Vision changes from Allergy?

[ejh]

Hi. Has anyone experienced changes in vision due to allergies?

Lately my quality of vision will change throughout the day. I live in Auckland (New Zealand), which has bad hay fever. This is the first spring I have been here. Since I arrived back in Auckland in Sept, after a few months back in the US, I have had constant post nasal drip, which is clear and thick. I have also noticed eye symptoms, mostly that my vision will get worse at certain times. Its been hard to narrow down the times my sight is worse. I also get a foggy feeling in my head and my ears seem clogged at times.

I have been cleared from sinusitis, according to a CT. Also had an MRI, which was negative for everything. Eye doctor says my eyes are fine too.

I have more recently been dealing with bad facial/eye pain, which the ENT says is due to the Sternocleidomastoid muscle in my neck. I am having Physical Therapy for that, which seems to help with the facial pain.

Has anyone experienced changes in vision from allergies? COuld something inside my head or eye be swelling througout the day, putting pressure on my eyes and changing my vision.

[blocked]

Hi, I'm in California, with my sinus problems my vision has  bouts of almost double vision it seems. I never had eye problems, and at times its okay, then its not. I get neck pain and tenderness also, with headaches. Im told its allergies. Too many people are suffering with this for my liking this year. I hope no one tested some radioactive bomb or something that is giving all of us an allergic reaction...It seems especially bad this year. We all arent crazy. I also think they keep spraying more and more pesticides without us knowing. Too many weird illnesses now, and if you read a lot of these posts, we are all complaing of the same things. All around the planet. Anyway, hope this helped a litle. Good luck. I think we need to clean up our planet!
"Blocked"

[LMND]

Has the physical therapy helped any from the sternocleidomastoid muscle as far as head/neck pain?  I, too have had some physical therapy from a chiro. but didn't follow through -- too many visits and not enough time.  Plus I always want a quick fix.  I am thinking something is going around, too, for so many of us to be like this with no relief from all the  meds the dr.'s have given us, and our CT's coming out fine, etc.  I feel the same about the swelling in the head as you do.  I'll be fine (for one day)..then feel pressure in face, and my head inside feels like it's  lopsided and my vision is affected, and it's a strain to walk a straight line.  Advil's don't help with the facial pain.  Go back to the ENT Tues.  I'm going to run everything past him I've read here in this forum!!!

[Susie Belle]

Yes, I have been suffering from vision problems for years and I suspect it's from allergies (my guess is mold since that's the one that I severely reacted to during my testing).  Also have neurological type problems that must be allergy related because all of the testing that I have always comes back normal.  I, like all of you, have days where I feel better and days where I'm bad.  Can't figure it out.  It's really bizarre.  The bad thing is that I can't take decongestants because they bother my heart, I'm allergic to almost all antibiotics and I can't take cortisone.  If anyone gets an answer for this problem, please let me know.

[LMND]

Gosh, it must be hard not being able to take so many meds.  So far I'm using over the counter NasalCrom, 4 times a day, and prescription Singulair.  I am better.  Not perfect.  Still having facial pain whenever it feels like popping up, and when I have that my balance/vision isn't right.  But -- much better than I was all summer.  Mold was only moderate for me, but the dust/mites, and ragweed and grasses were severe.  I may do the allergy shots.  They told me to try these meds for a month and see if they help.  Would you be allergic to the allergy shots?  I think it is worse this year, too.  I have NEVER been like this, so bad, and for soooo long.  And it seems to be everywhere.  I'm in WV.

[misnger]

Keep a log of how you feel.  Definately have your eyes checked & make sure they dilate your eyes, it show the retina.  They also can tell if the optic nerve is swollen which will cause pain and vision problems.

[Yoshes]

I'm in a similar boat to all of you.  My migrane-like head aches have subsided, and I have no usual allergy of flu-like symptoms, but my vision problem still persists.  It is a "disconnected" feeling, somewhat hazy, unable to concentrate visually and I feel a pressure in the bridge of my nose and behind my eyes some.  It's been around 4 or 5 weeks now.  I just went to my physician on Tuesday.  He gave me a shot of steroids (I think) and put me on singular which he said would take about 3 days to fully kick in.  My vison cleared up within an hour or so, but then sporatically went back to the problem.  The other afternoon it was fine, then the evening not, now it's bad.  It is now the Friday after that Tuesday.  I'm giving it til Monday, I understand the medication may still need to fully take effect.

If it clears up I will post again.  If anyone can give me anymore insight (pardon the pun) it would be greatly appreciated.  I am basically living on a "just functioning" level right now.

