Optic Neuritis: See the World Through My Eyes
One of the most common questions that I am asked is “what does optic neuritis look like?” I often describe my vision as cloudy or foggy, but it’s hard to explain what the world looks like through my eyes right now. A picture is worth a thousand words, so I thought I’d take a crack at showing you the world through my eyes.
This is a photo that I took during a camping trip in Algonquin Provincial Park. The version of the photo in the upper left quadrant is unaltered. When I look at the photo with my right (good) eye, this is how I see it. The version of the photo in the upper right quadrant has been edited in order to show you what my vision through my left eye looked like at the peak of my optic neuritis. The version of the photo in the lower left quadrant has been edited in order to show you what my vision through my left eye looked like as my optic neuritis began to heal. The version of the photo in the lower right quadrant has been edited in order to show you what my vision through my left eye looks like at present. My neuro-ophthalmologist triumphantly exclaimed that my vision was “better” at my follow up appointment. At the time, it was somewhere between the two bottom images. I think that you will agree with me that this is a bit of an overstatement. While yes, I can see the trees and the clouds; they appear as if they are behind cloud or fog. I can see colours, but they are much less vivid.
Does optic neuritis always look like this? No. Some describe black splotches in their visual field. Some describe colour-blindness. Some describe losing only peripheral vision. Some describe blurriness, but no vision loss. This just shows you optic neuritis based on my personal experience with it.
Optic neuritis can be very painful. I was lucky to have never experienced any pain with my bout of optic neuritis. Those that describe pain often describe sharp pain behind their eye, or a painful pulling sensation when they move their eye.
I am still holding out hope that my vision will go back to normal. However, I would be lying if I told you that I’m not worried that my vision is stuck like this forever.
As of my last appointment with my neurologist, I had 20/25 vision. This means that I can see an object clearly from 20 feet that the average person could see clearly from 25 feet. Now I know that many of my readers with glasses will be thinking “that’s nothing, my vision is much worse than that!” However, glasses won’t improve my vision, because it isn’t my eye that is causing the issue, it is my optic nerve that is causing the issue. My eye is receiving the image properly, but the image isn’t getting to my brain in the same form that it is received. It’s like a game of broken telephone, but less fun.
