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Hi Dr., I M Writing Because I Bumped My Left

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Posted on Fri, 15 Feb 2019
Question: Hi Dr.,

I'm writing because I bumped my left temple against an open cupboard about a half hour. It wasn't very hard, but enough to be a little jostling. I don't have any pain or swelling in the area or dizziness, but one symptom I have noticed is that my vision in just my left eye seems a bit blurry when I close my right eye. Is that normal? It doesn't seem extremely blurry, just more so than my right eye, which is much clearer. Is this something I should be worried about or seek additional urgent care if I am presenting no other symptoms? Should I take any anti-inflammatories like aspirin or ibuprofen? Please let me know what action to take or what symptoms to be aware of going forward. Thank you,
doctor
Answered by Dr. Dariush Saghafi (3 hours later)
Brief Answer:
You should be evaluated by a an eye specialist...possibly a neurologist

Detailed Answer:
Good evening and thank your for your question.

It is not that easy to determine the gravity of your situation without examining you first hand but my instinct tells me that you may have caused some damage to either the left eye itself from the severity of the impact or in the more extreme case, even the brain by way of a mild concussion. Admittedly, your symptoms for concussion are not very strong. BTW, one does not need to lose consciousness to have suffered a concussion (in case you were wondering).

The blurriness of vision could be as a result to a slight misalignment or weakness in the ocular muscles that hold the eyeballs themselves focused correctly on a target. The bang to the head may have caused some interference in this system so I would recommend that an OPHTHALMOLOGIST take a look at you for normal eye movements to check for any misalignment of gaze.....Even an ER doctor could take a look at and IN the eye to be sure there is no evidence of a bleed either where you smacked the temple or inside the eyeball itself involving the lens, the retina, etc.

Also, an ER doc could assess you for the possibility of concussion or as is referred to these days, TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY (TBI). What you wrote to me sounds as if there is some degree of blurriness in the right eye as well but that the left eye is definitely WORSE....this suggests that both right and left eye fields may be compromised and that would more likely bode in favor of a TBI as opposed to local damage to the left temple or eye area. Again, the best person to fully this would be either an ophthalmologist or NEUROLOGIST experienced in TBI evaluation.

I would advise AGAINST taking anything at this point except perhaps ACETAMINOPHEN (Tylenol) if pain is unrelenting. Perhaps, a cold pack over the left temple would be a rapid way of reducing pain and swelling and this by itself may be sufficient to give you some short term relief without having to take anything. The danger is that if there were any bleeding going on the use of ASPIRIN, IBUPROFEN, NAPROXEN, and medications similar to those could prolong or exacerbate bleeding. So until someone's looked into the fundus of the eye as well as the left ORBIT to give you the ALL CLEAR....I would resist taking aspirin or aspirin like substances.

Once again, many thanks for the opportunity to answer your questions. I hope your outcomes are healthy and expedited! If I've provided useful information could you do me the favor of CLOSING THIS QUERY with a 5 STAR rating and positive feedback?

Time spent on assessing and researching patient's question and synthesizing a response was 20 minutes.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
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Answered by
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Dr. Dariush Saghafi

Neurologist

Practicing since :1988

Answered : 2472 Questions

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Hi Dr., I M Writing Because I Bumped My Left

Brief Answer: You should be evaluated by a an eye specialist...possibly a neurologist Detailed Answer: Good evening and thank your for your question. It is not that easy to determine the gravity of your situation without examining you first hand but my instinct tells me that you may have caused some damage to either the left eye itself from the severity of the impact or in the more extreme case, even the brain by way of a mild concussion. Admittedly, your symptoms for concussion are not very strong. BTW, one does not need to lose consciousness to have suffered a concussion (in case you were wondering). The blurriness of vision could be as a result to a slight misalignment or weakness in the ocular muscles that hold the eyeballs themselves focused correctly on a target. The bang to the head may have caused some interference in this system so I would recommend that an OPHTHALMOLOGIST take a look at you for normal eye movements to check for any misalignment of gaze.....Even an ER doctor could take a look at and IN the eye to be sure there is no evidence of a bleed either where you smacked the temple or inside the eyeball itself involving the lens, the retina, etc. Also, an ER doc could assess you for the possibility of concussion or as is referred to these days, TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY (TBI). What you wrote to me sounds as if there is some degree of blurriness in the right eye as well but that the left eye is definitely WORSE....this suggests that both right and left eye fields may be compromised and that would more likely bode in favor of a TBI as opposed to local damage to the left temple or eye area. Again, the best person to fully this would be either an ophthalmologist or NEUROLOGIST experienced in TBI evaluation. I would advise AGAINST taking anything at this point except perhaps ACETAMINOPHEN (Tylenol) if pain is unrelenting. Perhaps, a cold pack over the left temple would be a rapid way of reducing pain and swelling and this by itself may be sufficient to give you some short term relief without having to take anything. The danger is that if there were any bleeding going on the use of ASPIRIN, IBUPROFEN, NAPROXEN, and medications similar to those could prolong or exacerbate bleeding. So until someone's looked into the fundus of the eye as well as the left ORBIT to give you the ALL CLEAR....I would resist taking aspirin or aspirin like substances. Once again, many thanks for the opportunity to answer your questions. I hope your outcomes are healthy and expedited! If I've provided useful information could you do me the favor of CLOSING THIS QUERY with a 5 STAR rating and positive feedback? Time spent on assessing and researching patient's question and synthesizing a response was 20 minutes.