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Drug Side Effects

How to Manage Blurry Vision Caused By Metformin?

Jul 8, 2017

Blurry vision is a common side effect associated with a prolonged use of Metformin. This happens due to a deficiency of Vitamin B12 as Metformin is known to affect its absorption. Let’s look at how to manage this condition.

Include Adequate Vitamin B12 in Your Diet

Vitamin B12 takes care of some critical functions in the human body such as protecting the nervous system and the formation of red blood cells. Vitamin B12 also plays an important part in maintaining the heath of the optic nerve. This nerve is responsible for carrying signals from the eyes to the brain, and so its role is extremely important in interpreting what you see. A deficiency in B12 could make the optic nerve more vulnerable to several eye-related issues, such as a gradual loss of vision.

Some good sources of Vitamin B12 are:

  • Dairy products
  • Beef liver
  • Fish such as salmon, sardines and shellfish
  • Eggs
  • Soy Milk
  • Red meat

Eat Eye-Friendly Foods: In order to get relief from vision-related problems such as blurry vision, it is important to take care of your diet. Green leafy vegetables, foods rich in omega-3 fatty acids (oily fish such as salmon and tuna), eggs, almonds and carrots are some foods recommended for eye health.

Perform Eye Exercises

Eye exercises can help in dealing with blurry vision. This is particularly true if your job involves staring at a computer or laptop for too long. Listed below are a few easy eye exercises that can help.

Try flexing

It is a simple exercise to stretch your eye muscles and give you a break from staring at objects very close to you, usually gadget screens. With your head still, look up with your eyes and then go left, down, right and back to where you started from. Do it clockwise and anti-clockwise 10 times in each direction. You can also do a full roll of your eyes 10 times each in clockwise direction and then anti-clockwise.

Blinking

Did you know that eyes that don’t blink often enough can become dry, and cause eye strain, blurred vision and headaches? This happens especially to people who stare into televisions and computer screens for too long. The solution: Start blinking your eyes consciously 30-40 times every hour.

The 10-10-10 rule

This one is useful for people who work on laptops and PCs for long hours. It is said that focusing on objects closer to your vision without rest increases chances of blurry vision. So to give your eyes some well-earned rest, try this exercise. For every 10 minutes of looking at the laptop, stare at an object 10 feet away for a duration of 10 seconds.

References:

https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/VitaminB12-HealthProfessional/