Why do your eyes get dark when you get out of bed? The main causes of darkening

Publication date: August 21, 2020

Sometimes, when you have to change your body position, darkening occurs in your eyes. And this is usually associated with various pathologies. Although this phenomenon is not always a danger signal. The eyes also become dark in a healthy person when there is overwork caused by heavy physical exertion or a stressful condition. Often the symptom of darkening in the eyes occurs when standing up. It may recur regularly or may be a one-time occurrence. Darkening in the eyes that appears sporadically does not indicate visual impairment. This is only a short-term deterioration in the perception of the environment. And the exact cause of darkening in the eyes can be determined by a doctor at a medical center by conducting diagnostic examinations.

Blood pressure problems

Dizziness, quite severe, often occurs in people with low blood pressure. Their blood pressure sometimes drops below 100/60 mmHg. And it leads to severe discomfort in the body: tinnitus, dark spots in the eyes and severe headaches. This condition often leads to fainting. Low blood pressure is often observed in pregnant women and teenage children. Therefore, if a person is aware of his low blood pressure, then he does not need to make sudden movements.

Why do your eyes get dark when you suddenly stand up?

Several reasons can lead to darkening. Firstly, with rapid changes in body position, blood pressure decreases. The fact is that if you are in the same position for a long time, the blood in your body is distributed unevenly. it flows out from the brain. With a sharp rise, blood rushes to the brain, which causes temporary disorientation.

Secondly, heart rhythm disturbances. This reason is related to the first. When you stand up, your heart rate instantly increases. It is when the heart malfunctions that darkening of the eyes and dizziness appear.

Thirdly, chronic fatigue. With constant physical weakness, a person is less active, therefore a sudden rise, for example, in the case of a phone call, will disrupt the state of the body and lead to darkening.

Fourthly, low levels of hemoglobin in the blood. This manifests itself in constant weakness, fatigue, dizziness and other symptoms. Darkening often appears in people with asthenia, dystonia, and also in pregnant women. However, it can manifest itself under the influence of external factors such as weather or nervous shock. This condition does not occur for long, for 3-4 seconds. But often it is accompanied by a number of other sensations:

tinnitus or ringing;
feeling of prostration;
lethargy;
heaviness in the head;
lost;
incontinence on legs.

Vegetative-vascular dystonia

This disease often occurs in adolescents. It is associated with insufficient maturity of the endocrine and nervous systems. Manifest in one-time attacks or have a chronic course.

The resulting darkness in the eyes is characteristic of hypotensive dystonia. During the next attack, a person’s pulse quickens and his vision darkens. Such patients complain that the chest is heavy, there is not enough air, and there is weakness with headache. Symptoms of vegetative-vascular dystonia include cold extremities and frequent fainting.

Dystonia is caused by exhausting physical activity, vitamin deficiencies, and poor nutrition among middle-aged people.

Dizziness: causes, diagnosis and treatment

If only love caused dizziness, people would probably be much happier.

We decided to ask the leading neurologist at Clinic Expert Kursk LLC, Natalya Vladimirovna Umerenkova, about other reasons for this condition.

－ Natalya Vladimirovna, what can be understood by dizziness?

This is an important question, primarily for a doctor who is looking for the cause of the patient’s deterioration.

What is dizziness like? There are rotational and non-rotational.

With the first, there is a feeling of “rotation” of one’s own body or objects surrounding a person.

The second type is when, for example, your head feels “dizzy” when standing up. In this case, there is rather a feeling of “lightness”, “lightness” in the head, and the person may feel sick. There may be darkening of the eyes, palpitations, and a “pre-fainting” state. In this case, there may be no sensation of “rotation” as such.

Sometimes dizziness is understood as a feeling of instability that occurs when walking disorders of various natures.

A person is often unable to distinguish between them, if only because it does not have much meaning for him.

－ Often a person describes it exactly like this: “I was sitting, suddenly stood up, and felt very dizzy.” What could be the reasons? Why does it get dark before your eyes when you get up?

Most often, the cause of such complaints is orthostatic hypotension (which is associated with disruption of the autonomic nervous system - when moving to a vertical position, blood from the upper half of the body “flows” into the vessels of the abdominal cavity and legs, cerebral blood flow suffers and a short-term decrease in blood supply to the brain stem appears).

－What are the most common causes of dizziness?

The leading ones are circulatory disorders in the brain, as well as pathological processes in the vestibular apparatus and the central nervous system (responsible for the sense of balance).

－What diseases can cause dizziness?

A lot of them. It should be remembered that dizziness can be a symptom of both neurological and somatic diseases.

I'll name a few. Orthostatic hypotension (for example, the previously mentioned “sat, stood up, darkened vision”) is caused by disorders in the autonomic nervous system, for example, during adolescence, during or after some infectious diseases and some others. Blood loss. Heart diseases, for example, some arrhythmias, when not enough blood flows to the brain at a certain point in time. Traumatic brain injury. Strokes.

What is the difference between hemorrhagic and ischemic stroke? Find out here

Also, the causes of dizziness can be: cerebral aneurysms; atherosclerotic damage to the blood vessels of the brain and neck; multiple sclerosis; Meniere's disease; labyrinthitis; benign positional vertigo; osteochondrosis; incorrect selection of glasses for vision correction; some types of migraine; anemia; diabetes; pathology of the musculoskeletal system, when the patient experiences a feeling of instability.

