Does this make any sense???

When I am out in bright light, my right eye seems to wash out. It stays that way for awhile. It's kind of like when your eyes are trying to accommodate when going from bright light into a darker area, except that it is just one eye and it takes quite awhile (~15 minutes).

This is not something I have ever noticed before. Is it a variation of normal?

I don't know if it's normalespecially if you only have it with just one eye.
I have something like that, I just thought my eyes were very sensitive to lights.
When I go outside or even a room were the lights are bright my eyes hurt and I can't see well (like what you said, like the colors are washed out, everything is just really bright - too bright to look at) than when I go inside, or a darker room it takes some time for my eyes to stop hurting and the color to come back fully. Wearing sunglasses doesn't even help. I have to drive with sunglasses even on cloudy days. If I'm in the bright lights for more than just a minute I get an awful headache also. It's at the point now that if I'm going to be outside or shopping in a brightly lit store I take RX pain meds first to keep the up coming headache from getting to bad.

I would defiantly talk with you Dr about it. With it being new and only in one eye it doesn't sound normal to me.

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Originally Posted by hollym Does this make any sense??? When I am out in bright light, my right eye seems to wash out. It stays that way for awhile. It's kind of like when your eyes are trying to accommodate when going from bright light into a darker area, except that it is just one eye and it takes quite awhile (~15 minutes). This is not something I have ever noticed before. Is it a variation of normal?

Is it that contrast and values are weaker, duller in bright light?

I recently had a three week bout of this with some mild eye pain, both in one eye. I was told that what I was experiencing was one part of ON, poorer contrast in bright light...washed out is a good way to put it.

I was fortunate to have had an already scheduled appt with my ophtholmologist who confirmed.

The MS, if you're already diagnosed, may be affecting the Iris of the affected eye and preventing it from making sudden adjustments to light, thus giving you that washed out effect. Just my thoughts. I'm not a medical professional but would recommend that you have a neuroopthamologist check it out just to be sure you don't have something else going on.

Yes, poorer contrast is a good way to put it.

I've been putting off going to opthalmologist for a couple years now. I really, really, really hate getting my eyes dilated. My opth usually dilates me twice "to really see in there" even though I have light colored eyes and that just makes it worse. He also usually has some bright cheery news like "your vision problems can't be fixed because they are from problems in the brain", blah blah blah.

I did go to an optometrist for a quick check and to get a new RX for glasses and she didn't see anything, so I was taking that as good. I guess she wouldn't be able to see it all, though without dilating. Ack - I hate going to the opth!

That happens to me too. My opthalmologist told me some big name for it that I dont remember.

Basically your eyes are responding slower to changes in light. I think it's something that's fairly normal to have happen after having optic neuritis.

It's been snowing a lot here, and everything has been white outside, so when I come inside after being outside, I have to wait at least 20 minutes before my eyes have adjusted to the light inside the house.

It's like wearing my glasses that have the transition lenses...just takes longer for my eyes to adjust than for my glasses to transition to indoor light.

Well, then I suppose it's not normal for someone who hasn't had optic neuritis?

I haven't had ON ever - that I know of. I didn't think you could really have it and not know it.

I had ON in the right eye earlier last fall. Didnt know it until the opthalmologist said that I did. Apparently he could tell when he looked thru the opthalmoscope into my eye.

My eyes had been feeling weird, but I thought it was the other eye that was still recovering from ON that was causing the problems. It wasnt until I remembered having had a really bad migraine a few months before behind the right eye that I figured he was right.

i don't think this is normal holly.
i hate to say it but you should get your eyes checked. could someone possibly drive you?

and, i'd go to an opthamologist. they are md's. an optometrist isn't. trained but not an md.

i think it's worth it. don't fool around with your vision.
better to go and be told all is ok than to not find out at all. IMHO.

Holly, you need to see the ophthalmologist....I 100% agree with Nursenancy. This is NOT something to mess around with.