Sudden vision loss, a curtain or shadow across your vision, a sudden shower of new floaters or flashing lights, or sudden eye pain with nausea and a red eye — go to an emergency room now. Those are retinal detachment, a blocked retinal artery, or acute glaucoma, and all three are measured in hours. A blocked retinal artery is a stroke of the eye and is treated with the same urgency.
Everything else on this page is a clinic conversation — but it is a more important one than most people think, because the conditions that take sight away are mostly painless and silent until late.
Go to an emergency room now for
- Sudden loss of vision, in one eye or both, even briefly
- A curtain, shadow, or veil moving across your field of vision
- A sudden burst of new floaters, or flashing lights
- Severe eye pain with a red eye, blurred vision, haloes, nausea or vomiting
- Chemical splash — irrigate with clean water for 15–20 minutes first, then come
- Penetrating injury, or anything embedded. Do not press, do not try to remove it, tape a cup over the eye
- A blow to the eye with pain, blood inside the eye, or changed vision
- Double vision of sudden onset, or a new drooping eyelid
- Vision changes with a severe headache, weakness, or slurred speech — treat as a stroke and call 911
Sudden painless vision loss is the one people wait on because it does not hurt. Do not.
The four that steal sight quietly
Glaucoma. Damages peripheral vision first, painlessly, and by the time you notice it the loss is permanent. It is detected by measuring eye pressure and examining the optic nerve — which only happens if you get examined. Risk rises with age, family history, and in people of African and Hispanic descent.
Diabetic retinopathy. The leading cause of blindness in working-age adults, and entirely silent early. If you have diabetes, you need a dilated eye examination every year, regardless of how good your vision feels. See prediabetes and diabetes.
Macular degeneration. Central vision, usually after 60. Early sign: straight lines look bent or wavy — a door frame, a tile grout line. Worth testing yourself occasionally by covering one eye.
Cataracts. Gradual clouding, worse glare and night-driving haloes, colours washing out. Extremely common with age and very treatable — and worth treating, because unoperated cataracts are a measurable fall risk. See fall prevention.
How often to get examined
| You are | Get a dilated eye exam |
|---|---|
| An adult with no risk factors | Every 2 years from 40; annually from 65 |
| Diabetic | Annually, without exception |
| Glaucoma family history, or over 60 | Annually |
| A contact lens wearer | Annually |
| A child | Screening at well-child visits; full exam if any concern |
Note that a driving-licence vision test or a shopping-centre screening is not an eye examination. Neither measures eye pressure or looks at the retina.
The Arizona part, which is substantial
Our UV is among the highest in the country, and eyes accumulate that damage: cataracts, growths on the surface of the eye (pterygium, common enough here to be nicknamed “surfer’s eye” despite the absence of surf), and eyelid skin cancers. Wraparound sunglasses labelled UV400 or 100% UVA/UVB are genuinely preventive, and the label matters more than the price or the darkness of the tint. A wide-brimmed hat adds meaningfully. Children need sunglasses too — they get more lifetime UV exposure than adults and their lenses transmit more of it.
Dry eye is close to universal here and badly under-treated. Very low humidity, dust, air conditioning, ceiling fans, and hours of screen use all strip the tear film. Symptoms are counterintuitive: gritty, burning, tired eyes, fluctuating blurred vision, and — confusingly — *watering*, because the eye over-compensates. Preservative-free artificial tears used regularly rather than occasionally, a humidifier, deliberate blinking breaks from screens, and pointing the car vents away from your face all help. If it persists, come in; there are prescription treatments and it is not something to endure for years.
Dust storms deserve a specific mention: do not rub. Irrigate with clean water or saline and let it flush. Rubbing grit across the cornea is how a scratch becomes an ulcer.
Contact lenses and our water. Never rinse lenses or cases in tap water and never swim or shower in lenses — *Acanthamoeba* keratitis is rare, devastating, and associated with exactly that. Replace the case every three months.
Where to go
Call 911 for vision loss with weakness, speech difficulty, or a severe headache — that is a stroke workup, not an eye problem.
Come to our Emergency Room — 9700 N. Saguaro Blvd, open 24 hours — for any red flag above, eye injury, chemical splash, or sudden painless vision loss. We can assess, treat, and arrange urgent ophthalmology where it is needed. ER: (602) 671-7990.
Book our Medical Clinic for a referral for a dilated eye exam, diabetic eye screening, persistent dry eye, or any gradual change in vision: (602) 671-7981.
Sources
- American Academy of Ophthalmology — Eye exam frequency recommendations
- National Eye Institute — Glaucoma
- CDC — Diabetes and vision loss
- American Academy of Ophthalmology — Contact lens care and water