autism/AS and dilated pupils

Post Reply New Topic

This is another thing I've been wondering about. I seem to have chronically dilated pupils, or they sometimes dilate all of a sudden without an apparent reason. I have no idea if it's due to mood, tiredness, general state, lighting or something else.

It's been something of a problem - I experiemented with substances several times as a teen, and my family learned about it so now they're naturally suspicious and think I'm doing drugs. It can be stressful when somebody will look me in the eye and ask me whether I'm using something. I do understand why they're doing it; they have a legitimate reason to ask. But I'm also painfully aware that the dilated pupils are apparently due to some of the problems I have, and it's no fault of mine, but I still have to apologize for it and justify myself as if I'd done something wrong. It can be really awkward and upsetting sometimes.

I'm pretty sure it has to have some connection to bipolar disorder. Dilated pupils are listed among the possible somatic symptoms, and I've talked to at least two people with the same problem and they said their pupils are usually wider than normal too. And, of course, the excitement of a manic or hypomanic state could easily cause one's pupils to widen.

But I'm curious if it could possibly have neurological causes as well. Once my oculist did recommend a neurological examination after having my eyes checked (don't remember if I told him about the dilated pupils or not), because he said the state of my eye bottom suggests neurological difference.

In a photo of me when I was 5 years old, my pupils LOOK HUGE! They take up like 50% of the iris! That is just an optical illusion caused by the coloring in my eyes. When optometrists/opthamaligists look in my eyes, 80% say beautiful retinas and about 20% say interesting coloring!

I doubt the average autistic has real large pupils, as that would normally make things REAL bad.

BTW There are a lot of mental problems that cause large/small/unreactive pupils. They ARE governed by the brain, afterall.

Steve

Are you on any kind of prescriptions that could be causing the problem? Sometimes pupil dilation is sign of head injury. There are probably lots of other reasons for it too. Have you thought of discussing the problem with an eye doctor?

http://www.allaboutvision.com/conditions/ maybe this site will help not read over it yet...

http://www.allaboutvision.com/condition ... oblems.htm

I don't know how small pupils are supposed to go, but mine are more dilated than usual. I have a lot of trouble with bright light.

This is interesting, I was throwing this idea around, myself.

Maybe bigger pupils means more 'energy' or 'telepathic energy' can escape us and enter others.... or not

I wonder if that's why my Ex-Co-workers kept on asking me if I did drugs?

Hale_bopp,

I think most of us are more sensitive to the light. I am also. I STILL had to have my eyes dialated, and never got any complaints.

Corvus,

Somehow I doubt any telepathic energy comes from the eyes. HECK, wouldn't that mean you would have to have your eyes OPEN?

Usually, bigger pupils means more light sensitive and less focused.

Steve

I get asked this ALL the time. I've always had massively dialated pupils and been sensitive to light.

Damn it Steve! You ruined my horrible idea

Well, It looks like my internal iris has actually gotten darker! It LOOKS like my pupil is probably like 3/32"(about 2.25mm) in normal light. Then again, if you don't look CLOSE, my pupil looks like it is about 1/2 the size of my iris! That is just because of the wierd coloring though. I'm planning on going to a hospital later this week, so I may ask that nurse what SHE thinks. I should admit that practically only eye doctors have even looked close enough to even see my different eye coloring.

For all I know, maybe the coloring ITSELF is an autistic feature. Wouldn't THAT be odd?

Then again, you would have to look someon square in the eye to see such a thing. I don't think I would have noticed it myself if my mother didn't tell me when I was young.

Steve

Is something else too Anxiety also open's dilated pupils up if you have noticed you become more aware of your surrounding than what you are when your not anxious…

http://www.natren.com/pages/anxiety.html

Would 2mm the size be when your looking in a mirror with a light on? or under normal light ie with the mirror pointing to the light source?

/*
My hazel eye colour is amazing - mind you I have pritty good close detail eye's - so can see more clear than other's alot of people's eyes have lovely patterns in them, find hazel - blue - gray & green to have lovely patterns.. I think they tell everyone they got lovely eyes and all that...
*/

http://www.worldofstock.com/search_pages/eyes.php

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ann/sets/72057594048005529/

Last edited by logitechdog on 07 Jan 2007, 4:32 pm, edited 1 time in total.

I dislike bright light with a passion.

The irises of my eyes are a very bright turquoise blueish-green and i'm not too fond of sunlight. I'm very fond of shade and darkness but not the pitch darkness where I can't see a thing. I don't know if eye color has to do with light sensitivity, though.

Looking at a mirror with the light on.(lights to either side of the mirror.) The darker iris seemed darker than normal, and I don't have a simple way of measuring anyway, so it is an educated guess at best. Still, my pupils CAN get very big in totall darkness.

Steve

My pupils have been bigger than most and in normal to bright lights. Bright light doesn't bother me at all. In fact, I have a bad habit of not carrying around sunglasses so the few times I'm driving against a sunset/sunrise I get in trouble.
When I was young people used to ask me if I was on drugs. But my pupils were noticeable by age 5 (first grade). My eyes looked entirely black. People often thought I had "beautiful brown eyes" even though they are bright, unmistakeably hazel.

My husband's pupils are always small (constricted) and he has severe photosensitivity. He often forgets to take off his sunglasses in the house and keeps them with him all the time. He thought it was from too much chamomile ingestion (forced on him as a child) but has since read about the connection between autism and photosensitivity.