Did You Know that a Stroke Can Affect Your Vision?

Strokes occur when there is an interruption of the supply of blood to the brain, either because of a blockage or because a blood vessel inside the brain bursts. Strokes can leave an impact in different ways, including affecting your visual system.

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Did You Know that a Stroke Can Affect Your Vision? in Olympia

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Over 700,000 people in the United States suffer from a stroke each year, and is the fifth leading cause of death in the country according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Approximately two thirds of those who suffer a stroke do survive, however, but require some amount of rehabilitation.

Strokes, due to the fact that they occur in the brain, can lead to damaging effects throughout the body, including in the realm of vision.

Around two thirds of those who survive a stroke will have some form of visual impairment, usually related to problems with eye movement, visual perceptual defects, or decreased central or peripheral vision.

Strokes, and Their Impact on Vision

Specific symptoms can include:

Blurred, altered, or double vision
Difficulty reading
Extreme light sensitivity
Loss of visual field or a missing half of the visual field
Diminished ability to recognize familiar objects or people.

As might be expected, these problems can have major impacts on one’s quality of life, making tasks ranging from driving to social interaction a major challenge.

How are Vision Problems Caused by Strokes Diagnosed?

Given how common vision issues are among stroke victims, it is advised that everyone who survives a stroke receive a comprehensive vision screening as soon as possible following the incident. The sooner a problem is detected, the sooner treatment can begin, and the problems can be prevented from growing worse.

It must also be noted that while strokes do impact vision, they can also lead to damage throughout the body, and other specialized evaluations will be required to catch those problems.

How are Vision Problems Caused by Strokes Treated?

Treating any damage to the body caused by a stroke will take some time, and each area where damage has taken place will need a different sort of specialized treatment, and our optometrists are equipped and prepared to coordinate with other healthcare providers providing treatment or therapy for damage elsewhere in the body.

For vision problems caused by strokes, neuro-optometric rehabilitation therapy has been shown to be an extremely effective treatment.

Following the functional eye exam which will make it clear exactly which areas of vision have been affected by the stroke, our optometrist will craft a personalized treatment plan for you.

This may include exercises designed to train the brain to properly manage your vision and compensate for vision loss, along with specialized prism lenses which are capable of shifting images in the visual field or of joining images to mitigate the effects of double vision. Our optometrist may prescribe additional therapy with a low vision occupational therapist.

A Proven Track Record

Neuro-optometric rehabilitation therapy has been shown to be very effective at helping patients recover vision skills lost due to strokes. While the extent to which one will recover, and the speed at which it will take place varies on a case by case basis, it will enhance the patient’s quality of life toward what it was prior to their stroke. Contact us today to Book an Appointment for an evaluation if you have recently suffered a stroke, and especially if you are already experiencing vision issues following the stroke.

Summary

While the amount of damage strokes can do to the body is well known, less well understood is the damage one does to the visual system. In fact, most stroke survivors will experience some sort of vision issue stemming from their stroke, and it's important that these problems be caught and treated as early as possible. Fortunately, neuro-optometric rehabilitation therapy has been shown to have success treating these sorts of problems. Book an Appointment with us today to schedule an evaluation.

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Testimonials

Such a nice optician. My grandson is only 4 and needs glasses. We were so sad, but he explained the issues, and we will follow up as he suggested.

Anna P.

I had such a good experience with the clinic. Very friendly staff and doctor, did not have to wait for long to be called, and was treated respectfully. Thanks, American Family.

June S.

Dr. Zurcher has gone above and beyond what any other eye doctor has ever done to figure out what is going on with my eyes. Very happy with American Family Vision.

Christine R.

Family Vision Clinic changed our lives! My daughter was frequently car sick, and she was getting headaches every day, often painful enough that they brought her to tears. We saw a string of doctors and therapists, but we made no progress. Finally, we found Dr. Levi Zurcher and his eye therapist Rain. After ten weeks of eye therapy my daughter no longer gets headaches, and she no longer gets car sick. Daily tears are a thing of the past. I really can’t say enough about this clinic. It was fascinating to watch Dr. Zurcher work. For the first time, someone who knew what they were doing was intently studying my daughter, really trying to figure out all of her eye issues, and his therapist Rain is one of the most patient and lovely people that I’ve ever had the good fortune to meet. We’re finished with eye therapy—yay!—and I have switched to American Family Vision Clinic for all of my family’s other eye health needs.

Lars Wulff

Very professional, yet kind and helpful. They do what they can to make the appointment comfortable. I was running a bit late, I made sure ti call. They were able to switch me with a patient who was already there, they treated me with respect, and helped my son have confidence by getting him the eye care he needed that day. Thank you so much! Would recommend to anyone. It's a blessing that they care enough to work with people who have all different types of insurance from work to state coverage.