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Medical Forum / General / Vision / October 2005eye dilation
My husband had his eye dilated yesterday afternoon for numerous tests--they kept adding more dilating drops as time went on--and his eye is still dilated 24 hours later--does that indicate some problem or just that the doctors used a lot of drops? He is now on a topical steroid drop for inflammation--could that lengthen the period of dilation? -Gudrun > My husband had his eye dilated yesterday afternoon for numerous > tests--they kept adding more dilating drops as time went on--and his [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > dilation? > -Gudrun Dilation for routine examination generally lasts a few hours. Sometimes more potent drops or multiple dosing is required and that can cause the effect to last considerably longer. But your statement that he was given steroid drops for inflammation adds another possibility: if he is being treated for an internal ocular condition requiring steroids, part of that treatment may be to keep the pupils dilated for one or more days. Why not just pick up the telephone and call the doctor and ask! --LB, O.D. > > My husband had his eye dilated yesterday afternoon for numerous > > tests--they kept adding more dilating drops as time went on--and his [quoted text clipped - 15 lines] > > --LB, O.D. Thanks. I only asked here because he had just had a long conversation with his doctor's office and forgot to ask about the dilated eye. His pupil gradually went back to normal in the next couple of hours so he didn't bother to call back. I've had my eyes dilated for exams and photos and various other tests and my pupils have never been completely normal until the next morning, but I've never had dilation last into the next day--that's why it concerned me. I assume that for some people, dilation lasts longer than for others. -Gudrun >> > My husband had his eye dilated yesterday afternoon for numerous >> > tests--they kept adding more dilating drops as time went on--and his [quoted text clipped - 25 lines] >some people, dilation lasts longer than for others. >-Gudrun I believe that's true of light-eyed people, too: Dilation takes less and lasts longer. Yeah, this happens to me every time I get my eyes dilated (i.e., every time I go in for an ocular assessment ... which is once a year). Last year my doc commented that my eyes dilate "very, very quickly" ... they also take forever to go back to normal. I'm not light-eyed per se ... but my eyes are medium brown I guess ... ah well ... 'tis life. > Yeah, this happens to me every time I get my eyes dilated (i.e., every > time I go in for an ocular assessment ... which is once a year). Last > year my doc commented that my eyes dilate "very, very quickly" ... they > also take forever to go back to normal. I'm not light-eyed per se ... > but my eyes are medium brown I guess ... ah well ... 'tis life. My husband is blue-eyed so maybe that is one reason. But I have brown eyes and they still stay dilated the rest of the day--not just a few hours. It occurred to me that although his appointment was at 2:30 and he was dilated then, they gave him more dilating drops at 5:30--he was there until almost 6--so maybe that's why it lasted into the next day. -Gudrun Dilation from Tropicamide typically lasts about 4 hours. With cyclopentolate, 6 - 24 hours. With homatropine, 24 - 48 hours. Atropine, 72 + hours. When treating something like iritis/anterior unveitis, prolonged cycloplegia is desireable for therpeutic reasons. I had a patient call me on my cell from Florida. She evidently suffered a contact lens-related corneal abrasion. She saw a local OMD, who put her on antibiotic/steroid combo, but she was in terrible pain, had to get ready for an overseas flight and couldn't function. I called in an RX for cyclopentolate, which caused prompt relief of the eye socket pain. It's amazing how that can make a difference. DrG > Dilation from Tropicamide typically lasts about 4 hours. With > cyclopentolate, 6 - 24 hours. With homatropine, 24 - 48 hours. [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] > > DrG Dr. L, thank you for your explanation of the various dilation medications. I'm glad you replied. At this point my husband doesn't even really have a diagnosis. He's had a fluorescein angiogram, ultrasound, OCT and now he is having an MRI. The retina specialist put him on prednisone to see if that would bring down the inflammation. He says all these tests are giving contradictory results and he is still not sure what is the problem. There is an elevated area in the retina but he can't figure out what is causing it. He did mention posterior uveitis or scleritis but says it doesn't really look that much like those. Maybe we should go to another retina specialist. -Gudrun It sounds like the prolonged dilation was more for diagnostic testing than for any therapeutic treatment. I routinely send patients to retinal specialists who work in a large group setting. It seems like they all have their areas of specialization, and so sometimes a patient may be seen by two or three retinal specialists within the same group. DrG > It sounds like the prolonged dilation was more for diagnostic testing > than for any therapeutic treatment. [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > > DrG Interesting. My husband has been seen by two of the retina specialists in the group but they both seem baffled. MRI was normal, btw--no mass. Angiogram showed some leakage from a hole, but the retina specialist didn't say where the hole is. Ultrasound showed the elevation of the retina but it consists of normal "eye material", according to what he told my husband. Haven't heard the results of the OCT yet. Just from my own research it sounds most like central serous retinopathy but I would think any retina specialist could tell that when he sees it. There are four retina specialists in that practice; I hope they put their heads together. Since the problem seems to be going away with the prednisone, maybe we'll never know what it was. I think they have done every possible test. -Gudrun |
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