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Blurred Vision During or After Exercise: What Does It Mean?

Blurred vision

Vision is, arguably, our most prized sense. Without it, you couldn’t appreciate the beauty of nature or see your loved ones. That’s why we should guard it closely and be aware of signs that something is wrong. Exercise places stress on your body and it can cause transient symptoms, especially if you do vigorous workouts.

Any time you experience a new symptom during a workout, question why. It’s important to distinguish between a symptom related to fatigue or exercise itself and something more serious. One symptom some people experience during a workout is blurred vision. You might notice that your vision is a little off and the world around you looks blurry. Should you worry if you do and what could be causing it?

Visual blurriness can be something as simple as dry eyes, allergy symptoms, eye fatigue, or something in the environment irritating your eyes. However, it can also be a sign of a more serious eye or nervous system conditions. Here are some possible causes.

Could It Be a Visual Problem?

Blurred vision during exercise and when you’re not exercising can be a sign of a number of eye problems. These include conditions that cause inflammation of any part of the eye, including the outer membrane called the conjunctiva, the iris, or the retina in the back of the eye. Some of these conditions can be vision threatening, like a detached retina. People with a retinal detachment experience sudden visual blurring and an increase in floaters followed by a gradual loss of peripheral vision. A detached retina is a medical emergency that can lead to blindness.

How do you know when you need to seek medical attention right away? These signs and symptoms suggest you need evaluation:

  • Eye pain
  • Loss of vision or a sudden change in vision
  • Severe headache
  • An eye injury
  • Weakness or numbness on one side of your body
  • Difficulty speaking
  • Loss of consciousness

Healthy People Can Have Mild Blurred Vision During Exercise

A less sinister cause of blurred vision during a workout are changes in blood pressure and eye pressure brought about by exercise. Blood pressure can fluctuate during a workout. Diastolic blood pressure, the lower number, doesn’t rise or fall much with exercise, but systolic pressure, the upper number, does. Blood pressure fluctuations can also transiently affect the pressure behind the eye as well as impact blood flow to portions of the brain that control vision. So, you might experience mild or brief blurred vision during a workout.  A long list of medications can also cause blurred vision, so talk to your physician about your prescriptions and make sure they aren’t contributing to the problem.

Blood pressure reaches its lowest point about 30 minutes after a workout. So, blurred vision after a workout can also be related to a drop in blood pressure. If you already have low blood pressure or take medications used to treat hypertension, your risk is higher. If you frequently experience blurred vision during or after a workout, check your blood pressure immediately after exercise. If it’s too low, your physician may need to adjust your blood pressure medications.

Always cool down for at least 5 minutes after a workout. Do gentle movements like arm and leg swings as opposed to plopping down in a chair. Doing this will prevent rapid changes in blood pressure and heart rate that can affect your vision.

Changes in Blood Sugar and Blurred Vision

Blurred vision can also occur if you have a sharp drop in blood sugar. People with type 1 diabetes who take insulin know if they experience a drop in blood sugar to consume simple carbohydrates quickly to bring their blood sugar back up. If the visual changes are due to low blood sugar, you might also experience lightheadedness, unsteadiness, excessive sweating, headache, palpitations, or even faint. In fact, blurred vision can be a sign that you’re about to faint or lose consciousness. If you have blurred vision and lightheadedness, sit down and place your head down in your lap to increase blood flow to your brain.

Undiagnosed diabetes can also cause blurred vision that comes and goes. So, it’s important to get your blood sugar checked if you have this symptom more than once. Many people with type 2 diabetes don’t find out they have the condition until their blood sugars have been high for months or even years. The symptoms of type 2 diabetes can be subtle with only mild fatigue, increased thirst, and visual blurring on and off.

Other Causes of Visual Blurring During Exercise

If you don’t fuel up properly and hydrate before a workout, you could experience lightheadedness or visual blurring due to a drop in blood sugar or inadequate hydration. If the fluid levels in your bloodstream drop too low, it can cause a drop in blood pressure that leads to fatigue, excessive sweating, and lightheadedness.

It’s also important to not exercise for more than 90 minutes without hydrating with an electrolyte-rich beverage. You need to electrolytes to avoid a potentially life-threatening drop in sodium. You lose a lot of sodium and other electrolytes when you work out for long periods in a hot environment.

Blurred vision accompanied by other symptoms such as difficulty speaking or weakness or numbness on one side of the body can also be symptoms of a stroke.

The Bottom Line

It’s not uncommon for healthy people to experience transient blurred vision during exercise due to changes in blood pressure. Other common causes include low blood sugar, medications, or a lack of adequate hydration. Persistent blurred vision may also be a sign of an eye condition.

You can lower your risk by eating a pre-workout snack and hydrating before, during, and after your workouts. If you have type 1 diabetes and take insulin, ask your physician about precautions you should take to prevent a drop in blood sugar during exercise.

Because blurred vision can also be caused by eye and brain issues, let your physician know about your symptoms and get a thorough eye exam to rule out eye problems. Schedule a physical exam and lab studies too to make sure you don’t have blood sugar issues that cause your vision to blur. Finally, always warm-up and cooldown before and after a workout to prevent sharp fluctuations in blood pressure.

 

References:

  • National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. “Low Blood Pressure”
  • com. “Sudden Blurred Vision: 16 Reasons You May Have It”

 

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