Brief Answer:
By early diagnosis and treatment blindness can be prevented.

Detailed Answer:
Hello

Welcome to Health care Magic.

I am Dr. DADAPEER K, an Ophthalmologist and I will be answering your question.

I reviewed your history.
Temporal arteritis usually affects elderly people. The eye manifestations include involvement of the optic nerve resulting in arteritic ischemic optic neuropathy. If not treated this can cause blindness.
If treatment is started early blindness can be prevented. The treatment is by use of steroids. The steroids are required in the form of intravenous methyl prednisolone followed by oral steroids.
The diagnosis is made by elevated ESR level as detected by blood test. The confirmatory diagnosis is by temporal artery biopsy.
If the diagnosis is delayed and if it has caused blindness then the blindness in the affected eye cannot be reversed, but treatment by oral steroids is required to prevent the same problem from occurring in the normal eye.
Being an ophthalmologist I have been involved in evaluation and treating patients with this problem. With early diagnosis and treatment they are doing well with no blindness.
I advice for thorough systemic evaluation to rule out associated systemic autoimmune diseases.

Provide me more details like vision in the affected eye, examination reports....
so that I can advice you more accurately.

Hope this is helpful to you.
Do write back to me for further questions.

Thank you

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Brief Answer:
Low visual aids can be tried.

Detailed Answer:
Hello
Thank you for the follow up question.

I reviewed your history.
If there is already blindness because of temporal arteritis, there is no treatment available to reverse and cure the blindness.
But not to loose hope there are treatment options available to safeguard the existing vision and to prevent further vision. The next option available is low visual aid to help in seeing with low vision.

At the same time evaluation is required to find out the underlying and associated causes and treatment with steroids is required to prevent recurrence of the temporal arteritis and systemic problems.

Please provide me her visual acuity level in both the eyes and investigation reports if any so that I can advice you more accurately.


Hope this is helpful to you.
Do write back to me for further questions.

Thank you

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