Eye color change?

Has anyone's eye color changed from lyme or bartonella? My eyes have always been a very dark brown, almost black, but now they have lightened significantly. I guess they are a light hazel color now, very much lighter than before.

I also am having trouble focusing close up like reading but that might be age (I'm 46) setting in. This all started in the last year or so making me think it may possibly be related to the disease.

I haven't been to an eye doc in 15 or more years and that was the only time in my life that I went to one. My wife made me go just to get "checked out". I had better than 20/20 so I never went back. Thinking about scheduling an appointment since my vision has changed so dramatically over the last year but I have a friend who said when he hit his 40's same thing happened to him (not the color change just vision).

Anyone else? Or just coincidence?

Hi WV Mike,

First I think you should see an eye doctor just to be on the safe side. Also I did a quick search for eye color change and this is what I found:

Changes In Eye Color

The iris is a muscle that expands and contracts to control pupil size. The pupil enlarges in dimmer lighting and grows smaller in brighter lighting. The pupil also shrinks when you focus on near objects, such as a book you are reading.

When the pupil size changes, the pigments in the iris compress or spread apart, changing the eye color a bit.

Certain emotions can change both the pupil size and the iris color. That's why some people say their eyes change colors when they're angry or loving.

Eye color also can change with age. This happens in 10 to 15 percent of the Caucasian population (people who generally have lighter eye colors).

For instance, my once very brown eyes are now hazel, a combination of brown and green. However, some hazel eyes actually get darker with age.

Note that if your adult eye color changes pretty dramatically, or if one eye changes from brown to green or blue to brown (called heterochromia), it's important to see your eye doctor. Eye color changes can be a warning sign of certain diseases, such as Fuch's heterochromic iridocy***is, Horner's syndrome or pigmentary glaucoma.

/www.allaboutvision.com/conditions/eye-color.htm

Denise