Stress can hurt the eyes

Personal and professional stress can affect your vision

08/28/2014

Those who suffer from severe stress in work or private life, can sometimes get problems with the eyes. As the German Ophthalmological Society (DOG) reports currently, could thereby the so-called „Manager illness“ of the eye, which in technical terms as „Retinopathia centralis serosa“ (RCS) is called. According to this, a gray spot in the field of vision and a distorted view of objects are characteristic of this disease.

Tension is poison for body and soul
Constant stress and constant tension are „poison“ for the body and soul, which on the one hand threatens psychological consequences such as depression or burn-out, but also increases the risk of a variety of physical ailments. It can be relative „harmless“ Symptoms such as menstrual problems, diarrhea or headache act, but are also possible serious diseases such as atherosclerosis, coronary heart disease or a heart attack.

„Manager illness“ leads to distorted vision and gray spot in the field of vision
Besides that, negative stress can obviously affect the eyes as well. These are the so-called „Manager illness“ of the eye, which of professionals as „Retinopathia centralis serosa“ (RCS) is called. Typically, according to the German Ophthalmological Society (DOG) for this primarily a gray spot in the field of view and a distorted image of objects. Furthermore, patients would report problems reading and changing color perception. The symptoms would usually subside after three to six months, often without medical help, because „Retinopathia centralis serosa has a high spontaneous healing rate“, reports Professor med. Johann Roider, President of the DOG and Director of the Department of Ophthalmology of the University Hospital Schleswig-Holstein. However, on the DOG's recommendation, those affected should, as a precaution, consult an ophthalmologist at the first sign of an RCS, and patients who experience recurrent symptoms should consider special laser treatment.

The typical patient is male, ambitious and under 50 years old
In many cases the diagnosis can only be made by means of a special laser device, optical coherence tomography (OCT). This allows the specialist to recognize whether the retina has lifted slightly in some places and whether liquid has accumulated under it. What causes RCS, however, does not fully clarify the DOG. For a long time, however, a connection with the personality of the patient is suspected within the research: „Studies show that many patients have a so-called type A personality, which is associated with an increased concentration of the stress hormone cortisol in the blood“, Professor Roider continues. The „typical“ Patients with „Manager illness“ are therefore younger men under 50 years, often „young and dynamic, ambitious, impatient and in the face of blurred vision“ would work. Women, however, are eight times less affected by the complaints. In addition to stress, however, other possible triggers such as an infection with the gastric Heliobacter pylori come into consideration. (No)