Mom sees color halos after eye exam

[newposting]

My Mom is in her 70's and had an eye exam with her eye Doctor a few weeks ago. They put one set of drops in which she was expecting, then immediately later, another set. She was told not to touch her eye or open them for a full 15 minutes (or something like that) to avoid scratching her cornea. She was concerned about the second set of unknown drops, since she is sensitive to medicines. The doctor gave her the eye exam and an extra test she later found out was called a refractive light exam - which she found to be painfully bright and sensitive for her eyes causing her to see bright stripes and light during the exam. The doctor was apparently looking at a Cataract she had the "early stages" of. She wasn't interested in surgery if it was minimal. She knew she would be taking bilberry and other supplements formulated to support the eye. The cataract had not gotten worse since the previous exam, and may have in fact decreased in size. The refractive light test was apparently used this year to see what needed to be done for the cataract they assumed would be worse this year, but thankfully was not. The problem is that ever since the drops (we later learned were Fluress and Tropicamide) and Refractive Light Test, she now sees individual rings of red, green, blue and yellow as halos around lights at night. Clearly defined rings in both eyes - not just the eye with the small cataract - and she never had this experience or problem before the exam, test and drops. She is quite upset, and waited several weeks for the problem to clear up, but it remains. The doctor's office said they aren't aware of any side effects from the test or drops, but something happened. She is not planning to return to the office for any further drops or Refractive Light tests. And now, definitely not surgery unless it is completely warranted and necessary. Do you have any idea of what this may be and if with time it will improve?

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

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[AnnaE]

Those are the usual eye drops for any complete exam. The doctor must examine her cataract as part of a complete exam, I believe.

I am an eye patient, not a doctor.

[newposting]

Thank you for your replies. I found them to be encouraging. I'll have to look into the Eye MD. I don't know what happened, but before the drops and refractive light test, she never saw color bands around lights at night. She also reminded me that after the drops at home she thought she was having difficulty saying the words for what she was thinking, which only lasted that afternoon and may have been associated with the medicine according to the label. So maybe the dosage was too high or it absorbed too quickly - or maybe she experienced a less common side effect? She also mentioned that the refractive light test really bothered her, as her eyes were very sensitive to the light - so much so that she asked the doctor to please not shine the light so close as it was hurting her eyes. She has been having eye exams for years, every year, and nothing like this has happened before. She also didn’t recall ever getting the two drops before (usually only one set of drops before an exam) or the Refractive Light test. Does every annual eye exam have a Refractive Light test? I wondered if somehow that could be the distinct color bands she sees? It has been three weeks, and she still sees the bands around lights at night - but now she says they are starting to get a little dimmer - more so in the eye with the small cataract, and are more vivid in the eye without a cataract. She was familiar with star bursts and things related to the small cataract in her right eye, but these vivid distinct color bands are much different from anything she had experienced before. We hope it will keep improving over time. She is more at ease now that it seems to be dimming. Thank you and I appreciate your suggestions.

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

We use both those drops for every complete eye exam. One numbs the eye and has a dye in it to check pressure and the other dilates the pupil. They are completely metabolized and out of the body in 4-8 hrs MAX. In now way would her symptoms ever be due to those drops. On the other hand those ARE symptoms of cataracts. She doesn't need to have cataract surgery until she feels her vision is a big or moderate problem.

I woudl suggest she find a new ophthalmologist and get a second opinion. Also before any drops are put in the eye I would suggest she ask to speak to the Eye MD and voice her concerns. Hopefully he/she will be able to put her mind more at ease.

JCH III MD

[AnnaE]

I am a community leader here, not a doctor. I am also an experienced eye patient. Welcome to our community

I am sorry that your Mom is distressed.

The doctor will advise you.


I encourage you to follow up with us, and to respond to other community members, so that all of us can help each other learn about our eye care.