Is there a doctor in the house?

[S-Des]

My apologies if I'm in the wrong area, this seemed like the best place to ask. I have had a problem in researching something for a story I'm working on. I've looked for hours, but haven't found what I need. It's about someone who temporarily loses his sight due to a blow to the head. Most of the story takes place in the hospital. I've confirmed that a concusion can cause temporary blindness, but can't find anything in regards to treatment or specifics that would help me relate the events that take place. I know how irked people can get when it comes to therapists, so I didn't want to wander into dangerous waters without knowing what I was talking about. I don't want to take shortcuts, does anyone know a place I could look for facts? Has anybody had any experience with this?

 

[sincerely_helene]

My apologies if I'm in the wrong area, this seemed like the best place to ask. I have had a problem in researching something for a story I'm working on. I've looked for hours, but haven't found what I need. It's about someone who temporarily loses his sight due to a blow to the head. Most of the story takes place in the hospital. I've confirmed that a concusion can cause temporary blindness, but can't find anything in regards to treatment or specifics that would help me relate the events that take place. I know how irked people can get when it comes to therapists, so I didn't want to wander into dangerous waters without knowing what I was talking about. I don't want to take shortcuts, does anyone know a place I could look for facts? Has anybody had any experience with this?

This link is boring as hell, but it was by far the most informative I came across. http://www.thamburaj.com/optic_nerve_injuries.htm It should provide you with other specifics and terminology as well, should you need them.

Since the blindness is usually temporary, it sounds like they don't do a whole lot other than wait for the vision to return. If you scroll near the bottom of that link, it lists various medications to help the healing process along as well as describes the surgical procedure implimented in worst case scenarios. The type of condition your are talking about would commonly be refered to as "indirect," meaning caused by a blow to the forehead.

I could be wrong, but you might also want to check your spelling on "concusion." I thought it was "concussion."

 

[S-Des]

Spell checker saves my life

Sorry, I knew I spelled that wrong but forgot to fix it. I'm really tired. Thanks for the link, I'll check it out.

 

[entitled]

Been there, done that, but it was years ago. At least at that time there was nothing anybody could do but wait and see if vision came back.

It did.

At least most of it - got stuck with glasses/contacts.

 

[Weird Harold]

It's about someone who temporarily loses his sight due to a blow to the head. Most of the story takes place in the hospital. I've confirmed that a concusion can cause temporary blindness, but can't find anything in regards to treatment or specifics that would help me relate the events that take place.

If you're telling the story from the patient's POV, you an just fall back on the tendency of doctors and nurses to not tell the patient what's going on.

AFAIK, treatment of a conscusion amounts to just keeping the patient from exerting themself and controlling blood pressure with medication.

You also need to decide if the concussion is a direct cause of the blindness -- e.g. swelling and pressure on the optic center of the brain -- or if it's a concurrent injury and the blindness is caused by damage or pressure to the optic nerve or damage to the retina.

Essentially, if the blindness is temporary, it is likely to be caused by swelling and the treatment for swelling doesn't vary much with where the swelling occurs.

 

[S-Des]

You guys are so good

I was thinking pressure from the swelling (either I'm not very original or you guys are really good). My two biggest issues were #1) Would they keep him under bandages to avoid him straining, then just take them off to see how much better he was (that kind of sounds like the plot of a bad movie). #2) Are there tests (CAT Scans or others) that would alert the doctors to his present condition.

Without giving much away, for it to work the way I imagined it, he needs to be under the bandages without seeing anything until they come off. At that point, he needs to have enough vision to function (I don't care if it takes him time to fully recover). The link helene gave me didn't seem to address what I was trying to find (although I admit I might not be smart enough to understand it). From what Entitled and Harold said, I think I'm OK.

If anyone disagrees, please post or email me. As I said, I don't want to disrespect the doctors (or people who've been patients) by just making crap up. I'm hoping to keep it close to reality. It would suck to spend months writing a story only to get busted for cheating.

Thanks again.

 

[entitled]

They could use CAT scans, yes. They probably wouldn't keep it bandaged, though. They didn't wtih me.

 

[Colleen Thomas]

For a severe concussion, a Cat scan and MRI are generally called for. You have to keep in mind that swelling in the brain case is dangerous because it's enclosed. Toridol is one commonly prescribed anti inflamatory. there are others that are stronger, but at least here toridol is the main oral drug used.

In general, they wouldn't cover the eyes if the blindness was due to head trauma. Usually, the yes are covered when the cause is directly related to the eyes. They would cover your eyes for a torn retina or scratched cornea, but it wouldn't serve a great deal of purpose if the damage had nothing to do with the eyes and their function.

 

[thambok]

Have you considered Retinal Detahcment?

Can be caused by a blow to the head.

Can cause temporary sight loss until repaired.

Some treatments will result in eyes being covered.

Just a thought, but it seems to meet your needs.

 

[efevece]

Concussion

Generally a concussion will not impare vision completelly. Cerebral or retinal edema may be present but will not lessen your vision to blindness (even for a short time)

Vitreous hemorrage, or retinal hemorrage may occur in direct trauma of the eyes. Loss of vision is possibly more severe and may last longer.

There are many other possibilities. It all depends on how bad the caracter vison must be deteriorated and the duration of the event.

Try the America Academy of Ophthalmology (http://www.aao.org) or PM me.

 

[gauchecritic]

Actual blindness (as far as I'm aware and am mostly guessing) would mostly only occur in situations where the optic nerve is compromised. ie trauma, increased pressure etc.

Here I'm tagging blindness as blackness (which I think is how people commonly think of blindness.) Other trauma to various parts of the eye, lens, retina etc would (I think) result in being unable to see clearly, that is light and dark or movement and so on. Which are obviously just as deblilitating, in that you wouldn't be able to read or focus.

One option you may care to examine, which would preclude any surgery and finding a cure any time soon, would be hysterical blindness. In other words, no apparent physical cause.

Now as to whether hysteria would cause blindness or just because a physical cause can't be found it would be termed hysterical, I have no idea. But it does offer the option of medical types getting on your case about realism.

However, you must bear in mind that I may well have invented the term 'hysterical blindness' from whole cloth.

I just googled it and there were about 205,000 references, so I must have read it somewhere.

If you do you use the term 'hysterical' try looking up the origins of the word, they are highly amusing in particular it's linkage with the medical term 'hysterectomy'

 

[sincerely_helene]

The link helene gave me didn't seem to address what I was trying to find (although I admit I might not be smart enough to understand it). From what Entitled and Harold said, I think I'm OK.

Actually, that link does address every question you have asked on the topic so far, if you are patient with it and read in its entirety. Since it also provides information on various types of optic injuries, it can be a bit confusing to sift through what applies specifically to the characters in your story (not to mention translating all the medical jargon in between.) I certainly don't think it's that "you aren't smart enough" to understand it, either. I have a feeling it probably just bored you enough that you gave up on it. I know I almost did.

Unfortunetly, it was also the most informative resource I came across, so I'm afraid you're on your own now.

 

[Guest]

I hit my head head once so hard I saw stars and stuf but it was night time so that might have been part of it but you can bet I won't be having girlie sex on a tile patio and stuff cause when I gasmed I kinda sqirted on the tile and it made it really slippery and stuff and let me tell you iron patio furnicher is hard to start with but even harder when you hit your head on it and stuff.

Debbie