Vision Rehabilitation after a Stroke

1. Vision Rehabilitation after a Stroke – An Overview The infamous Sanskrit saying goes by saying – Sarventhriyanam Nayanam Prathanam. It translates to above all the organs it is the eyes that are most important! No matter how carefully you have guarded your eyes against all the infections and no matter how healthy they are, eyes may get affected severely in the account of a stroke. Stroke, the cerebrovascular accident, causes motor-related issues, speech and swallow difficulty, cognitive impairments, headaches and most importantly vision issues. Eyes are few of the most affected organs in the event of a stroke and eye health issues caused by a stroke range from disturbances in image processing, visual disturbances and even loss of eyesight in a few cases. One-third of stroke patients experience vision-related issues. With the help of vision rehabilitation under the expert rehabilitation experts’ observation it is possible to get partial or complete recovery. Vision Issues after a Stroke – The person may experience various types of vision issues after a stroke. Typically those issues are categorised under the following section. Continue reading to know the 4 major types of health issues you may face after a stroke. Loss of Visual Field – The person may experience difficulty in seeing the objects to the left or right sides of the line of your sight. And, issues like black patches in the vision and unable to see the full subject comes under this category.  Loss of Movement of the Eyeballs – Our eyeball moves as per the instructions of the brain and this ability gets affected by the stroke. The person may experience pain, mild to major, in order to turn the eyeballs or turn head instead. The person also experiences blurred vision, dizziness and difficulty in judging the distance from an object. 

2. Loss of Central Vision – The severe condition in the lot. The person may lose the ability of seeing, partially or fully. Central vision loss can affect one or both eyes, depending on the severity and the region the brain got affected.  In a few cases, this could be a result of blood vessel blockage in the eye rather than in the brain. Issues with Visual Processing – Eyes are interesting organs and the facts about them get you amazed! For instance, eyes can process 150 miles of data in a split-second. This ability might get reduced or lost due to stroke. The person may find it difficult to recognize faces, calculate speed, analyze the differences and in a few cases they may even see the things that do not exist.  Expert Team for Vision Rehabilitation after a Stroke – In an ideal scenario, the team consists of rehabilitation experts. Typically the therapy team will consist of Physiatrist or a Neurologist, and an occupational therapist specialized in vision rehabilitation. The team will conduct evaluation procedures where the person needs to undergo vision, processing and comprehension tests. Based on the severity of the issue, the team will further devise a therapy plan which decides on the frequency of sessions. The sessions consist of eye exercises that are focused to rewire the communication between eyes and the vision-controlling areas in the brain. Typically the rehabilitation team starts the session with exercises at a low intensity levels and increase the intensity eventually. It is extremely important to practice these activities under the guidance of an expert vision rehabilitation therapist. Your chances of reducing the impact of stroke are limited but with awareness on the kind of treatment you could employee after a stroke can influence your chances of getting cured at a greater level. The quality of rehabilitation for stroke can change the dice in your favour in the battle with stroke.