Quote:
Originally Posted by Vasily
See an eye doctor. No one here is qualified to help you or give you medically sound advice. If there were any medical doctors here, they'd advise you to see a professional rather than coming to an internet forum for advice - a lot of it very bad advice indeed.
To the rest of you here: if you give bad advice, a person takes it, and loses their eyesight or worse (if for example there's a tumor involved), you might be legally liable in case the person or his/her estate decides to pursue action against you.
|
I know that I am late to the party in this string, but I would like to add a comment or two.
While I agree that the OP and others should not take the advice of a random stranger on the internet, your advice "see an eye doctor" could have been better worded in my opinion and in the opinion of The National Eye Institute.
A few years ago, I experienced floaters and 'flashers' on a Sunday. After doing a bit of googling, I went to the ER that same day, Sunday. The ER physician apologetically told me that he would try to examine my eye, but that he lacked the correct equipment to do a proper exam. After the exam, he did not give a diagnosis, but based on the symptoms that I described, the ER physician made an appointment for me to see an ophthalmologist later that day.
The ophthalmologist diagnosed a detached retina and performed laser surgery during that same visit. Again, this all happened on a Sunday.
The ophthalmologist emphasized that flashers or sudden loss of vision constitutes a medical emergency and that time is of the essence in order to avoid losing eye sight. The ophthalmologist gave me a 24-hr phone number for her office in case I have a recurrence
So, advising someone to make an appointment with an eye doctor could result in a 24-hour delay or more. The advice should not be to see an eye doctor; the advice should be to see an ophthalmologist that day or, if it is not possible to get a same-day appointment, go to the ER. ER physicians have emergency access to specialists that the general public does not, esp on a weekend, holiday, or after office hours.
Also, 'eye doctor' is poor, dangerous wording. Some eye injuries, including severe detached retina, can only be remedied by an ophthalmologist, not an optometrist.
The above is not 'my' amateur advice. I am relating here what you will find on these web sites:
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
