Does Parkinson’s Affect Eyesight?

Parkinson’s Disease (PD) is a progressive disorder that impacts the central nervous system and, as a result, any part of your body that’s controlled by the nerves. But how does Parkinson’s disease affect eyesight? You may have heard about common issues like Parkinson’s and Double Vision, but other common symptoms including changes to color vision or contrast sensitivity can be early signs of the disease. In this post, we’ll explain how Parkinson’s Disease and eye problems are related and explore common symptoms.

Studies show that about 78% of people with Parkinson’s Disease have at least one visual symptom, showing that Parkinson’s and eye problems go hand in hand.

Parkinson’s and Vision

Because PD is degenerative, Parkinson’s Disease eye symptoms will naturally worsen over time. Without early detection and treatment, eye problems caused by Parkinson’s Disease can negatively impact a patient’s ability to complete simple tasks.

Parkinson’s Disease Eye Symptoms

Below are a few of the most common eye problems caused by Parkinson’s Disease:

Blurred Vision

Blurred vision is usually a side effect of PD medications called anticholinergics or as a secondary symptom of another issue like double vision, dry eyes, or problems with eye movement.

Color Vision and Contrast Sensitivity

Parkinson’s Disease can impact both your ability to differentiate between different shades of color and your ability to distinguish objects from their backgrounds. Studies show that anywhere from 18-50% of people with Parkinson’s Disease have trouble with color or contrast, and noted that in many cases the patient had these problems before a doctor had diagnosed them with PD.

Double Vision

As the name implies, double vision or diplopia, is when a person sees two versions of a single object. Affecting between 10-30% of people with PD, patients may experience three different types of double vision:

• Monocular diplopia – double vision in one eye, leading to blurred vision.
• Binocular diplopia -double vision in both eyes.
• Selective diplopia – rare form of double vision that causes hallucinations.

Dry Eyes

Roughly 60% of people with Parkinson’s Disease will experience dry eyes. The average person will blink between 20 and 30 times per minute, while those with PD can see their blinking rate reduced to as low as 1 to 2 times per minute, leading to dry eyes.

Eye Movement

Parkinson’s patients may have issues with both saccadic and vergence eye movements:

• Saccadic eye movements – rapid eye movements that occur when the eyes quickly jump to a new target. The APDA notes that Saccadic eye movements are crucial for reading.
• Vergence eye movements – when the target is coming towards or away from a person.

External Eye Disease

Chronic dry eyes can often lead to an irritation of the eyelids called blepharitis. Treatment is simple — using warm, moist compresses and lid scrubs is often enough to manage blepharitis on its own, but serious cases may require medicated ointment from your doctor.

Spacial Awareness

Parkinson’s Disease causes major changes to our visual processing, which can lead to issues with depth perception.

Visual Hallucinations

As the condition worsens, up to 75% of people with Parkinson’s Disease experience some sort of visual hallucinations. However, in some cases, these hallucinations have been found to have been caused by common PD drugs including Levodopa, one of the main drugs used to treat Parkinson’s.

Why Do Parkinson’s Patients Keep Their Eyes Closed?

Though not extremely common, some patients with PD experience involuntary spasms which close their eyes, known as “blepharospasm.”

Diagnosing the cause of involuntary eyelid closure in a patient suffering from PD can be a challenge because there are many other conditions that can cause this side effect, including:

• Damage to the surface of the eye
• Dry eyes
• Inflammation caused by infection or allergy

Treating blepharospasm can prove difficult because Levodopa (that very popular treatment we mentioned above) may cause it. However, some patients have found the opposite to be true. Mild cases are often treated by rubbing the eyelids or through the use of Botox injections.

Download Our FREE Path to Care Guide

If you or a loved one are dealing with Parkinson’s Disease and eye problems, speak with your primary care physician and your ophthalmologist for help mitigating symptoms.

To learn more about our home care services, contact our caregiving team today at 1-800-GRISWOLD or find a Caregiver near you.