We had such a strong reader response to our January 20, 2011 story Your Eyes and Your Health, that we decided to do a follow-up on the clues to your health that you can see in your own two eyes. This time, we went to ophthalmologist Thomas Steinemann, MD, with the American Academy of Ophthalmology and Cleveland’s MetroHealth Medical Center, for further insight about our eyesight…

In fact, there are a good number of important health issues that the eyes can reveal either as overt symptoms or in changes detected in eye exams, says Dr. Steinemann. When I spoke with him, he said that some problems manifested in the eyes are relatively common, but there also are others that are alarming and possibly even dangerous.

He told me the story of a woman who had always been in great health. She went to her ophthalmologist every year for a vision checkup. At her last exam, she was startled when her eye doctor said that she should see her regular physician to check for high blood pressure. The woman had had no idea there was a problem, but she followed through and discovered that yes, indeed, she had developed high blood pressure. What was it that tipped her eye doctor off? Simple — as he examined her eyes, the doctor saw that blood vessels behind them had narrowed, nearly always a clear warning signal. Here are a number of other symptoms and what they mean…

  • A small blind spot in your vision with shimmering lights or wavy lines. Surprisingly, this frightening symptom is usually a form of migraine — surprising because it often does not include a headache. Called ocular migraine or migraine aura, the blind spot with sparkling edges continues to expand for 20 to 30 minutes, after which it starts to resolve on its own at about the same pace. It can also manifest as flashes of light, zigzagging patterns, multiple blind spots or shimmering stars — even temporary vision loss in one eye. People who have had this happen once will recognize their precise symptoms and know they will self-resolve. But Dr. Steinemann says that for anyone experiencing the above symptoms for the first time, it is important to let your doctor know both to calm your own anxiety — and on the off chance it might be something else such as a stroke or transient ischemic attack (TIA or mini-stroke) or even a detached retina. If you have never had these symptoms before and they last more than a few minutes, you should contact your ophthalmologist or go to the ER.
  • Yellowish, bumpy patches on the upper and lower lids. Called xanthelasma palpebra, these are small fatty deposits that likely indicate high cholesterol. They appear as multiple deposits lying within the skin of the lid, but unlike styes, they are not red or tender, do not erupt acutely and do not show up at the base of the lashes. Having these patches means it’s time to check out your cholesterol levels.
  • Red eyes with swollen lids. Airborne allergens are highly recognizable with all their obvious symptoms — sneezing and coughing and eyes that are red and itchy. But if your only symptoms are redness and swelling around the eyes, it’s a signal that you are probably allergic to something you are using in or near your eyes, such as a cosmetic or ointment. Review all suspicious products to isolate the offending product and, of course, get rid of it.
  • A bump or pigmented spot on the lid. This could be skin cancer, and if the bump or spot has a brown color, it may be melanoma, a highly dangerous cancer. Those who need to be most wary include older adults and fair-skinned individuals who have blue or green eyes. Not wearing sunglasses or prescription eyeglasses with UV protection also raises one’s risk. Melanoma can also develop on the outer surface of the eyeball, the iris, inside the eye and even in the back of the eye under the retina. The good news: If detected early with a doctor’s scope called an ophthalmoloscope, prompt treatment and careful monitoring of the melanoma make it definitely survivable today.
  • Blurred vision in people with diabetes. This can be a symptom of uncontrolled blood sugar or diabetic retinopathy, a slow but progressive disorder involving damage to blood vessels in the retina. If left unchecked, it eventually causes blindness. In the early stages, diabetic retinopathy usually does not have symptoms. As the disease progresses, blood leaking into the eye from damaged vessels can make the macula swell and cause blurred vision. Dr. Steinemann notes that when blood sugar spikes and drops, it poses a major threat to the circulation in the retina. Consequently the best way to protect your vision if you have diabetes is through careful control of your blood sugar.

These are just some of the conditions that your eyes can reveal, all the more reason to have regular eye checkups.