If you are experiencing sudden and painless vision loss, you may be having ‘optic nerve palsy’ and the biggest cause of this is high blood pressure and diabetes. Drinking less water and sedentary life can be among the biggest factors that can cause optic nerve paralysis.

Sudden and painless vision loss may occur due to disruption or blockage of blood circulation to a part of the optic nerves in the eye. This is called ‘optic nerve palsy’. Patients with high blood pressure and diabetes should be careful.

50-55 is a risky age: There are important risk factors underlying this disease. High blood sugar, high blood pressure, high blood fats, drinking less water during the day, moving less and having some genetic predispositions cause this disease. Although it is generally seen in the 50-55 age group, it is possible to see this disease at an earlier age.

There is no complete treatment: Nerve palsy in the eye occurs when a very special vascular bundle that provides blood supply to the optic nerve is blocked by small clots and there is no complete treatment today.

Vision Losses Occur: In patients with optic nerve palsy, visual acuity and color vision are reduced and visual field losses occur, and cortisone-containing drugs can be beneficial in some patients. Since not all patients have a chance of recovery, preventive medicine is at the forefront and very important.

Sedentary Life Affects: It is important to have good metabolic values in order to avoid this disease. The most important risk factors are high blood sugar, blood pressure and blood fats and low daily exercise. The occurrence of this disease in one eye creates a risk factor that increases the likelihood of this disease in the other eye by one third.

How can we be protected?

Patients who have this disease in one eye should pay attention to the risk factors mentioned above, eat a balanced diet, avoid foods that increase insulin resistance, consume plenty of fluids, move and walk during the day. In this way, the possibility of developing the same disease in the other eye is minimized.

June 2024