or both eyes.
- Optic Neuritis (ON)
- Optic Neuritis is inflammation of the optic nerve and is many
times the first recognizable symptom in diagnosing MS. The
symptoms of ON is pain behind the eye, blurring of vision, color
blindness, blind spots in the field of vision, difficulty in
seeing low contrast and difficulty seeing in bright
light.
- Uveitis
- Uveitis is inflammation of the area behind the eye (usually
the blood vessels). Symptoms include light sensitivity, blurring
of vision, floaters, pain and redness of the
eye.
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