Pregnancy. It’s a very exciting time in your life and opens a new chapter, bringing immense body changes, some of which you might not be expecting and some of which can actually affect and alter your existing eyesight.
Your hormones are surging and will probably have an effect on your current vision. Here are a few points to look out for.
Diabetes, Eyesight And Pregnancy
If you are a diabetic, you will almost certainly already know that your condition can have a dramatic effect on your eyesight. When you have your pregnancy confirmed by your GP or obstetrician, they will probably discuss the condition of diabetic retinopathy with you, which unfortunately you will have an increased tendency to, or if it is a condition you already suffer, may become worse throughout your pregnancy.
Pregnant diabetics can suffer from an increase in quality of vision, a loss of vision or more crucially blindness due to the retina bleeding or retaining fluid.
However your obstetrician will be fully informed of all these considerations and will advise you to keep up eye examinations during your pregnancy. This is particularly important if it is difficult for you to maintain steady blood sugar levels.
Contact Lenses & Pregnancy
It could be one of the more annoying aspects of your pregnancy that even if you’ve worn contact lenses very comfortably for many years, you may suddenly find that as soon as you become pregnant, they become an unwelcome preoccupation. This is because the curve and shape of your cornea (the eye surface upon which your contact lens lies) changes very slightly, affecting the fit of your lenses.
It might be a good idea to forget about wearing contact lenses for the remainder of your pregnancy and switch to glasses. In any case, pregnancy is not the right time to start wearing contacts for the first time.
Daily Changes To Your Eyesight
In pregnancy, you may find that your eyesight is confusingly different from one day to the next. You may need your glasses for driving on one day, then find that they make your vision blurry on another. Alternatively you might discover that you can do without your reading glasses when the light is good, but then a week or so later find you are back to using them.
Just remember that these vision changes are probably temporary, so you don’t need to start changing your prescriptions. Just book in for an eye test after your delivery and remember to discuss any changes you find of real concern with your doctor and/or optician.
Amy writes about health and wellness for leading glasses provider Direct Sight.
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