When patients present with a problem of blurred vision and slurred speech it is first required to specify precisely what they indicate – there might be different understandings of what blurred vision and slurred speech are. History and assessment can expose a number of causes in the medical care setting but referral to an ophthalmologist may be needed for confirmation/diagnosis or management of the problem.
What Is Blurred Vision?
Recognize the presenting complaint:
- Blurred vision – a single image that is seen indistinctly. Develop whether this is at range, near or both.
- Decrease in peripheral vision – the patient might describe running into things or regular scrapes when parking the car.
- Alteration of a clear image – eg, micropsia/macropsia (image appears smaller or bigger) or metamorphopsia (distorted image).
- Interference with a clear image (eg, floaters, flashes of light – photopsia).
- Diplopia – monocular (the double vision stays when the uninvolved eye is occluded); binocular (the vision go back to normal on covering one eye), horizontal, vertical, oblique.
- Other disruptions of vision – eg, iridescent vision (haloes, rainbows), dark adjustment problems or night blindness (nyctalopia), colour vision problems.
What Is Slurred Speech?
Slurred speech is a symptom characterized by bad pronunciation of words, mumbling, or a modification in speed or rhythm during talking. The medical term for slurred speech is dysarthria.
Slurred speech might establish slowly with time or follow a single incident. Slurred speech might be temporary or long-term, depending on the underlying cause.
Correct speech requires normal function of the brain, mouth, tongue, and vocal cords (larynx). Damage or disease affecting any of these organs might cause slurred speech. Common causes of slurred speech consist of alcohol or drug intoxication, distressing brain injury, stroke, and neuromuscular disorders. Neuromuscular conditions that often cause slurred speech include amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, severe neuromuscular disease that causes muscle weakness and special needs), cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy, and Parkinson’s disease. the onset of symptoms
What Causes Blurred Vision and Slurred Speech?
There are several conditions associated with blurred vision and slurred speech in adults:
- Barbiturate abuse: Barbiturates are a kind of prescription sedative where even a minor overdose can cause coma or death.
- Insulin reaction (hypoglycemia): An insulin response is the outcome of low blood sugar and causes stress and anxiety, hunger, shaking, dizziness, and more.
- Benzodiazepine abuse: Benzodiazepines are prescription medications that cause drowsiness, dizziness, blurred vision, and more.
- Macular degeneration: Macular degeneration is a pain-free eye condition that causes you to lose your main vision.
- Brain infection: A brain infection is inflammation of the brain or spinal cord and can cause nausea, fever, seizures and more.
- Epilepsy (basic partial seizures): During basic partial epileptic seizures, people stay completely mindful, able to respond to external stimuli.
- Nearsightedness: Nearsightedness is a typical eye problem that causes blurry, remote vision.
- Astigmatism: Astigmatism is a typical eye problem causing blurry vision, trouble seeing information and eye strain headaches.
- Cryptococcosis: Cryptococcosis is a lung disease causing a wide variety of digestion, respiratory and cardiovascular symptoms.
- Glaucoma: Glaucoma is a group of eye conditions in which fluid develops in your eye causing gradual vision loss.
- Transient ischemic attack (mini-stroke): Transient ischemic attacks cause headache, numbness, tingling, or weak point in the face, arm, or leg, and more.
- Epilepsy (complex partial seizures): During intricate partial seizures, people lose consciousness briefly.
- Pseudohypoparathyroidism: Pseudohypoparathyroidism is an unusual acquired condition that can cause cramps, muscle convulsions, and more.
- Foreign item in the eye: Symptoms of a foreign things in the eye consist of pain, stinging, itchiness, inflammation, tearing, bleeding, and more.
- Eye injury: There are lots of types of eye injury, and symptoms consist of eye pain, burning, irritation, bleeding, and more.
- Stroke: A stroke takes place when blood and oxygen to the brain are cut off, and causes numbness, confusion, and more.
- Intracranial hematoma: An intracranial hematoma occurs after a head injury and causes headache, sleepiness, confusion, and more.
- Brain tumor: Primary brain tumors are typically benign but can cause seizures, ongoing headaches, or loss of coordination.
- Pink eye (conjunctivitis): Pinkeye is redness and swelling of the membrane that lines the eyelid, called the conjunctiva.
- Diabetic eye disease: People with diabetes might develop diabetic eye disease, causing vision loss and even blindness.
- Alcohol intoxication: Alcohol intoxication, or drunkenness, is marked by impaired judgment, slurred speech, blurred vision and more.
- Brain aneurysm: A brain aneurysm is a weak point in a blood vessel in the brain that swells and fills with blood.
- Diabetes, type 1: Diabetes can make you feel hungry, tired, or thirsty; you might urinate more than normal and have blurry vision.
- Farsightedness (presbyopia): Presbyopia causes a failure to concentrate on close things, and headaches or eyestrain when working or checking out.
- Acute angle-closure glaucoma: Acute angle-closure glaucoma is unexpected and causes extreme pain in one eye, soreness, cloudy vision and more.
- Retinal detachment: Retinal detachment causes floaters in your vision, flashes of light, blind spots, loss of vision, and more.
- Diabetes, type 2: Diabetes can make you feel hungry, tired, or thirsty; you may urinate more than normal and have blurry vision.
- Intoxication: Symptoms of intoxication include euphoria, slowed reaction time, dizziness, confusion, numbness, and more.
- Medication reaction or side-effect: Medication side effects consist of nausea, vomiting, stomach upset, weak point, dizziness, seizures, and more.
- Diabetic ketoacidosis: Symptoms of diabetic ketoacidosis consist of dry mouth, extreme thirst and urination, and more.
- Low high blood pressure (hypotension): Low blood pressure, or hypotension, can make you feel lightheaded and lightheaded
- Ocular migraine: Ocular migraine generally describes a kind of migraine that can cause temporary blindness in one eye.
As you can see, blurred vision and slurred speech can be signs of serious medical conditions. That’s why eyexan.com team strongly recommend to contact you doctor ASAP.