sudden loss of vision - help!

[shirt]

this evening i got out the shower, dried off and noticed something strange with my vision. very hard to pinpoint and describe.

at first i just felt something was amiss but couldn't tell what it was.

when i look at something in middle distance [e.g. tv on the wall approx. 12ft away] i have a small area of 'fuzzy' vision just left of centre, almost like what you get with a smear on a camera lens or duff pixels on a monitor.

at short distance such as reading this post on my laptop 18" away i can;t focus on certain areas of text. if i try to read a book it feel very strange.

any ideas? i don't wear glasses but have been taking string antibiotics for a couple of weeks now and my diet is very poor as i'm in the middle of nowhere in asia. rice and meat for 6wks now, fresh fruit & veg few and far between. i ran home from work before showering and felt slightly faint afterwards but had a can of full sugar coke and a litre of water when i got in.

any ideas and pointers? it does feel in the last hour or so things have improved but it still feels odd. i'm pretty concerned at the moment and have another 3-4 weeks here before i can fly home.

[marshalla]

My wife had similar symptoms - turned out to be a small bleed in one of the blood vessels in the retina.

Get it checked out.

[CAPP0]

I once fell asleep on a train, when I woke up one of my eyes just closed right in like an aperture closing on a film. Couldn't see anything at all from it for about 5 mins. Went to Moorfields the next day (worked in London) and they were very thorough in their checks but found nothing amiss. They thought I had probably leant on a nerve or a vein and cut off something feeding the eye temporarily. Must have been nearly 10 years ago and never happened since (in fact I had forgotten about it until I saw this thread). Maybe something similar for you?

[Tiberius]

Could be a retinal migraine

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Retinal_migraine

I get them occasionally without the head ache, scary the first time it happend


or a Scintillating scotoma

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scintillating_scotoma

Edited by Tiberius on Friday 20th February 14:23

[motco]

Google 'ocular migraine' or 'retinal migraine'. If the symptoms suit you may have that.

[Zod]

If it goes away after a short-ish time (within an hour or two) and it affects both eyes, then it's a migraine. I get them from time to time, particularly when dehydrated. Some people get terrible headaches, but I rarely do, just a visual disturbance, like the one the OP described that dissipates over half an hour or so.

Edited by Zod on Friday 20th February 14:29

[SHutchinson]

If I've been running a lot sometimes when I get home and go in the shower I black out when I get out. Usually wake up on the landing pretty much straight away. The first sign it's going to happen is blurry vision and dizziness.

I just put it down to low blood sugar and the sudden change in temperature.

Does it only happen after you run?

[shirt]

thanks for the replies, it has been a very disconcerting evening.

i used to suffer ocular migraines so had thought it could be the other type, but no pain has arisen.

seems to have almost gone now. i'm thinking it could be low blood sugar and/or dehydration. i was fairly parched on my run [its 30+deg here and humid, been sweating a lot today] and could tell i was low on sugar at the end as i was shaking, hence the coke.

very odd, did not enjoy it and not an experience i want to repeat. not much i can do at the moment as i guess the nearest eye hospital means leaving the country.

[numtumfutunch]

If I were you Id see an eye specialist not a motoring forum

Seriously

[zeduffman]

If not a migraine, TIA?

[davhill]

Sounds very like an ocular migraine (a.k.a silent migraine). I have them and the generally go away after 20 minutes or so. Overwork and stress tend to bring them on.

NB: I'm neither an optician or doctor.

[shirt]

numtumfutunch said:

If I were you Id see an eye specialist not a motoring forum

Seriously

I would if I could. I'm in Myingyan, Myanmar and currently under a travel ban due to local security issues. Answers provided here are satisfactory enough to stop me worrying until I can get out.

I do believe its low blood sugar and a touch of dehydration. I knew my sugars were low after the run hence the can of coke immediately afterwards.

[FreeLitres]

I once had a similar thing which has never happened since.

It was about 10 years ago when I went to play 5-a-side in the middle of summer and I hadn't had much water at all. After the match I pulled some coins out of my pocket for a drink from the vending machine and I just couldn't see the coins in my hand. It's like the central part of my vision was just a blur - really weird.

I put it down to severe dehydration and it has never happened since.

[JJ55]

If you're based near London take a trip to moorfields eye hospital a & e at old street. Go early in the morning though as it gets really busy.

[JJ55]

Ok just read ur post properly & realised ur in Asia. So moorfields may not be much help!

[shirt]

haha, yes a touch far!

haven't had a repeat incident so touch wood it was a one off. i was diagnosed with amebiasis a couple of weeks ago so was flown back to dubai for treatment and some r&r. back in the jungle now