Detecting Early Signs of Multiple Sclerosis An eye exam can detect early signs of MS. Regular eye exams are critical because what may seem like a vision-related problem might be an indication of a broader health issue, like Janna learned during her eye exam.
Multiple sclerosis (MS).
When your optometrist detects optic nerve inflammation, that can indicate a diagnosis of MS. Patients with MS often also have double vision, blurred vision, or report pain when moving their eyes.
A common visual symptom of MS is optic neuritis — inflammation of the optic (vision) nerve. Optic neuritis usually occurs in one eye and may cause aching pain with eye movement, blurred vision, dim vision, or loss of color vision. For example, the color red may appear washed out or gray.
The two most common eye movement problems in MS are double vision (diplopia) and involuntary eye movements (nystagmus).
People should consider the diagnosis of MS if they have one or more of these symptoms: vision loss in one or both eyes. acute paralysis in the legs or along one side of the body. acute numbness and tingling in a limb.
Floaters are a common ocular symptom for individuals with multiple sclerosis, but MS isn't a leading cause. On their own, floaters don't usually indicate serious conditions. Eye conditions like optic neuritis can be an early warning sign of oncoming multiple sclerosis.
An eye doctor, either an ophthalmologist or optometrist, can diagnose optic neuritis. They can perform tests to check color vision, how eyes respond to light, and how well the eye can see detail, such as letters in an eye chart.
For individuals with MS, vision problems may come and go. They may affect just one eye or both. The problems may grow worse and then disappear, or they may stick around. Understanding what types of visual disturbances you may experience can help you prepare for living with them if they become permanent.
Double vision (diplopia)
When the nerves that control your eye movement become inflamed or damaged due to MS, it can also mean that the eyes don't work together properly to form clear images. This can lead to double vision, a condition that causes you to see two images of a single object.
While there is no definitive blood test for MS, blood tests can rule out other conditions that cause symptoms similar to those of MS, including lupus erythematosis, Sjogren's, vitamin and mineral deficiencies, some infections, and rare hereditary diseases.
Multiple sclerosis (MS).
This demyelinating disease can lead to severe dry eye. In MS, poor corneal sensory impulse conduction can result in insufficient tear production, and lagophthalmos-associated DED can occur due to poor motor control.
Nerve pain
MS can damage the nerves that affect your muscles. This can cause acute or paroxysmal pain in the form of spasms. Your arms and legs might shoot out uncontrollably and might have pain like cramping or pulling. Nerve pain can also be chronic in the form of painful or unusual sensations on your skin.
An episode of Optic Neuritis typically begins with eye pain, especially with eye movements. Within a few days, patients will notice blurred vision in the affected eye. Often this appears like a “thumb-print” or smudge that blurs the vision. Within a week, this may progress to darkening of part of the visual field.
Optic neuritis often affects color perception. You might notice that colors appear less vivid than normal. Flashing lights. Some people with optic neuritis report seeing flashing or flickering lights with eye movements.
In MS, nerve damage disrupts the electrical signals that travel from your ears to your brain. That sets off a ringing sound in your ears. Tinnitus isn't dangerous but can be very distracting and annoying. There currently is no cure.
The course of MS is unpredictable and can cause a variety of symptoms in different people. It may cause hearing problems and other symptoms that have to do with the function of the inner ear, such as hearing loss, tinnitus, balance problems, and a muffled or full feeling in the ear.
Some individuals with MS may experience a scotoma, a disorder that causes a blind spot to appear in the center of vision. A different disorder, homonymous hemianopsia, occurs rarely, causing vision to be lost on the right or left visual fields of both eyes.
Neurological examination
Your neurologist will look for abnormalities, changes or weakness in your vision, eye movements, hand or leg strength, balance and co-ordination, speech and reflexes. These may show whether your nerves are damaged in a way that might suggest MS.
Intrathecal IgG OCBs are a hallmark of MS and are the most widely used diagnostic biomarker in MS, despite not being specific to MS. In addition, an increased IgG synthetic rate and elevated IgG index are also used as corollary evidence for MS.
Here's where MS (typically) starts
Optic neuritis, or inflammation of the optic nerve, is usually the most common, Shoemaker says. You may experience eye pain, blurred vision and headache. It often occurs on one side and can eventually lead to partial or total vision loss.
Numbness of the face, body or extremities (arms and legs) is one of the most common symptoms of MS. It may be the first MS symptom you experienced. The numbness may be mild or so severe that it interferes with your ability to use the affected body part.