Can CPAP cause vision problems ?

I am even having a tough time typing this as I can't see too clearly. About 4 days after I started CPAP I noticed my vision started to have problems, both near sighted and far sighted. I put it down to eye strain, but 6+ weeks later it is still the same. I will see a doctor or optician but I just wondered, could cpap cause any sort of vision problems ? Such as a leaking mask blowing air on the eyes, or rapid eye movement during sleep ? As I had bad apnea for ages so I didn't enter REM much. I have computer glasses (non prescription) but my eyes still just seem so tired and bad. It doesn't seem to matter how much sleep I get, and my AHI is now always under 2.5 with no major leaks. The ironic thing is before I started CPAP I had excellent vision, but crappy tiredness, now I have very tired eyes but good general alertness. Obviously this may not be related to CPAP at all, sadly I can't risk testing without, but when I see a doc I want to know if it is worth mentioning or if anyone else has had problems.

Thanks !

BlizzardUK wrote:I am even having a tough time typing this as I can't see too clearly. About 4 days after I started CPAP I noticed my vision started to have problems, both near sighted and far sighted. I put it down to eye strain, but 6+ weeks later it is still the same. I will see a doctor or optician but I just wondered, could cpap cause any sort of vision problems ? Such as a leaking mask blowing air on the eyes, or rapid eye movement during sleep ? As I had bad apnea for ages so I didn't enter REM much. I have computer glasses (non prescription) but my eyes still just seem so tired and bad. It doesn't seem to matter how much sleep I get, and my AHI is now always under 2.5 with no major leaks. The ironic thing is before I started CPAP I had excellent vision, but crappy tiredness, now I have very tired eyes but good general alertness. Obviously this may not be related to CPAP at all, sadly I can't risk testing without, but when I see a doc I want to know if it is worth mentioning or if anyone else has had problems.

Thanks !

Of course it's worth mentioning to your eye doctor.....I have seen very few posts mentioning eye problems. If the air is blowing into your eyes you have a mask problem and you should correct it either by re adjusting the fit or by changing masks.

LSAT wrote:

BlizzardUK wrote:I am even having a tough time typing this as I can't see too clearly. About 4 days after I started CPAP I noticed my vision started to have problems, both near sighted and far sighted. I put it down to eye strain, but 6+ weeks later it is still the same. I will see a doctor or optician but I just wondered, could cpap cause any sort of vision problems ? Such as a leaking mask blowing air on the eyes, or rapid eye movement during sleep ? As I had bad apnea for ages so I didn't enter REM much. I have computer glasses (non prescription) but my eyes still just seem so tired and bad. It doesn't seem to matter how much sleep I get, and my AHI is now always under 2.5 with no major leaks. The ironic thing is before I started CPAP I had excellent vision, but crappy tiredness, now I have very tired eyes but good general alertness. Obviously this may not be related to CPAP at all, sadly I can't risk testing without, but when I see a doc I want to know if it is worth mentioning or if anyone else has had problems.

Thanks !

Of course it's worth mentioning to your eye doctor.....I have seen very few posts mentioning eye problems. If the air is blowing into your eyes you have a mask problem and you should correct it either by readjusting the fit or by changing masks.

Thanks. Any idea if it causes an increase in ocular pressure ? Reason I mention is because with nose pillows they obviously blow air and humidity directly up the nose which is very close to the eyes and tear ducts.

I agree; see your eye doctor.
Mine has many patients who have apnea.
Treatment is more likely to be a help rather than doing harm.

OSA has been associated with glaucoma, so I'd definitely look into that, but in fact, many people have trouble with air blowing into their eyes and use either drops before bed or in the a.m., or wear a sleep mask made to be used with Cpap.

The person you need to see is an ophthalmologist, not really an optician.
There is a connection between the nasal passage and the eye - this is why your nose runs when you cry. Some people have a problem with the air going UP this tube into their eyes.
I complained about my vision too when I first started and I had it checked by the ENT, optician and Ophthalmologist but they could not find anything. Eventually it either went away or I got used to it....

