Suffering any chronic illness, especially a
degenerative disease such as Parkinson's can result in feeling as if one's
world is crumbling and falling apart. There are so many symptoms and facets of
Parkinson's that cause strange complications, just when you think you know
everything, something new crops up. I have noticed my eyesight has become
extremely poor over the last few months, and after having all the tests you can
possibly imagine, the optometrist could find nothing wrong. He told me to check
with my neurologist, suspecting it was more than likely to do with Parkinson's.
At my recent check up, I told my neurologist about the problems I was having,
blurred vision, stinging eyes that barely blink, often dry and sore, making it
difficult to read.
I discovered that due to
Parkinson's patients blink far less than a healthy person, the protective tear
film which is in fact the first layer that light hits when entering the eye,
can often dry up. If this layer is defective, the light is scattered resulting
in blurred vision. Knowing how expensive prescription glasses can be, I asked
if it would be helpful to get new glasses, or if I would be wasting my money. It
looks like I won't be getting new glasses, so this is yet one more symptom I
shall have to put up with.My home care nurse is about to arrive, to administer the enzyme replacement therapy for Gaucher disease, so I had better stop writing and get ready for her. The infusion takes about an hour and a half, and it's only once every two weeks which doesn't interfere much with one's life, especially since the introduction of "home treatment" saving many hours spent in hospital.
Take a look at this very interesting link and read for
yourself about eye problems experienced by Parkinson's patients.
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