Chronic Visual Aberration(s) - Glare, Starbursts, Halo, etc..

[JGuess]

I have, as the title implies, these aberrations and they affect my vision
and function in the daytime and night. I have seen an optometrist for a
dilated exam, and recently had another dilated exam at a local Lasik eye
surgeon's clinic to test the thickness of the cornea and so on.

Nothing is found so far to explain the visual problems. The Lasik Surgeon
quickly dismissed it as something I should just ignore..

Anyhow -- I am a 32yr old male who has never had any form of eye surgery, or
worn corrective lenses.

When tested on the standard snellen chart my visual acuity is 20/20 or
better which quickly brings some to the assumption that all is well. When
in fact there, as I have discovered unfortunately, a big difference in
visual acuity and overall visual function.

My symptoms have occurred on a constant 24/7/365 basis for at least 4 years
now.

Overall symptoms:

Starbursts, Halos, Ghosting (monocular), Blurring, Multiple images (ie:
perhaps a trefoil pattern when at a certain distance from stoplights),
contrast reduction, problems tracking, reading speed decreased, feeling
disoriented overall due to the vision, bleeding of light (could be from a
lamp, or the slats in blinds), etc.

I am uncertain how I can have good visual acuity with these errors....

For example, right now looking at the lights on my router on the desk I see
an image (faintly) in front of the light and then I see the actual light
symbol as it is intended to be seen. The image (or spreading of the image)
that is faint and in front obscures me from clearly focusing on the actual
source of the light. I do notice if I even barely squint my eyes it seems
to shift the image(s) in front to the top and bottom of the real one.. and
makes it more clear to see the 'middle' actual image. Think of a
ghosting/bleeding effect.

If I spread my eye lids apart completely to eliminate this type of pressure
the aberrations are still present,.. though some of the bleeding is
improved.

Bottom line is I need some ideas on what this could be... what a few doctors
could be missing,.. and what kind of eye doctor do I need to see/tests need
to be performed to figure this out.

As an aside: I do notice when I lay down on my back and close my eyes to go
to sleep.. within a few minutes my eyes feel like they are rubbing against
sand (like there is no lubrication). When I wake in the morning I cannot
make out any of the digital clocks in the room.. and the eyes feel , for
lack of a better description, like there are zero tears in them. 5-10
minutes later they return to the normal state of what I described earlier.
Though the eyes don't feel abnormally painful during the day when going
about activities.

The first optometrist found oblique astigmatism in each eye at a minor
.25D,.. of which I "kicked out". She also found a convergence insufficiency
(but all of these issues occur with either eye closed.)

The lasik surgeon's technicians and machines found closer to .50D of error
(wasn't explained to me) .. but again... I "kicked it out". I do believe
the IOP was checked at the last visit with the machine.

So all I can think of now is something like a corneal dystrophy, corneal
edema, corneal surface erosion/abrasions ? -- Or perhaps some fundamental
problem with my tear film. I seem to have allergies daily, (sinuses) .. so
is it even possible an allergy or problem with my mucus, lipid, or water
layer of the tear film could create these ghosting, halo/starburst and so
on?

Just to clarify none of these things are intermittent -- the are there the
second I open my eyes till I close them.

One last example of the patterns giving a distance example -- As I am
driving towards a stoplight,.. when I am more than 20-30yards away it is a
big blob of starburst.. completely unrecognizable -- As I come into the
10-20yd range, fairly close,.. that generally turns into an upside down Y
pattern showing three ghost images that converge into the actual light the
closer I get. The starbursts turn into halo's when I get close enough to
the light source.

I don't particularly mind halo's or starbursts and so on -- but the effect
these refractive/aberrations are having on my function of vision is
something that you just can't ignore or avoid.

I really need those who care to comments' opinions on the matter -- I am not
an eye doctor but have researched all I can and need to get the proper
diagnosis and "treatment" to help my vision and ultimately quality of life.

Thank you for your time,

JG

[Mike Tyner]

Are you familiar with corneal topography? It shows that homogeneous, uniform
optical shapes are not a feature of "normal" eyes. A nominal, 45 diopter
cornea" might vary from 40 to 50D in different locations.

A nonhomogeneous cornea yields a nonhomogeneous image. That's the source of
most polyopia, although in later life the internal lens also becomes less
homogeneous.

Looking through a pinhole isolates a much smaller sample of the cornea or
lens and usually eliminates multiple images.

Glare, haloes and reduced contrast are caused by other "normal" aberrations
such as vitreous membranes and ocular surface disease.

