Question
Hi:
I'm curious about a hypothetical medical condition with the only symptom being paroxsymal complete blindness in the left eye, while the right eye is totally unaffected. This blindness is *without* any blackness, darkening or dimming of vision. Now for those of you who think the blindness is the same thing as seeing blackness when you close your eyes - you are completely wrong. This blindness is like trying to see and there is nothing registering with the brain. You don't see blackness... you don't 'see' anything. The sense to see from the left eye is completely absent.
This unilateral blindness can occur anytime. Episodes can directly affect dreams & hallucinations as well. If an attack occurs while dreaming, the visual dream perceptions seen as from the left eye will completely go blank and dreaming will continue only from what is perceived as being from the right eye.
In this type of unilateral blindness, conditions that would normally cause visual hallucinations from the left eye, will not cause those hallucinations. For example, if the patient is using LSD [or other hallucinogens], the visual hallucinations will only be perceived from the right eye, with the left being totally-blank.
Has anyone ever experienced these symptoms?
This is one powerful form of blindness! To affect dreams/hallucinations!
Normally even a totally-blind subject will still be able to see in dreams/hallucinations so long as the blindness is not congenital. Not in the case of this unilateral visual aura, though!!!!
Thanks,
Green
Answer
Unilateral visual loss of any kind warrants further investigation and analysis - even if it happens for a few minutes, but especially if it happens frequently. MRI, CT scans, Doppler, Ultrasonography are often times performed to rule out blockages, stenosis, masses, or other retro- bulbar (behind the eye) lesions. See your primary care physician and/or a neuro-ophthamlogist or neurologist. Ocular or ophthlmic migraine can also produce this symtoms. Hope this helps
Dr. Ken
