3 Potential Causes For Temporary Blindness

There are many reasons people could experience a temporary loss of vision, which is also known as amaurosis fugax. Usually, if somebody is suffering vision loss that lasts for extended periods of time, it’s because they‘re experiencing symptoms of a bigger problem.

What’s the Cause of Temporary Blindness?

With most patients, temporary blindness only lasts for a few seconds to a few minutes. But if you’re experiencing temporary blindness for hours at a time, you could be losing your vision or suffering from an underlying condition that’s directly affecting your eyes. Here are a few possible causes for severe cases of temporary blindness:

1) Intense migraine headaches

People who experience frequent migraine headaches are susceptible to temporary vision loss because these headaches narrow the blood vessels found in the eyes.

2) Acute angle-closure glaucoma

This is a more common reason people lose sight in one of their eyes. It’s a type of glaucoma that’s directly related to pressure buildup in the eyes, but it is treatable.

3) Sickle cell disease can cause vision problems

Sickle cell is a genetic condition. If your family has a history of sickle cell, be on the lookout for these symptoms to catch and treat them earlier.

Temporary blindness could be a precursor to a stroke, symptoms of sickle cell, or the beginning stages of acute angle-closure glaucoma. In any situation, go to a doctor as quickly as possible so your condition can be diagnosed and treated before it gets worse.

What Can Be Done About Temporary Blindness?

There are some treatments that can eliminate temporary blindness. People think they may just need eyeglasses, but this may not always be the case. If the cause of the blindness is glaucoma, then treatments can be provided to alleviate the pressure and hopefully reduce the temporary blindness. If the cause of the blindness is something like sickle cell, then it can only be treated as it happens. If you’re having problems with temporary vision loss, schedule an eye exam as soon as possible.

About Gould Vision in Miami Beach

Gould Vision has provided quality eye care to thousands of patients. With the persistence of our founder and head optometrist, Dr. Adina Gould, our state-of-the-art Miami Beach facility was completed in August 2009. Our centrally-located office also serves the nearby areas of Surfside, Bay Harbor Islands, and South Beach, Florida.

Call (786) 462-9500 To Schedule An Appointment With Our Eye Doctors in Miami Beach!