Sudden Eye Sight Loss: Causes & Treatment

[Mentallic]

One night I couldn't sleep so I'm sitting there trying for hours and slowly drifting in and out, it was horrible. Anyway, by the morning I was really tired and dozing off wasn't a problem any more, but I was awoken at one point after a few hours sleep. After being awake for maybe 10 minutes, my lefteye just gave up in a sense.

I had a big blind spot right in the middle of my view, so anything I tried to focus on I couldn't. I was pretty worried thinking I went blind all of a sudden, so I was rubbing it a lot, trying anything to desperately get rid of the blind spot. I also couldn't watch a movie because of it and then things seemed blue and fuzzy on the outside of my vision, so I went back to bed to rest again since I was so tired and pretty scared by that point.

After maybe 30 mins of resting I opened my eyes again and everything was back to normal. Some suggestions to what caused it were that I was too tired, and jokingly by one, that I have a brain tumour :uhh:

What do you think might've caused this? And should I maybe check up on my eye/brain? By the way, my family has no history that I know of with brain tumours, eye problems, or anything like that.

 

[berkeman]

One night I couldn't sleep so I'm sitting there trying for hours and slowly drifting in and out, it was horrible. Anyway, by the morning I was really tired and dozing off wasn't a problem any more, but I was awoken at one point after a few hours sleep. After being awake for maybe 10 minutes, my lefteye just gave up in a sense.

I had a big blind spot right in the middle of my view, so anything I tried to focus on I couldn't. I was pretty worried thinking I went blind all of a sudden, so I was rubbing it a lot, trying anything to desperately get rid of the blind spot. I also couldn't watch a movie because of it and then things seemed blue and fuzzy on the outside of my vision, so I went back to bed to rest again since I was so tired and pretty scared by that point.

After maybe 30 mins of resting I opened my eyes again and everything was back to normal. Some suggestions to what caused it were that I was too tired, and jokingly by one, that I have a brain tumour :uhh:

What do you think might've caused this? And should I maybe check up on my eye/brain? By the way, my family has no history that I know of with brain tumours, eye problems, or anything like that.

Yes, I would start with an opthomologist. Do you have one that you've seen in the past? If not, maybe talk to your regular GP doctor, and ask for a referral. That is not something to be taken lightly (hopefully it is nothing serious). Please make the appointment soon. How long ago did this happen?

And do not rub your eyeball to try to clear up a problem. If it had been a detached retina, that is the last thing you should be doing.

 

[Astronuc]

Depending on one's age, it could be sloughing off of the retina or retinal detachment. There is an eye condition related to 'floaters', in which tiny clumps of gel or cells inside the vitreous float in front of the pupil and cause blurred vision. Moving the eyeball side to side might move the tissue away such that the blurriness subsides.

http://www.aao.org/eyesmart/diseases/floaters-flashes.cfm

A detached retina is a serious problem, and one should probably see an ophthamologist or eye doctor.

Of course, with age come Presbyopia.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presbyopia

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/presbyopia/DS00589

http://www.aoa.org/x4697.xml

One should perhaps see an ophthamologist anyway in order to establish a baseline of the state of one's eyes. I saw one about 4 years ago, and I have to return soon for another check.

 

[Mentallic]

Darn I was hoping it was nothing, but I suppose getting a check up is for the best. It happened about 3 days ago and nothing of the sort has happened since. Just out of curiosity, if my retina were detached and this caused what I was experiencing, shouldn't I be permanently blinded? I'd imagine that the only way your eye sight can go back to normal is if the retina reattached itself.

 

[berkeman]

Darn I was hoping it was nothing, but I suppose getting a check up is for the best. It happened about 3 days ago and nothing of the sort has happened since. Just out of curiosity, if my retina were detached and this caused what I was experiencing, shouldn't I be permanently blinded? I'd imagine that the only way your eye sight can go back to normal is if the retina reattached itself.

Retinal detachment can absolutely lead to blindness. It can re-attach itself in minor cases, which is why sometimes bed rest is the only thing prescribed. Only an opthomologist can say for sure, preferably a retinal specialist.

 

[Mentallic]

Thank you astronuc and berkeman. No one that I've told in real life has suggested it could possibly be something serious, and I wouldn't trust their word over yours, so thanks again, I'll go check with my GP.

How could a retina possibly detach itself? It sounds like it can only happen by some extreme event that harmed the eye in some way. I don't remember if I ever had one of those.

