Vision problems after brain injury

 

 

nystagmus

No eye damage but brain damage

The brains play a very important role for us to be able to see. Damage to the brain may therefore lead to visual complaints.

As a result of acquired brain injury, such as a stroke or an accident, a person can have double vision or part of the visual field may disappear. Other esamples are: spots in the vision, but also varying acuity. It may be that information from one eye is processed faster than intormation from the other eye.

 

 

 

Nothing wrong with the eyes
There is nothing wrong with the eyes, but there is damage to the visual areas of the brain or the nerves leading to it:

  • double vision or weakness of muscles (diplopia)
  • trembling wiggly eyes (nystagmus)
  • visual field loss, seeing half or parts (hemianopia)
  • inability to see colors
  • seeing one thing at a time (simultanagnosia)
  • light sensitivity (photofobia)
  • blurry vision, despite good correction by glasses
  • difficulty in estimating distances correctly
  • inability to recognize faces (prosopagnosia)

 

The brains play a very important role to see everything well. Damage to the brain can therefore not only lead to memory problems, but also to visual symptoms.

As a result of acquired brain injury, such as stroke or an accident, a person may be seeing double, or experience loss of a part of the visual field.

The kind of symptoms that an individual has, is highly dependent on the location of the damage in the brains.

By damage in the brains, for example in the back of the head, the field of vision may change

 

   

 Double vision                       Sensitivity for light

 

Resources: Utrecht University, Tanja Nijboer, Krista Huisman, Anne Visser-Meily, Anja Eijsackers, Support of Research at Brink's Hoogstraat rehabilitation, Hersenstichting.nl, Sweet Mountain Hospital neurology, JBM Kuks, J. W. Pike, H.J.G.H. Oosterhuis. Clinical Neurology 15th Edition, Bohn Stafleu Of Loghum, Wood, 2003, ISBN 90-313-4028-6,hersenletsel-uitleg.nl http://www.brainline.org/content/2010/02/vision-issues-after-brain-injury-brainline-talks-with-dr-gregory-goodrich_pageall.html