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Ophthalmologists can generally diagnose functional visual loss reasonably confidently but often find it harder to know what to say to the patient, how to approach, or even whether to attempt, treatment. There is little evidence-based treatment despite studies showing up to 60% of adults having impactful symptoms on long-term follow-up. The last 20 years has seen large changes in how we understand, approach, and manage FND more widely. In this article, we set out our practical approach to managing functional visual loss which includes : 1) Make a positive diagnosis based on investigations that demonstrate normal vision in the presence of subjectively impaired vision, not just because tests or ocular exam is normal; 2) Explain and label the condition with an emphasis on these positive diagnostic features, not reassurance; 3) Consider eye or brain comorbidities such as migraine, idiopathic intracranial hypertension or amblyopia; 4) Consider working with an orthoptist using diagnostic tests in a positive way to highlight the possibility of better vision; 5) Develop simple treatment strategies for photophobia; 6) Consider psychological factors and comorbidity as part of assessment and therapy, but keep a broader view of aetiology and don\u2019t use this to make a diagnosis; 7) Other treatment modalities including hypnotherapy, transcranial magnetic stimulation and more advanced forms of visual feedback are promising candidates for functional visual loss treatment in the future.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1038\/s41433-024-03126-w","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,5,22]],"date-time":"2024-05-22T18:02:18Z","timestamp":1716400938000},"page":"2257-2266","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1007\/springer_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":10,"title":["How do I manage functional visual loss"],"prefix":"10.1038","volume":"38","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3179-8126","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Neil","family":"Ramsay","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Justin","family":"McKee","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Gillian","family":"Al-Ani","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jon","family":"Stone","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"297","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2024,5,22]]},"reference":[{"key":"3126_CR1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"537","DOI":"10.1016\/S1474-4422(21)00422-1","volume":"21","author":"M Hallett","year":"2022","unstructured":"Hallett M, Aybek S, Dworetzky BA, McWhirter L, Staab JP, Stone J. 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The other authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.","order":1,"name":"Ethics","group":{"name":"EthicsHeading","label":"Competing interests"}}]}}