One pupil dilates

I am a 29F and last August for the first time my left pupil dilated after I put in my contacts which I wear only once in a while. Never had any injuries or disease, but I do take 400mg Wellbutrin daily. The left eye felt like I had a scratched contact in, very uncomfortable, but the lense was fine upon inspection. The pupil stayed dilated for 4 hours with the contact out, my opthomologist didn't have any answer when I came to see him that afternoon and told me to see a neurologist.

The left pupil does this occassionally when I put my contacts (disposable) in, but not every time. When it does happen,  I remove the contact and it goes down later that day. Also, when the pupil dilates, the eyelid droops considerably and I have a headache with a mild ache on the roof of the eyeball. Sometimes I will notice this "aching" even when the pupil is acting normal.

This has happened  4 times. What could it be?

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

The problem is hard to evaluate because of the contacts. The contacts irritate the eye and also increase permeability of the cornea. Allergy drops and whiteing drops like Vision can sometimes dilate the pupil in contact lens wearers.

You pupil can also dilate with certain types of migraines.

My recommendation is to see a neuro-ophthalmologist. And don't wear your contacts for a week before you go in to see him/her. Find one near you at www.aao.org

JCH III MD

[DLV3]

A related discussion, One pupil dilating from time to time was started.