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Suggest Treatment For Hard Lump Behind The Temple
Question: For years I've had a quarter size hard lump behind my temple. Progressively my vision has weekend, constant headaches, and my eyes seem to cross as I try to focus. I have mentioned this to a GP who made nothing of it. My main reason to be seen was complications of sickle cell disease. I am worried my short term memory has been horrible for most of my life.
Brief Answer:
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Detailed Answer:
I read your question carefully and I understand your concern.
Regarding the lump that you mentioned I would agree with your GP that it is nothing to worry about, at least not regarding brain issues. The brain is safely located inside the thick vault of the skull, while that lump is on the surface, it doesn't affect the brain in any way.
As for the other issues you mentioned with the vision and memory, they do not seem related to one particular brain area, sites for vision, eye movement and memory are in different locations in the brain. That makes brain lesions such as tumors or stroke unlikely. Neurodegenerative conditions affecting memory are unlikely at your age as well. So this lack of correlation in a young patient is more commonly related to anxiety and that would be my first hypothesis. Anxiety may manifest with all those issues.
However if one wanted to go in depth and make sure, it can be checked by an eye exam for the vision and through standardized neuropsychological tests for memory and cognitive functions like the XXXXXXX mental state exam (sort of like questionnaires to test cognitive functions).
I remain at your disposal for other questions.
Read below
Detailed Answer:
I read your question carefully and I understand your concern.
Regarding the lump that you mentioned I would agree with your GP that it is nothing to worry about, at least not regarding brain issues. The brain is safely located inside the thick vault of the skull, while that lump is on the surface, it doesn't affect the brain in any way.
As for the other issues you mentioned with the vision and memory, they do not seem related to one particular brain area, sites for vision, eye movement and memory are in different locations in the brain. That makes brain lesions such as tumors or stroke unlikely. Neurodegenerative conditions affecting memory are unlikely at your age as well. So this lack of correlation in a young patient is more commonly related to anxiety and that would be my first hypothesis. Anxiety may manifest with all those issues.
However if one wanted to go in depth and make sure, it can be checked by an eye exam for the vision and through standardized neuropsychological tests for memory and cognitive functions like the XXXXXXX mental state exam (sort of like questionnaires to test cognitive functions).
I remain at your disposal for other questions.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Answered by
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