Introduction

Eye symptoms may involve changes in vision, changes in appearance of the eye, or changes in sensation of the eye. Eye symptoms typically develop because of a problem in the eye but occasionally may indicate a problem elsewhere, particularly in the brain. Sometimes eye symptoms develop as part of an illness that affects several organ systems.

A person who experiences eye symptoms should be checked by his doctor. However, many eye diseases cause few or no symptoms in their early stages, so the eyes should be checked regularly (every 1 to 2 years or more frequently if there is an eye condition) by an ophthalmologist (a physician who specializes in the diagnosis and medical and surgical treatment of eye diseases) or by an optometrist (a nonphysician who specializes in refraction problems).

A person with eye or vision problems describes the location and duration of the symptoms, and then the doctor examines the eye, the area around it, and possibly other parts of the body, depending on the suspected cause.