Does osteochondrosis exist? Radiologist at MRI Expert Elets says:

Yavorsky Evgeniy Valerievich

－ Can dizziness be a consequence of taking medications?

Yes, a fairly large number of medications can cause such a side effect. In particular, medications to lower blood pressure, muscle relaxants, anticonvulsants, insulin therapy (in cases where blood glucose levels are significantly reduced).

－ Is dizziness psychogenic?

Yes, such cases are known. It can occur with anxiety disorders, obsessions, and phobias. Dizziness also occurs during stress. Such cases have been described.

－Can the stomach be connected to the head? In the sense that problems of the gastrointestinal tract can lead to dizziness?

There is no direct relationship. Some diseases of the gastrointestinal tract can be an indirect cause of dizziness, accompanied by this symptom, but often it is not the leading one, in contrast, for example, to abdominal pain and other specific manifestations of the pathology of the digestive system.

The connection between “stomach and head” is also possible in the form of “seasickness”: due to imperfect functioning of the vestibular apparatus, a person becomes dizzy and nauseous in transport, despite the fact that there may be no disease in the digestive system itself. In many cases, if the movement continues, nausea progresses to vomiting.

－ How to determine in which cases the feeling of dizziness is not dangerous, and when it is associated with a particular disease?

It is better to entrust the clarification of this issue to a doctor, since even short-term dizziness, without immediate consequences, can be a sign of some kind of disease.

Additional signs such as nausea and vomiting, fever, general weakness, cold sweat, neurological symptoms in the form of speech impairment, deterioration or “loss” of visual fields, movement disorders, and sensitivity disorders should also be on the alert.

I want to warn everyone who reads this article: you should not self-diagnose. If dizziness occurs, you should consult a doctor.

－ What to do if you feel very dizzy?

Take a comfortable position and lie down. If possible, measure blood pressure and glucose levels. Provide access to fresh air. Call the doctor.

－Which doctor should I contact if I feel dizzy?

It depends on what is causing the dizziness.

Since the patient most often does not know this, you can first consult a general practitioner or therapist. Based on the possible diagnosis, they can recommend a consultation with specialized specialists: a neurologist, otolaryngologist, cardiologist, endocrinologist, psychotherapist.

You can find out the cost of an appointment and make an appointment with a therapist here

Please note: the service is not available in all cities

Characteristics of diseases

The consequence of hypotension is a negative effect on brain cells due to oxygen starvation. With this syndrome, blood pressure drops significantly, because of this the brain does not receive enough oxygen and its cells begin to die, which is precisely manifested by darkening of the eyes, as well as headaches and nausea. Like any other serious health problem, this requires a certain course of treatment and a review of the patient’s lifestyle.

Vegetative-vascular dystonia has similar symptoms. The causes here are extensive and require long-term rehabilitation treatment.

If the problem with darkening of the eyes is caused by an infection in the body, the doctor will prescribe antibacterial drugs, which, along with eliminating the infection, will lead to the disappearance of symptoms associated with vision, headache, weakness and lethargy.

Also, darkening in the eyes is included in the primary list of factors that may indicate diseases such as osteochondrosis, various aneurysms, compression of arteries and nerve endings. In such situations, darkening and pain occur only with certain movements and positions of the body or its parts and will most often be the first symptoms of the emerging disease.

The main types of diseases that lead to darkening of the eyes include diseases of the thyroid gland, malfunctions of the heart valves and disruption of metabolic processes in the body. In the case of such problems, the phenomenon will be only one of a whole complex of symptoms.

Treatment for dark eyes

This unpleasant sensation can only be cured or completely eliminated in a comprehensive manner. The success of treatment of any disease largely depends on timely diagnosis, as well as how competently and to what extent it was carried out.

A neurologist and cardiologist will help you find an explanation for this symptom and minimize the discomfort from darkening of the eyes. Sometimes this problem can be solved even without the use of medications: by changing your lifestyle, giving up bad habits, adjusting your diet and balancing physical activity. In particularly difficult cases, full treatment may be required.

At the Eye Clinic of Dr. Belikova, ophthalmologists of the second, first and highest categories, laser surgeons, as well as candidates and doctors of medical sciences receive treatment. You will be in good hands.

Contact your doctor promptly

If your vision darkens when you try to stand up, not often, but only a few times a month, then most likely your health is not in serious danger. In this case, you just need to regularly measure your blood pressure and take tinctures of medicinal herbs that your doctor will prescribe for you. Try to get more rest, eat right, and it won’t take long to feel better. However, if attacks of darkening in the eyes recur regularly, and your general health worsens, you should immediately consult a doctor.

At the Vision Restoration Center, patients are treated by ophthalmologists with more than ten years of experience, and also by experienced pediatric eye doctors. Many of them have scientific degrees and personal professional awards. Thousands of patients are treated at the center every year. Their grateful reviews testify to our impeccable reputation. The clinic is equipped with modern diagnostic and treatment equipment. The medical staff adheres to an individual approach to the treatment of each patient.

The Vision Restoration Center is open for you from 8:00 to 20:00 every day. Make an appointment now.