[LMND]

My Dr. said it took longer for the Singulair.  Give it a month.  I am getting MUCH better...so I'm continuing the Singulair and NasalCrom, and air cleaner in the bedroom, and saline rinses for my sinus.  I'm feeling MORE normal. I am no longer just functioning.  Dizziness is gone.  I do get tired easily, but I've had a lot of other things going on in my life that may be partly to blame for that.  I was beginning to think I would have to live like that the rest of my life!  Don't give up just yet!

[Yoshes]

Thanks lmnd.  My Dr. is calling in a pre authorization for a CT scan, but I'm not optimistic.  My Dr. said the singulair should have kicked in by now, but I'll bear in mind what your Dr. said.  What confuses my Dr is that I have no other sinus like symptoms besides pressure that sometimes causes a headache(from very bad to mild)  and the vision problem.  No post nasal anythng or sneezing or sore throat, etc.
It does occur to me to see what all of our locations are.  I saw someone was in California, I am also in CA in Los Angeles.  It may help narrow down an allergy.  Also, has anyone tried acupuncture?

[LMND]

I'm in a rural area of West Virginia.  I don't have other symptoms as far as cough, itchy eyes.  I've had clear nasal drip for years.  Just all of a sudden I got really dizzy, started having bad pressure in my face, and just felt so bad I couldn't drag.  That's how I started.  When the pressure in the sinus wouldn't let up I got antibiotics, when 3 rounds didn't help (Dr. said sinus is becoming resistent) he sent me to the ENT, and from there the CT Scan (clear), allergy testing (severe), and put me on the Singulair and Nasalcrom until I decide if I want the shots.  I did go to a chiropractor who said my neck was tighter than he had ever seen.  Only went about 4 times. (Expensive) He said he would do acupuncture on my face pressure if it started again.  So if I get back to that I will try it.

[makeitgoaway]

oh thank goodness i found this site.  im at the end of my rope really.  i've had this crazy feeling since june of last year, and i haven't mentioned it to my doctor because, well, he'll just think i'm crazy.  or so i think.

when it first started i thought it was anxiety.  then i thought it was allergies.  so i started taking an antihistamine.  not even sure if it worked, the symptoms seemed to come and go over the summer.  i thought it was the cats i had for a short while then gave away.  definately thought it was my thyroid, i'm hyperthyroid, thought it was pressure from too fast of a metabolism or something.  this last bout had me upping my thyroid medication to no avail.  

i was sitting her tonight looking up 'intracranial pressure', 'brain tumors' etc, yadayada.  then i found this site.  trying to explain my symptoms to most people is really hard.  i like to say it feels like someone blew up a balloon in my head, or i just drank 20 cups of coffee.  i don't really get headaches... sometimes i do, but most of the time it's this feeling of 6 lane traffic going on in my head.  serious pressure behind my cheeks and eyes and nose.  i don't even have a stuffy nose most of the time.  but i can always blow some clear mucous out when i do.  my eyes are having a seriously hard time focusing.  and it just comes on like a wave.  usually in the afternoon.  which is strange and not sure if that is normal.  

i smoke and i know that really bothers it.  i just about flipped out tonight with this situation.  panic attack coming in like a jet landing too fast.  popped two ativan.  most nights i have to take 2 prescription sleeping pills to make it go away.  amazingly they do.  not sure why. but used the ativan instead because i am getting too addicted to the sleeping pills (zopiclone)

haven't tried any sinus sprays, they scare me.  i was addicted like crazy to dristan years ago.  

i've had teaspoonsful of fluid come out of my nose.  was dx with 'spontaneous cerebral spinal fluid leak' 11 years ago and operated on.  didn't cure the problem and sometimes i think that it wasn't EVEN the problem.  i was just a guinea pig for a overeager neurologist.  

after spending almost two hours reading all these things to convince myself i'm not going to die of dizziness, i have developed one horrible headache behind my eyes.

so does this sound familiar to anybody?  oh. my neck is really tight and sore too, i tried to do head rolls but ended up with a blinding headache.  owww...

i'm on the verge of craziness.  the freakiest thing of all is that people are having these symptoms just come up and it does make me wonder if they are spraying more pesticides etc.  is it pollution?

[LMND]

You're not crazy.  Made my panic attacks worse, too.  I had to up my Xanax.  Now that I'm better the panic attacks are under control. I thought I hurt my neck -- went to the chiro.  He did say I was tight, worked on me about 4 times, but I didn't see quick results and it's expensive so I quit.  3 rounds of Antibiotics helped short-term, and not much.  Then when I was sent to the ENT he finally put me on Prednisone which started my cure I think.  Because the allergy meds weren't helping.  After that we did allergy testing, which I inherited my mom's two long haired cats after she passed away this May, and although I have a short-haired cat and never had problems, I thought with all the hair and liter dust that might be bothering me.  The allergy testing was severe to everything, but not allergic to cats.  They put me on Singulair prescription, and it helps, along with NasalCrom spray over the counter, using saline rinses twice a day, using an air cleaner in my bedroom, and keeping everything as clean as possible and allergy free.  I also no longer have the cats because I was unable to keep up with the hair and dust, and since dust was severe for me, I didn't need the liter dust. I use the hot water bottle on my face and neck when I have too much pressure, along with Advil.  This has been going on since summer.  I have been better for the last month.  You're not crazy.  But either it's the weather, allergies, a virus, or something weird for us all to have the same problems.  
And we're all over the place.  I'm in WV.

