Sudden permanent double vision - adult.

[PJdB]

My Mum suddenly found that had double vision a week ago, - left it a day thinking it would subside, but it did not.

It's been a week now.. and it's got slightly worse (as the glasses she ordered to temporarily correct the issue, were out of focus 5 days later when she went to pick them up).

She is seeing the nurse about her blood test results later today, she was told over the phone that all tests bar one were negative, the exception was borderline (but she can't remember what test it was for!!).

I have made the cardinal sin of googling the problem, and most of the reasons aren't trivial. So I'm very worried. My Mum is 69.

Just wondering if anyone here had any experience of this condition at all? Is it a high probability that this could be life changing?




https://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Double...es/Causes.aspx

In adults, if double vision develops suddenly and isn't caused by a childhood squint, it may be a sign of another condition affecting the free movement of the eye, or the muscles, nerves, or brain. Conditions may include:

a thyroid condition affecting the external eye muscles – your thyroid gland is found in your neck and produces the hormone thyroxine

a condition affecting the blood vessels supplying blood to the brain, or to the nerves controlling the eye muscles (for example, a stroke or a transient ischaemic attack)

diabetes – which can damage the blood vessels supplying blood to the nerves of the eye muscles

myasthenia gravis – which causes the body's muscles to become weak, including the eye muscles

multiple sclerosis – which affects the central nervous system, including the nerves of the eye muscles

an aneurysm – a bulge in a blood vessel caused by a weakness in the blood vessel wall, which can press on a nerve of the eye muscle

a brain tumour or cancer behind the eye that prevents free movement or damages the nerves to the eye muscles

a head injury damaging the brain or the nerves that move the eye muscles, or damages the eye socket and restricts the movement of the eye muscles

[Kingstepper]

Don't mess about with stuff like this. Get her to an optician/GP straight away who will refer her to hospital eye clinic.

[DavidL]

Her GP needs to get her in to see the orthoptists and Ophthalmology asap. Its probably nothing, it's not that uncommon, but there are some underlying causes that need attention. There shouldn't be any issue with doing this, a quick call to the local eye dept and they will fit her in.
They will use a stick on (Fresnel) prism to correct it and this can be changed if the amount needed changes. If there is any residual, stable diplopia at the end this can be built into spectacle lenses. It does usual resolve in time and the prims will keep her vision single.
Hopefully all will be well.
David

[Arcam]

Don't mess about with stuff like this. Get her to an optician/GP straight away who will refer her to hospital eye clinic.

+1

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[unclealec]

My wife had an acute and serious eye problem that as it turned out needed urgent surgery. She was being seen at 6-monthly intervals by the local opthalmic dept of our nearby general hospital.
When she consulted tham about the synptoms they advised her to go to an optician. We were surprised, but followed the advice and went to Specsavers (which maybe I should have done before marrying her).
Oh! boy did she get fast-tracked (still within the NHS) to a contracted-in specialist, where she received prompt treatment.
So my advice is to go down the optician route rather than the GP route.

[PJdB]

Many thanks for replies so far. Just a quick reply to say that she has been referred to the hospital, but will probably have to wait a month or so for an appointment. Is it worth going private? Is speed of the essence?

[DavidL]

Not good enough. I'd want a patient in far sooner than that.
At the very least the eye dept need to know and then they can make up their mind.
I'll contact The Surrey LOC and see who does what where. Which bit of Surrey are you/she in?
David

[Kingstepper]

Don't know who referred her but if thought a genuine emergency she'd be seen right away.

[Pardalis]

quickest way to see an ophthalmic Doctor is by presenting to A&E, they do not know eyes so she will be seen by the on call eye doc, works very well here.

[mmgg1988]

quickest way to see an ophthalmic Doctor is by presenting to A&E, they do not know eyes so she will be seen by the on call eye doc, works very well here.

Bit of a risky strategy that. Lots of hospitals don’t have eye departments, those that do will not necessarily have any doctors outside of 9-5 either available or on site. Even those that do might not have the capacity to see walk in patients the same day.

[Kingstepper]

Bit of a risky strategy that. Lots of hospitals don’t have eye departments, those that do will not necessarily have any doctors outside of 9-5 either available or on site. Even those that do might not have the capacity to see walk in patients the same day.

An eye department will always have doctors on call, eye injuries don't just happen 9-5.

If there's no eye department pretty sure patient will be directed to one that does.

[mmgg1988]

An eye department will always have doctors on call, eye injuries don't just happen 9-5.

If there's no eye department pretty sure patient will be directed to one that does.

Erm, I work in an eye department that just has doctors on call 9-5....

Yes, the latter is true however I would suggest not waiting potentially several hours to be told that, I would ensure that they have someone available on site before going unless we are talking about a 999 style emergency. I have lost count of the number of understandibly fustrated people who have waited 4 hours to be told actually they should go/have gone to an alternative hospital. What I was trying to suggest is rather turn up at your local A+E with an eye problem, ensure that you can have that problem treated there first. Many smaller local hospitals will not have an on call eye specialist either at all or on site so it is best to travel slightly further in the first instance if urgent treatment is needed.

A slightly extreme example from yesterday is a patient who was nearly sent from Dorset to Southampton for treatment which could not be performed there so they would have to send them on to London. A good way to mess up your day...