What Causes Double Vision In An Elderly Person?

Posted on Sun, 5 Mar 2017

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Sun, 5 Mar 2017 Answered on

Mon, 3 Apr 2017 Last reviewed on

Question : Hi. I am a 75 year old male in good health. This afternoon in had a short spell of double vision which went away after about one minute. I played 18 holes of golf today and felt fine. I came home had lunch and then about two hours later I was sitting on the couch when this episode took place. I took a drink of water and the double vision went away as fast as in came on. I have not had any symptoms since and that occurred about 3:15 pm. I checked my blood pressure twice on a home machine and it was 130 / 70 and my pulse was 64 all of which is typical for me. I wonder if you can tell what may have been the cause of my double vision.

Answered by Dr. Dr. Prasad J (1 hour later)

Brief Answer:
Consider starting antiplatelet drugs...

Detailed Answer:
Hi,

I went through your details with diligence. Yes, a syncope could explain the sudden reversible episode of double vision. But I would not want to neglect it completely, not until you have had a brain scan, doppler scan of neck, EKG and a echocardiogram. If these tests were not performed in the past, I will encourage you to get this done.

Please discuss my views with your local physician. I hope he will share my views and order them. Further I will also discuss starting antiplatelet drugs as a preventive option.

Hope this helps. Let me know if you need clarifications.

Regards

Note: Get a consultation booked to know more about aging related medical issues. Click here.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar