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Almost two-thirds of people have vision problems after a stroke. Find out about the different ways your vision can be affected and how you can get treatment and support.
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This aphasia friendly video provides information on vision problems after a stroke and the help and support available. Click here to return to the aphasia friendly information page.
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How do I know if I have a vision problem?
Vision problems after a stroke can affect your daily life in many ways. You could find it harder to do things like reading, shopping and watching television. You may struggle to get around or feel less confident about going out. You may need support returning to work, such as help with travel or new ways of doing your job.
It’s not always obvious right away that your vision is affected.
This is why it’s important to have your vision checked after a stroke. Things like visual field loss and visual processing problems may only be picked up by a test. You or other people might notice you’re bumping into things, or that you’re not aware of things happening to one side.
Diagnosing stroke-related vision problems
You should have your vision checked before leaving hospital. If this does not happen, or you do not remember having your eyes tested, you can ask your GP to refer you to your local eye clinic or visit your local optician.
If you notice new vision problems after you go home, tell your GP, local optician or stroke therapist. They can refer you for further assessment. When you have a vision assessment, make sure you have any glasses you usually use with you.
If you had vision problems before your stroke, it’s important to continue with any treatment, like eye drops and your regular sight checks. This includes conditions like cataracts, age-related macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy or glaucoma.
Eye tests can be adapted for people with communication difficulties or problems with memory and thinking (cognitive problems). Some tests use pictures, symbols or numbers.
Your vision, and the effects of a stroke, can change over time, so it’s important to get advice if you notice any changes in your sight.
Types of vision problems after stroke
Like the other effects of stroke, vision problems can improve over time, as the brain recovers. How you are affected depends on exactly where the stroke occurred in your brain
There are four main types of visual problem:
- Vision or visual field loss, where you have blurred or missing areas of your vision.
- Eye movement problems, where you have trouble with the nerve control of the muscles that focus and move your eyes.
- Visual processing problems where you struggle to understand visual information. It may mean you are not aware of things to one side of you, or you may not recognise things.
- Other sight problems, including light sensitivity and dry eyes.
You may have more than one of these types of visual problem after a stroke. Read on to find out more about each problem and how to get treatment and support for them, plus practical tips for coping with vision problems.
Useful websites and contact details
Specsavers
Website: specsavers.co.uk/home-eye-tests
Specsavers do home visits on request. You can also contact your local optician to ask if they do home visits.
Seeability
Find an Optometrist Website: seeability.org/find-an-optometrist
Outside Clinic
Website: outsideclinic.co.uk
Eye Search
Website: eyesearch.neurospeechai.com/
A website from University College London Institute of Neurology. Provides free online therapy for people with visual search problems due to hemianopia and spatial neglect.
Read Right
Website: readright.neurospeechai.com/
Free online practice-based therapy to improve reading speeds in people with hemianopia from the University College London Institute of Neurology.
NHS
Website: nhs.uk/conditions/vision-loss
Information on sight loss, lighting and other equipment to help you if you have low vision.
Esme’s Umbrella
Website: charlesbonnetsyndrome.uk
Helpline: 0303 123 9999
Support and information for people with visual hallucinations due to sight loss (Charles Bonnet syndrome). Helpline calls are answered by the RNIB Eye Health Team.
Guide Dogs
Website: guidedogs.org.uk
Information on support services, using canes and technology to help with everyday tasks.
Nystagmus Network
Website: nystagmusnetwork.org
Information and support for people with nystagmus.
Partially Sighted Society
Website: partsight.org.uk
Tel: 01302 965 195
Resources, products and support for people with sight loss.
Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB)
Website: rnib.org.uk
Helpline: 0303 123 9999
Information about all aspects of sight loss, plus products such as large print and audio publications, and an emotional support service.
The Vision Group
Website: liverpool.ac.uk/population-health/research/groups/vision/
The VISION group has free written and audio resources for people with sight loss and their families. Many are written by stroke survivors who have visual problems.
Visionary
Website: visionary.org.uk
UK network of local charities for blind and partially sighted people.
Calibre
Website: calibreaudio.org.uk
Tel: 01296 432 339
Lending library of audio books. Members can stream or download audio books or request a memory stick in the post.
Listening Books
Website: listening-books.org.uk
Tel: 020 7407 9417
Audio library service providing audio books, magazines and newspapers.
Playback
Website: play-back.com
Tel: 0141 776 3395
Provides a free service recording text to audio for people with sight loss. Also has an audio publication library.
British and Irish Orthoptic Society
Website: orthoptics.org.uk
Tel: 0121 728 5633
Provides information on eye problems after brain injury, including stroke. Search the site for ‘Stroke and neuro rehabilitation’ for useful resources.
The College of Optometrists
Website: college-optometrists.org
Tel: 020 7839 6000
Professional body for optometrists in the UK.
Royal College of Ophthalmologists
Website: rcophth.ac.uk
Tel: 0300 030 2020 Professional body for eye doctors.
Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) England, Scotland, Wales
Website: dvla.gov.uk
Driver and Vehicle Agency (DVA) Northern Ireland
Website: nidirect.gov.uk/motoring
Depth perception: the ability to see the world in three dimensions.
Diplopia: seeing two images of a single object (double vision).
Hemianopia: loss of vision on one side.
Homonymous hemianopia: losing half of the field of vision in both eyes.
Monocular vision: vision in only one eye.
Nystagmus: a condition where the eyes move constantly, or ‘wobble’.
Ophthalmologist: a medical doctor specialising in eye conditions.
Optometrist (optician): a specialist who tests sight, prescribes glasses and contact lenses and screens people for eye disease.
Orthoptist: an eye health specialist who tests and treats eye movement problems, and problems with vision and visual co-ordination.
Photophobia: abnormally high sensitivity to light.
Prism: a plastic membrane which is applied to a person’s glasses and which moves the position of objects when they are seen through the prism.
Ptosis: drooping of the upper eyelid.
Retinal vessel occlusion: a blockage in a blood vessel to the eye.
Scotoma: area of visual field loss.
Strabismus: the two eyes do not line up together (squint).
Visual field: the whole of your vision.
Visual neglect/inattention: the inability to notice things to one side.
Visual perception: how the images received by the brain are processed.
Visual scanning: training which encourages you to look in a systematic way to the right and left sides.
Accessible resources
The information in this section can also be accessed in the following formats:
- PDF.
- Large print (Word document).
- Order a printed copy from our Shop.
- To request a braille copy, email feedback@stroke.org.uk.
To view all resources, visit our resources area.