Blunt Eye Trauma

I have recently been having immense pain in my left eye. Two nights ago during boxing training I took a full powered punch to the eye. I momentarily lost vision, shook it off, and kept going. The next morning my vision had become extremely blurry in this eye, almost as if someone was holding a foggy lense against it. After thirty minutes my vision came back, however I also developed a Cluster headache around the area. I am someone who suffers from chronic headaches, Migraines, and Cluster headaches. That night, the pain became unbearable. On a scale of 1/10 I would rate the pain at a ten. It is undoubtedly the worst pain I have experienced in my life. It felt as if I literally had an icepick being driven *completely* through my head and out the back. My eyeball itself continues to hurt, but vision seems to be normal.

Could the hit simply have triggered an extreme Cluster headache, or could I have eye damage?

[John C Hagan III, MD, FACS, FAAO]

You most definitely could have eye damage including retinal detachment, traumatic iritis, traumatic hyphema. You need to see an ophthalmologist (Eye MD) for a dilated retinal examination. You should do this ASAP. If you describe the circumstances to the appointment maker most ophthalmologists keep space open for emergencies. I would declare over the phone that you feel this is an emergency.

JCH MD