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one-time night blindness in one eye

Hi everyone,

To start with, I'm a 20 year old healthy female. I few nights ago something really strange happened to me when I turned out the light to go to sleep. A few minutes after I turned the light off, when my eyes should have adjusted to the dark, something didn't seem right with my vision. So I covered my left eye with my hand, leaving my right eye open, and everything went pitch black. I couldn't see anything out of my right eye. With my left eye I could see the shapes and shadows that you can usually make out in a dark room, but out of my right eye was just total pitch blackness. I turned my light back on, and everything was completely normal; I could see with both eyes. Then I turned the light out again, and once again, I had vision in my left eye but not in my right.

This happened a few nights ago, and it hasn't happened again since. This is probably irrevelant but I thought I'd mention it- I have a couple of enlarged lymph nodes as well as a swollen tonsil on the right side of my neck/head that have all been checked out by a doctor. I also have a new lump on the top of my head, also on the right side. As I said, this is probably all irrevelant to the vision problem, but I thought that maybe since all of this is on the right side of my head, which is the same side as the problem eye, it could somehow be involved.
Does anyone have any ideas of what could cause one-time temporary night blindness in one eye? Thank you for reading!
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Avatar universal
I am shocked that so few ophthalmologist seem to know or understand this phenomenon.  My left eye often goes COMPLETELY blind after I read or work on a computer for extended time.  I have mono-vision with my left eye dominant for near vision and it becomes light saturated when I read or do computer work.  My distance-dominant right eye sometimes even closes the eyelid during that time, since it is not being used while I work on a computer or read at night. When I turn off the lights, the left eye blindness lasts for a long time and I can't see anything at all from that eye...which is quite disturbing.  Of course if I turn the light back on it is fine. So, clearly it isn't a detached retina, or a stroke or a macular hole since all of those conditions would not improve with turning the light back on. I've had all the usual eye exams finding nothing at all wrong.  This blog was very helpful. http://scienceblogs.com/cognitivedaily/2008/05/15/how-to-make-your-eye-feel-like/  Luckily, I found it before I had CT scans etc etc.
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177275 tn?1511755244
Thanks for the follow up information.
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Avatar universal
I just wanted to update the forum about my condition.  I did go see an ophthalmologist who did all the tests possible within an office setting.  I have a family history of Fuch's disease and am very myopic, which increases my chances for retinal tears.  Everything came back normal.  I do have neck problems and headaches, so it was recommended that I go do an MRA/MRI of my neck and brain to see if blood flow was normal.  If you can afford it, definitely do an MRI/MRA as it looks at all the arteries in your brain/neck, if not, you may see if you can do an doppler ultrasound, which studies the main carotid arteries.  Everything came back normal, except that they found I had severe sinusitis, which I was referred to an ENT for.  That could be the problem with my headaches.  I will also go see a physical therapist/acupuncturist to see if that will help.  Back to topic, my ophthamologist recommended that I moisturize my eyes as much as possible.  So she gave me some Refresh Liquid Gel drops to take before bed.  I found that has helped.  I have not had the issue since my appointment (cross fingers), so we will see.....   My recommendation through this ordeal is to do all you can to rule out any "major" conditions and, if not, follow common sense.  Get a good night sleep (I find that my condition tends to flare up when I don't sleep full 8 hrs), moisturize your eye as possible, especially in this computer age, and kind of wait and see.  Hope this helps anyone!
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177275 tn?1511755244
You do of course Lizc3 need to see an ophthalmologist or optometrist for a baseline eye exam. However what you describe can be explained by having one eye exposed to more light than the other, like a reading light on one side. When you turn the lights off the side nearest the light will have the worse vision and take the longest to see normal in the dark. This is due to the fact that the visual pigments the  eyes sees with are bleached out by the light on one side more than the other.  That side will take longer to shift from the light vision system of the retina (photopic vision) to the night vision system (scotopic)

JCHMD
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Avatar universal
I have had night blindness a few times now. I havent kept track of the eye that goes "blind" but this time I can tell how it happened. After reading the doctor'a response I feel a little relieved but Im not so sure if it is a normal thing. I was lying in bed on my tummy and the room is completely dark except that there is some light from coming from a window but almost nothing. I was reading my phone with just my right eye (with my head turned to the right, still lying on my tummy). Then I turned the screen off and tried to grab some water from my bedside table and noticed this happened away. My vision was way darker on my right eye. This has happened more than 3 times already maybe. It takes me a lot to see the same on both eyes. Is this really normal? :/... Thanks a lot!
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177275 tn?1511755244
Force:   Almost impossible that your hare retinitis pigmentosa (RP).  RP is an easy diagnosis to make in most cases, the changes in the retina are profound, the symptoms don't match yours or what's posted in most of this discussions, is associated with severe night blindness, is constant and progressive.

I think your OD friend and ER cousins are spot on.

JCH MD
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177275 tn?1511755244
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