Vision Problem

Today I had a sudden episode of not being able to focus clearly while at work on my computer.  It was as though I had been staring at light for a while - that kind of blurry vision.  Then from the corner of my left eye there was pulsing waves of light.  This continued for a half hour.  All of a sudden it stopped.  I was able to focus clearly.  This has never happened before.  What could be the problem and should I be worried it may happen again?

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

Yes you shoudl worry about it. You have either had an episode of eye migraines (also called ophthalmic migraine) which is usually not associated with headache or you had a transient ischemic attack which can be due to serious disease of the heart, brain or blood vessels.

If you smoke, have hgh blood pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol, a family histry of heart disease or stroke, if you are over 40 years old, if you take birth control pills or estrogens there is even more need to get this evaluated.

You should make an appointment with an eye MD physician ophthalmologist  and your family doctor for a complet physical. Dependingon the findings you may need blood work, heart and blood vessels test and MRI/MRA of brain.

You can use the Health topics and search features on this page to read the many posts about this type of problem. If you are over 60 years old you should get these tests done ASAP.

JCH III MD