 

[turbo]

Thank you astronuc and berkeman. No one that I've told in real life has suggested it could possibly be something serious, and I wouldn't trust their word over yours, so thanks again, I'll go check with my GP.

How could a retina possibly detach itself? It sounds like it can only happen by some extreme event that harmed the eye in some way. I don't remember if I ever had one of those.

A retina can be detached through a hard jolt. It can also be detached by fluid pressure in back of the retina. Chances are that if your visual acuity is back to normal that you did not experience a detachment, since it is unlikely that the retina would re-adhere perfectly without surgical intervention or re-tacking it with a laser. Still, you must be checked out.

Please see an ophthalmologist, NOT an optometrist or a GP. Ophthalmologists are surgeons and they are licensed to diagnose and treat medical problems. Optometrists are allowed to check your visual acuity and prescribe corrective lenses, but that's it. Optometrists see more common eye problems than GPs, but they cannot diagnose or treat you. If you see an optometrist, you will just have wasted your time and money while (s)he arranges a referral to an ophthalmologist. If you call an ophthalmologist with a complaint of temporary unexplained loss of vision, they will probably take you in right away. I was an optician for a large ophthalmic practice and I saw a LOT of emergency/short-notice work-ins. Good luck!

BTW, if you have an ophthalmic practice with 8-10 doctors on staff, chances are VERY good that at least one of them (often two) will be retinal specialists. Check your yellow pages.

 

[berkeman]

Please see an ophthalmologist, NOT an optometrist or a GP.

If he already has an ophomologist that he sees, then yes, he should go straight to him/her. I suggested the GP route mainly because a referral from your GP is often required to see specialists, for many insurance plans here in the US. Or if he could get a referral straight from his GP's nurse over the phone for an opthomologist, that wuold be even better (saves the cost of the office visit). GPs can't do much with eyes (don't think they can even dilate?...), so any GP contact would be to facilitate the ophomologist visit.

Mentallic -- if you call your GP's office and use some of the words you did in your OP (complete loss of central vision for hours, etc.), they should be able to refer you directly to an opthomologist for the first visit. If the opthomologist finds nothing, then it's worth talking more with your GP about any other causes, and getting some other tests done.

 

[turbo]

If he already has an ophomologist that he sees, then yes, he should go straight to him/her. I suggested the GP route mainly because a referral from your GP is often required to see specialists, for many insurance plans here in the US. Or if he could get a referral straight from his GP's nurse over the phone for an opthomologist, that wuold be even better (saves the cost of the office visit). GPs can't do much with eyes (don't think they can even dilate?...), so any GP contact would be to facilitate the ophomologist visit.

I don't think even an optometrist is allowed to dilate. A GP may actually be allowed to do so under some circumstances, since they are medical doctors, but frankly, they know little or nothing about the infrequent (rare) eye conditions that can arise.

When I wasn't working in my optical lab or fixing network problems, I often spent time preparing educational materials for optometrists. Our ophthalmologists put on educational weekend get-aways for optometrists at least once every year to educate them on the symptoms of eye conditions that they were not trained to recognize, so that patients could be referred appropriately.

And you're absolutely right about getting the referral if he doesn't already see an ophthalmologist. Insurance companies are keen to deny payment for even what might be considered an emergency visit if they can discount the nature of the emergency with their rules. I didn't think about the OP already having an optometrist partly because I've worked with so many ophthalmologists. I won't trust my eyesight to an optometrist. My eye doctor is an old friend and I see him religiously every 2 years. Unfortunately, due to my age and incipient cataracts (too much ski-patrol work with non-UV-blocking sunglasses) he usually dilates my eyes. I hate driving home on sunny days dilated.

 

[Evo]

Any loss of vision like that can be bad, go immediately!

 

[Integral]

OR,
Perhaps it was just a big eye "booger" covering your cornea, perhaps a few drops of artificial tears (contact people know about these) and blinking would have made it all better.

 

[turbo]

Any loss of vision like that can be bad, go immediately!

And there are LOTS of potential causes for loss of central vision in one eye. Only an ophthalmologist can diagnose the problem and identify a likely cause, which is why I didn't even mention those causes. Believe me, I have made up enough Power-Point presentations to know that the goal-posts of eye-care are constantly moving. The OP must see a qualified eye-doctor (ophthalmologist) ASAP. Some of the potential causes can be recurrent.

 

[nismaratwork]

Lack of focus and loss of vision in the center of the visual field is NEVER EVER a joke. Please take the advice of others and see an ophthalmologist, and if you can't do that get to an ER and see a doctor. I wish Integral were correct, but it seems unlikely.