I just started using my APAP a week ago, but when I told my optician about my diagnosis she wanted me to be aware of this information. The effects CPAP therapy may have on your eyes are listed at near the end of the article. I am late to the party here, but I thought this was helpful information.

https://www.aoa.org/news/clinical-eye-c ... n-the-eyes

Oh good a old link added to a old thread, how sweet! The Way Back Machine snags another life. Jim

It is not very common, but some people do have issues with air going through the tear ducts. I know that when I have a really awesome night, my eyes are a bit swollen despite no mask leaks. Since it clears up within an hour and doesn't bother me, I just consider it a side effect of an awesome night of sleep.

But it could be possible that something is causing an issue for you. Something to ask your eye doctor about. It could just be a coincidence. A couple weeks ago, I was sick, and my vision was often blurry up close. Like I needed reading glasses to see the computer screen, which I normally don't. I thought, dang, my eyesight must be getting bad due to age. My cold cleared up and so did the vision. Never had a cold affect my vision before. Very strange.

Do you wake up with baggy eyes or a feeling of soreness around them? I found that happens to me with the P10 pillows if I put the straps too tight, aka too close together.

amyo wrote: ↑

Sat May 05, 2018 8:39 pm

I just started using my APAP a week ago, but when I told my optician about my diagnosis she wanted me to be aware of this information. The effects CPAP therapy may have on your eyes are listed at near the end of the article. I am late to the party here, but I thought this was helpful information.

https://www.aoa.org/news/clinical-eye-c ... n-the-eyes

Mostly, the discussion is about how the eyes are affected by the underlying condition, not the treatment. The one thing mentioned about the treatment was the possibility of air blowing into the eyes. Everyone using CPAP should be careful about this, whether they report eye issues or not.

Interestingly, the mask shown in the picture is my mask!

amyo wrote: ↑

Sat May 05, 2018 8:39 pm

Can CPAP cause vision problems ?

I hate you bumped this old thread. It might give someone who doesn't read carefully and doesn't open your link the impression that CPAP causes vision problems. To the contrary, if a sleep apnea patient doesn't use CPAP, his untreated condition can cause "floppy eyelid syndrome and normal-tension glaucoma—may be common in sleep apnea patients" - that's from the article you linked.

The article does go on to say that CPAP users should take care that their mask is not leaking into their eyes. This can cause dry eye and irritation. The user should make sure the mask does not leak into the eyes and use an eye lubricant if necessary.

Your eye doctor might serve her CPAP patients better by simply saying, "I'm glad you started using CPAP. Untreated sleep apnea can damage your eyes. Just be sure your mask doesn't leak air into your eyes causing dryness or irritation. If you have an occasional problem, I can recommend an over-the-counter eye lubricant."

Maybe I'm not the only one...I was googling and found this old article that seems to be similar to what I'm experincing.

First a little history...
I have had bad eyes from long ago, had glasses in elementary school. As soon as contacts were an option for me, I jumped at the opportunity to get rid of my coke-bottles. Fortunately when I turned about 25 I was a candidate for LASIK and jumped at that opportunity also. I've been glasses free for 18 years now and loved every day of it. The Dr. did tell me to expect to wear glasses for reading in my 40's.

Maybe it's coincidence, since I'm now in my 40's, but my vision has changed rather suddenly after starting my ASV treatment last month. In the last month I've noticed my vision at distances has gotten much worse. Things I used to be able to see fine are now blurry. I went in yesterday for my annual vision appointment and sure enough, I now need glasses and am nearsighted once again. I did mention that I had started using an ASV/CPAP machine recently and the optometrist didn't seem too concerned about it. I have a new set of glasses coming next week.

I'm going to see if my prescription changes in the coming months, if it continues to deteriorate, I'll check on another follow-up. But wanted to see if anyone else has experienced anything similar.

Thanks,

You’re in your 40’s and that’s a period of reckoning for many for vision, regardless: if you got surgery before, it expires at that time quite often from many people I know that have had it.

Your doc isn’t concerned because you’re just another ordinary patient getting older with typical eye degradation, so nothing more to concern themselves with than getting the prescription correct.

If anything, oxygen deprivation would be a worse thing!

Snoregone Conclusion wrote: ↑

Fri Nov 30, 2018 4:56 pm

If anything, oxygen deprivation would be a worse thing!

Yup. My old eye doc was well aware of that and cautioned me to use CPAP every night.