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What Causes Redness And Dots In The Field Of Vision?
Question: My mother woke up this morning and said that things looked red. She used to see dots but said that the dots are gone and that half of everything looks red like it has blood on it. What is happening to her vision? She is 90 years old.
Brief Answer:
Read below.
Detailed Answer:
I read your question carefully and I understand your concern.
From your description it seems that the symptoms are on one half of the visual field, on both eyes. In this case the cause would be in the brain, not in the eye itself, as each half of the brain receives input and is responsible for half of the visual field (the opposite side half). The type of damage considering her age could be in the setting of a stroke in the occipital area, the vision area. The diagnostic test is head imaging preferably by MRI, but a CT may be enough as well.
If on the other hand by half you mean on one eye, seeing all red with one eye and all normal with the other (can be tried be covering and trying first one eye and then the other) then it is an issue of the eye itself like diabetic retinopathy (if diabetic), retinal detachment, cataract etc, which can differentiated by direct eye exam.
I remain at your disposal for other questions
Read below.
Detailed Answer:
I read your question carefully and I understand your concern.
From your description it seems that the symptoms are on one half of the visual field, on both eyes. In this case the cause would be in the brain, not in the eye itself, as each half of the brain receives input and is responsible for half of the visual field (the opposite side half). The type of damage considering her age could be in the setting of a stroke in the occipital area, the vision area. The diagnostic test is head imaging preferably by MRI, but a CT may be enough as well.
If on the other hand by half you mean on one eye, seeing all red with one eye and all normal with the other (can be tried be covering and trying first one eye and then the other) then it is an issue of the eye itself like diabetic retinopathy (if diabetic), retinal detachment, cataract etc, which can differentiated by direct eye exam.
I remain at your disposal for other questions
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Thank you for your reply. What do you mean when you said at her age could be in the setting of a stroke in the occipital area? Is this something that should be looked into immediately? She has a scheduled appointment with her eye doctor on 11/25/15. She is resting now...she said the red is gone, but, the dots are back. Is there anything I can do until her appointment on the 25th?
Brief Answer:
Read below
Detailed Answer:
By age I meant that an elderly person generally is at a higher risk for stroke (as any disease of blood vessels). If it was say a 30 year old patient stroke wouldn't be as likely a brain related cause, could be migrainous aura, inflammation etc.
If as I said it is a manifestation which includes all her half of the visual field, meaning same half for both eyes, then yes it should be looked immediately (in the ER) as that type of involvement is typical for the brain impairment, not the eyes, not both eyes at the same time for the same half of the visual field. So an abrupt brain related deficit should prompt a consideration for stroke and a stroke is an emergency in order to diagnose it, predisposing factors and preventive measures for preventing other strokes in the future.
Read below
Detailed Answer:
By age I meant that an elderly person generally is at a higher risk for stroke (as any disease of blood vessels). If it was say a 30 year old patient stroke wouldn't be as likely a brain related cause, could be migrainous aura, inflammation etc.
If as I said it is a manifestation which includes all her half of the visual field, meaning same half for both eyes, then yes it should be looked immediately (in the ER) as that type of involvement is typical for the brain impairment, not the eyes, not both eyes at the same time for the same half of the visual field. So an abrupt brain related deficit should prompt a consideration for stroke and a stroke is an emergency in order to diagnose it, predisposing factors and preventive measures for preventing other strokes in the future.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
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