[kdcpink]

Wow, so many of us with the same type of thing.  I'm in southern CA, and my onset
started with a flu like migraine headache.
No fever...  continued with the headaches
and random head pains for weeks along with
"plugged" ears.  My doctor first told me to
take several asprins per day for 10 days,
ha! to no avail...then diagnosed it as a sinus infection
(no sinus discharge) only sinus like headaches.
The antibiotics did nothing.  I thought maybe I was allergic to some recently aquired kittens.  (still not sure it isn't that), but an allergist said I wasn't.  My CT scan and MRI were clear. My doctor now says it's a Eustachian tube disorder??
I've had the rest of the symptoms for over 2 mos.  What
the heck is it???  

[Loti]

I have similiar symptoms. I am so glad to know that I am not alone. It all started 2 months ago. First, severe pressure around the eye and a throbbing headache. The throbbing around my eye was so bad, I actually got a floater. Eye doctor said eyes were fine. My nose was congested and my ears felt plugged. Then I started getting these bright spots in my vision. Nothing horrible, but annoying. Everytime I look at something like a light colored curtain or something bright, I see this brief brigh spot (but I can still see though it). Then my head felt really congested and I started getting blurred vision in the morning for a few minutes after I got out of bed. Had MRI's, blood work, CT, etc. My ENT said that she thinks it all has to do with allergies. She said my allergies (Something in the air) were just building up and building up. I started having these symptoms because the build up just became too much. She just put me on Singulair and a nasel spray. Said it might take a month to work. I hope it does because this is not fun, especially the vision changes.

[Deeds]

diabetics go through vision changes quite often as well... make sure your sugars are in check and that you do not have an underlying problem such as diabetes. ((just an FYI))

[backyarder1]

Has anyone else noticed that their vision is worse if they sleep on their side rather than their back? I'm wondering if I am allergic to my pillow or it is something to do with pressure on my neck if I sleep on my side.

[Leedah]

I live in CT. And i pretty much have been driving my parents crazy. Every day i have something new wrong with me lately. My allergies are more out of control then usual. Not only that i experience panic attacks day and night now and constant headaches. This is not like me, i've always had allergies but lately i spend my days freaking out and i feel as if im disconnected from the word and confused. I have been taking some sort of chill pills to calm me down, it really struck my attention though that people also complaing exactly about the neck and the headaches and the dizziness. I really started to believe i was a hypochondriac because i am constantly sick....thanks to all these comments i have a few ideas on how to handle it, and im sure later ill ponder the whole pollution theory....God i hope thats not it.

[doctornee medical]

Hi
Thanks for writing to the forum!
Why don’t you sit down calmly and make a list of all the symptoms you have. It will help you and also your doctor to reach a diagnosis.

You complain of dizziness. This could be due to several causes. Dizziness could be due to postural hypotension (blood pressure falling with change of position), internal ear problems and cervical spondylitis. All these cause dizziness when you get up from lying down position. Cervical spondylitis and ear problems also cause dizziness on changing the position of the neck.

Other causes of dizziness are anemia, GERD, hypoglycemia or low sugar and some endocrine problems. There are many self testing kits available in the market for testing blood sugar. Also if eating and drinking something helps then it could be low sugar or GERD. Hypothyroidism too can behave this way.


I suggest you take up yoga or aerobics to get a better oxygen supply to your system. This will also prevent your anxiety attacks. Your headaches could be due to migraine or poor sleep pattern. Consult a sleep specialist once.
Hope this helps. Please let me know if there is any thing else and do keep me posted. Take care!

[Leedah]

Wow, i really appreciate you trying to find what could possibly be my problem. Every female in my mothers side of the family has a an overactive thyroid and so as i got older i started to get all the same symptoms they have and my parents got worried and took me to get blood work but the test came up negative, i will write down my symptoms and the possibilities you listed for my doctor to look into and hopefully together we can find whats up with my allergies, and why i would have the same symptoms as someone who has a thyroid condition. Once again thanks for helping me to understand some of my symptoms and giving me information to further my research.

[Larkenn]

Have you tested for food allergies.  I have recently tested positive for a milk protein allergy (casein allergy).  Not lactose intolerance but a proper milk allergy which is much worse.  Also a parasite called Blastocystis Hominis which can cause dizziness.