sudden crossed eye

[jeudi]

My friend woke up this morning with a crossed eye. Yesterday, she had a dermatologic procedure on her nose in which some skin was removed. I believe her skin was frozen. I have read online that a crossed eye may be due to a stroke. Is this always the case? Can this be a temporary thing related to the dermatologic procedure? Any advice would be appreciated. Do we need to spend the day in the emergency room? There are no other apparent symptoms -- no dizziness, etc.

[Michael J Kutryb, MD]

This could be a sign of a stroke or a cranial nerve palsy or even an aneurysm among other things so it is very important for her to be seen immediately by an ophthalmologist or the emergency room.

[jeudi]

Thank you for that response, Dr. Kutryb. My friend did call her doctor's office. They said that since there weren't any other symptoms she shouldn't worry. She was away. As soon as she got home, she saw an ophthalmologist here in New York State, who reassured her that she didn't have a stroke or any other hidden problems but that the cause was not known. We were able to tell the opthalmologist that the sudden crossed eye symptom seemed to be present upon awaking and dissipated during the first hours of the day. Does this help to suggest a cause? My friend is 65 years old, has eye allergies (dry eye and allergies) and will soon be starting on Zaditor and Similasan Dry Eye and Allergy Eye formulas.