What Causes Vision To Fluctuate?

Ever blink and suddenly things become a whole lot clearer for a second or two? How can you make that good sharp vision last longer? You could train yourself to blink every few seconds but you would probably get a few weird glances from people wondering why you are blinking so much. The better way is to actually treat the root of the problem: the tear film.

Imagine you have a nice serene pond. The surface is nice and flat and crystal clear. You can easily see through to all the fish swimming playfully below the surface. Imagine now that you throw a rock into the pond. The rock hits the surface and creates hundreds of waves radiating in all different direction. Now it’s near impossible to actually see through the surface to the bottom below. The pond surface has become irregular and made it much more difficult to see through it.

This same thing can happen on the surface of your eye as well. Instead of the flat water on the pond, you have a flat tear film that rests on the surface of the cornea. When this tear film is completely flat and smooth, light passes through with ease providing nice stable consistent vision. Every blink of the eyelid acts as a zamboni to replenish this smooth tear film.

But what if the tear film dries up too quickly? Instead of staying smooth, the tear film becomes patchy and irregular. Light has a lot more difficultly passing through this surface. Vision thus becomes blurry.

What causes the tear film to evaporate and dry out quickly? Dry eye disease! And treating the dry eye with artificial tears and omega-3 supplements can stabilize this tear film and prevent the vision from fluctuating. A much nicer solution!

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