I only see "half" of things.

Question

This hasn't ever happened to me before... Well, except when I have my head bent, and then all of a sudden I raise my head back up, so that all the blood rushes to my brain (which causes a split-second "blackout"). Ever had that feeling? Well, right now for about 20 minutes, I've just noticed that I'm having that kind of experience withOUT the split-second blackout-edness. Like, I'd look at ANYTHING, and my eyes would only see half of things.

Ex. I look into a mirror, and it'd seem like I only have one eye, where as the other eye seems to have disappear and is replaced by an empty area of skin.

I have glasses, and I use them, but this JUST happened to me, and so therefore I know that my nearsightedness doesn't really have much to do with this problem - bad eyesight happens slowly and surely, not over night. Can someone help me? It's kind of scaring me... and it's annoying. I've never felt so blind in my entire life.

Answer 1

Is it present in both eyes?

(check each one individually)

If it is, it's not an eye but a cranial (brain) problem.

This doesn't have to be deadly serious: a temporary visual field defect from a visual migraine is actually the most likely cause (those can occur without any other migraine symptoms, but note any other odd effects you experience: it wil help in the diagnosis.)

If the effect is only in one eye (if it was in your dominant one you might not have realised this)  it is more likely to be due to a swelling or haemorrhage on the retina,  This may also be a purely temporary problem, but no-one can promise that, certainly not before examination.

Any which way, it needs an ophthalmologist's opinion, promptly (ring in to get their opinion of urgency), to make sure it is not one of the rarer but more serious possibilities.

Eye/brain problems can happen quickly I'm afraid.

Best wishes, Optometrist, retired.

Answer 2

Call any ophthalmologist in your area and tell them you are only seeing half of things with one eye... Get in ASAP.  Any good ophthalmologist will have you in today when you call with those symptoms.  Yahoo is not the place to be seeking answers on this problem.