"Oblique astigmatism" is a gross simplification of the true shape revealed
by corneal topography or wavefront analysis. However it isn't practical to
try making glasses for any higher-order aberrations because spectacles don't
move when you move your eye.

From your age, it's likely most of your visual symptoms are due to normal
corneal irregularities. In which case, wearing a rigid contact lens of
approximately zero power should eliminate them by providing a new front
surface, manufactured to be perfectly uniform. Of course, you'd be trading
one set of problems for another.

The only other likely source of polyopia, glare and haloes would be the
crystalline lens and it's difficult to do anything about that until you can
justify cataract surgery.

-MT, OD

Post by JGuess
I have, as the title implies, these aberrations and they affect my vision
and function in the daytime and night. I have seen an optometrist for a
dilated exam, and recently had another dilated exam at a local Lasik eye
surgeon's clinic to test the thickness of the cornea and so on.
Nothing is found so far to explain the visual problems. The Lasik Surgeon
quickly dismissed it as something I should just ignore..
Anyhow -- I am a 32yr old male who has never had any form of eye surgery, or
worn corrective lenses.
When tested on the standard snellen chart my visual acuity is 20/20 or
better which quickly brings some to the assumption that all is well. When
in fact there, as I have discovered unfortunately, a big difference in
visual acuity and overall visual function.
My symptoms have occurred on a constant 24/7/365 basis for at least 4 years
now.
perhaps a trefoil pattern when at a certain distance from stoplights),
contrast reduction, problems tracking, reading speed decreased, feeling
disoriented overall due to the vision, bleeding of light (could be from a
lamp, or the slats in blinds), etc.
I am uncertain how I can have good visual acuity with these errors....
For example, right now looking at the lights on my router on the desk I see
an image (faintly) in front of the light and then I see the actual light
symbol as it is intended to be seen. The image (or spreading of the image)
that is faint and in front obscures me from clearly focusing on the actual
source of the light. I do notice if I even barely squint my eyes it seems
to shift the image(s) in front to the top and bottom of the real one.. and
makes it more clear to see the 'middle' actual image. Think of a
ghosting/bleeding effect.
If I spread my eye lids apart completely to eliminate this type of pressure
the aberrations are still present,.. though some of the bleeding is
improved.
Bottom line is I need some ideas on what this could be... what a few doctors
could be missing,.. and what kind of eye doctor do I need to see/tests need
to be performed to figure this out.
As an aside: I do notice when I lay down on my back and close my eyes to go
to sleep.. within a few minutes my eyes feel like they are rubbing against
sand (like there is no lubrication). When I wake in the morning I cannot
make out any of the digital clocks in the room.. and the eyes feel , for
lack of a better description, like there are zero tears in them. 5-10
minutes later they return to the normal state of what I described earlier.
Though the eyes don't feel abnormally painful during the day when going
about activities.
The first optometrist found oblique astigmatism in each eye at a minor
.25D,.. of which I "kicked out". She also found a convergence
insufficiency
(but all of these issues occur with either eye closed.)
The lasik surgeon's technicians and machines found closer to .50D of error
(wasn't explained to me) .. but again... I "kicked it out". I do believe
the IOP was checked at the last visit with the machine.
So all I can think of now is something like a corneal dystrophy, corneal
edema, corneal surface erosion/abrasions ? -- Or perhaps some fundamental
problem with my tear film. I seem to have allergies daily, (sinuses) .. so
is it even possible an allergy or problem with my mucus, lipid, or water
layer of the tear film could create these ghosting, halo/starburst and so
on?
Just to clarify none of these things are intermittent -- the are there the
second I open my eyes till I close them.
One last example of the patterns giving a distance example -- As I am
driving towards a stoplight,.. when I am more than 20-30yards away it is a
big blob of starburst.. completely unrecognizable -- As I come into the
10-20yd range, fairly close,.. that generally turns into an upside down Y
pattern showing three ghost images that converge into the actual light the
closer I get. The starbursts turn into halo's when I get close enough to
the light source.
I don't particularly mind halo's or starbursts and so on -- but the effect
these refractive/aberrations are having on my function of vision is
something that you just can't ignore or avoid.
I really need those who care to comments' opinions on the matter -- I am not
an eye doctor but have researched all I can and need to get the proper
diagnosis and "treatment" to help my vision and ultimately quality of life.
Thank you for your time,
JG

[s***@gmail.com]

Did you ever find an answer to this? Same issue here exactly