Last week my son and I went to the eye doctor for a routine check up. My son's exam went without a hitch -- his prescription is a bit stronger than before, but it's no more than to be expected. My exam, however, showed a few unexpected changes.

I've noticed that the vision in my right eye hasn't been very good lately, but I blamed it on the pair of contacts I've worn much longer than I should have. It turns out that there is at bit of a problem in my right eye, or there was a bit of a problem anyway. Though I was largely asymptomatic, sometime in the past few months I had a case of Central Serous Retinopathy (CSR).

In CSR, layers of tissue near the macula become detached and serous fluid builds up underneath. Eventually, the fluid leaks out. Some people experience symptoms such as decreased night vision, problems discriminating between colors, distortion, or even loss of sight. Most often, the symptoms are temporary, resolving themselves as the CSR heals. In my case, I did experience some visual difficulties, but they were subtle enough that I didn't think anything was wrong.

Often, CSR is caused by extreme stress but it is also associated with pregnancy. In most cases, the symptoms go away in time but sometimes a degree of visual impairment remains. (That's the way it is with me. Scar tissue is causing some permanent damage, but the damage is mild.) All I know is that this gives me a good reason to take better care of my stress levels.