2021 WINTER HEALTH & SCIENCE

Lyme Disease Can Restrict Blood Vessels Near Optic Nerve Double vision, light sensitivity, difficulty focusing can result from tick-borne infection.

By Dorothy Kupcha Leland

D r. William Padula is a noted expert on how Lyme and other tick-borne diseases can affect the eyes.
According to his website, the following can all be symptoms of tick-borne illness: blur, visual fatigue, double vision, headaches associated with visual activities, light sensitivity, losing place when reading, words appearing to double or become double when reading, and more obscure problems often not associated with vision, such as difficulty with balance, spatial orientation, memory, comprehension, feeling of being overwhelmed by being in a busy environment, and sensitivity to sound.

The website notes, “The cause of the visual symptoms is because the tick-borne disease affects visual processing in the brain.”

Lyme disease can affect vision

Recently, Dr. Padula has discovered two eye-related biomarkers for tick-borne infection. (A biomarker is something that can be found by examination or testing that indicates the presence of a particular disease or condition.)

In an article published by Healio, Dr. Padula reports, “My colleagues and I have demonstrated that the presence of a hazy, white ring of peri-papillary ischemia around the optic nerve — especially in children or adults younger than sixty years who would not be expected to have ischemic changes — is associated with tick-borne infection. One way that spirochetes hide from the immune system is by building up protective biofilms. We believe that these biofilms clog the narrow capillary vessels just around the perimeter of the optic nerve, blocking blood flow.”

Dr. Padula recommends that optometrists and ophthalmologists who observe this condition in patients who also have convergence insufficiency, or difficulty focusing, should rule out the possibility of tick-borne infection……..Join or login below to continue reading.

You must be a LymeDisease.org member to access this content.

If you are already a member, log in below. Otherwise, become a member today to access the full content of this article and the full library of Lyme Times articles.
* Physician Directory Memberships do not have access to the Lyme Times.
Become A Member
Login
patient-doctors-missed-lyme-disease-img1

Related Articles
Tick-Borne Disease Working Group Comments
Tick-Borne Disease Working Group Comments Lyme disease community members shared both written and spoken remarks with TBDWG.
Justin Bieber’s Lyme disease story lights up the internet
Justin Bieber’s Lyme disease story lights up the internet Bieber’s documentary series discusses the “scary symptoms” he endured throughout most of 2019 — until he was finally diagnosed with Lyme disease.
 Raising Lyme disease awareness ne Car Magnet at a Time
Teen Dreams Up Project to Raise Awareness Unique car magnets draw attention to specific types of Lyme problems people might not know about.
ILADS Guidelines
ILADS Guidelines Authors Defend Their Conclusion that Scientific Evidence from Lyme Clinical Trials is “Weak” IDSA overstates the quality of the evidence it uses to deny care to chronically ill patients who fail standard treatment.
treating bartonella like organisms
Treating Bartonella-Like Organisms There may be as many as 30 distinct pathogenic species of Bartonella-like organisms, most of which have never been clinically defined.
Mast Cell Activation Syndrome - Food allergies
Multiple Food Allergies: A Common Symptom of Mast Cell Activation Syndrome What do you eat when you’re allergic to everything?