What to Do After a Mild Concussion: Vision Symptoms You Should Never Ignore
A concussion can happen after a fall, sports injury, car accident, workplace injury, or a minor bump to the head.
Common symptoms include headache, dizziness, fatigue, and difficulty concentrating. Other symptoms can appear later, including blurred vision, light sensitivity, difficulty reading, eye strain, or headaches when using a computer or phone.
These symptoms indicate that the concussion is affecting how your eyes and brain work together.
A mild concussion, also called a mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), can temporarily disrupt how the brain processes visual information. Knowing which symptoms to watch for helps you recognize when further evaluation is necessary.
What Should You Do After a Mild Concussion?
If you suspect a concussion, stop the activity that caused the injury and seek medical assessment.
Seek immediate medical attention for severe or worsening headache, repeated vomiting, increasing confusion, slurred speech, weakness or numbness, seizures, difficulty waking, loss of coordination, or unequal pupil size.
For uncomplicated concussion recovery, your healthcare provider can recommend relative rest followed by a gradual return to school, work, exercise, and other daily activities as tolerated.
Can a Concussion Cause Vision Problems?
Yes. Vision involves much more than seeing clearly on an eye chart.
Your brain constantly coordinates eye movements, focusing, depth perception, visual attention, and the ability of both eyes to work together. A concussion can temporarily disrupt this coordination.
This means you can have 20/20 eyesight and still experience concussion-related vision problems.
Common Vision Symptoms After a Concussion
Watch for:
Blurred or double vision
Difficulty reading or losing your place
Light sensitivity
Headaches during reading or screen use
Difficulty focusing
Eye strain or fatigue
Dizziness or motion sensitivity
Discomfort in busy environments, such as grocery stores
These symptoms can make everyday activities such as reading, computer work, driving, studying, or returning to work more difficult.
Why Can Concussion Vision Problems Be Missed?
A standard vision screening primarily measures how clearly you see. It does not fully assess how efficiently your eyes move, focus, track, and work together.
This explains why someone can have 20/20 vision but still struggle with reading, screens, headaches, dizziness, or eye fatigue after a concussion.
When Should You Have an Eye Exam?
If vision symptoms persist after a concussion, a neuro-optometric assessment can evaluate how your eyes and brain work together and identify visual problems that may be contributing to your symptoms.
Testing may include assessment of:
Eye movements and tracking
Focusing ability
Binocular vision
Eye coordination
Visual function during reading and other tasks
The goal is to better understand which aspects of the visual system may be contributing to your symptoms.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long do vision problems last after a concussion?
Recovery varies. Some symptoms improve within days or weeks, while others last longer. Discuss persistent or worsening symptoms with your healthcare provider.
Should I avoid screens after a concussion?
Temporarily reduce activities that significantly worsen your symptoms. Concussion recovery involves gradually returning to normal activities as tolerated and following your healthcare provider's recommendations.
Can I have 20/20 vision and still have problems?
Yes. Clear eyesight is only one part of vision. A concussion can affect focusing, eye movements, eye coordination, and visual processing even when your eyesight measures 20/20.
Concussion Vision Care in Hamilton and Burlington
At LivingHope Vision Clinic, we provide Neuro-Optometric Assessments to evaluate how your eyes and brain work together following a concussion, serving patients in Hamilton, Burlington, and surrounding communities.
If you are experiencing blurred vision, headaches, difficulty reading, light sensitivity, eye strain, or dizziness after a concussion, schedule an assessment with LivingHope Vision Clinic.
A comprehensive evaluation can determine how your visual system is functioning and identify appropriate next steps for your care.
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