My son had a fainting spell during last school year. He told me that ever since the fainting spell his vision isn't right. He said that he sees red, green, and different colors and sometimes it just goes black. I called his doctors office and they told me to take him to an eye doctor. Has anyone ever heard of anything like this before? I am worried. Today he had a bad headache and slept it off for a couple of hours. ?????
Thank you all so much b/c I am worried sick. He is 7 years old and when he had a fainting spell I took him to the emergency room and they diagnosed it as anxiety/vasovagal syncope. I am a little concerned b/c I have a 3 yr old that is epiletic and I don't know if this could be some form of a seizure. He is an overall healthy child and he is just now telling me about this. He told me tonight that ever since he fainted at school he sees red, green and yello. When I asked him if everything was those colors he said that most the time it is one big dot out of the corner of his eye and it moves when he moves. He also said that he was at his friends today playing baseball and he had to tell his friend to hold on b/c he seen those spots and then it went black for a second. I am calling his doctor first thing tomorrow and making them get him in.
Definitely go to the eye doctor. I had horrible vision probs and headaches as a child, and I just needed glasses. Probably just eye strain and needs glasses, but you never know. Please post a follow up. Good luck.
Weird, I had this experience for the first time this morning. It was a horrible feeling. Mine was due to a new medication that I just started and one of the side effects for the first couple doses is low blood pressure. The reason why low blood pressure can cause fainting/dizziness and colored spots/black out tunnel vision is because your brain is momentarily deprives of oxygen after standing up too fast, overexertion or eating a heavy meal.
I 2nd the mama that recommends a neurologist, but I also recommend getting his blood pressure checked out - it's a simple test your dr can give.
And give that baby boy of yours a huge hug for me. I couldn't imagine having to cope with that as a kiddo. Good Luck!
I don't have any experience with this but I think maybe you should have him checked out by a neurologist just in case. An eye doctor maybe helpful as well but, if it were my son, I'd probably want to cover all bases and consult with an neurologist just to cover all bases.
This sounds like it could be a migraine to me. Some people get an aura before. Was everything black or only partially black (like half his vision in one eye). Is he headache the whole head or just on one side of the head. Migraines can cause partial vision loss and headaches are often one sided. My oldest son had them and he got so nauseated he could not sit up and often ended up vomiting. I'd consider a neurologist if you are unhappy at the eye doctor.
Seizures can also have an aura. There are many types and lots of meds today. I'm thinking a neurologist again.
M., I just read the second part of your post. My youngest child has a seizure disorder, but it was the older one that had migraines he outgrew. This does sound more like a migraine to me (I'm no doc) but the neurologist is still the guy to see. Our neurologist put him on meds until he got through puberty. Then all went away. Just wondering if your son ate a hot dog before the "spots." Hot dogs were a trigger for my son.
I don't understand with a fainting spell and now having visual disturbances why your pediatrician isn't getting him in for some testing. A physical would give a good start...blood pressure, a CBC (complete blood count), etc etc
Yes a pediatric ophthalmologist would be a good idea too...but they can take months to get in to see, even with a referral...get your pediatrician's office to call ahead and schedule the appointment for you. You will be able to get in sooner.
How old is your son? has he has any other spells of dizziness?? I would get him in sooner rather than later.
My Husband gets Occipital Migranes - he gets weird color changes, sometimes even a "streak of lightning" going down his field of vision, with clear vision on one side and black on the other. This is usually followed by a terrible migraine (with vomiting) that lasts for several hours. Then he falls asleep and wakes up hours later with it gone. He has seen eye docs and neurolgists, and all they can do is migraine meds. It sounds like this is what your son might have, but don't take my word for it, DEFINTELY see a Neuroglist and eye doc. Best of luck.
What was the reason that he fainted at school? Was there a determination made about that? That is the first thing I would look at. Was he checked by your doctor on that occasion? What did the school nurse have to say at the time of the incident?
I have a relative that is grown that had something like that for awhile that then cleared up on it's own... and it came down to being a blood pressure issue. So I would def follow up from an overall health angle... not just his eyes. Eyes can be very sensitive to pressure changes.
Our neighbor experiences (since she was preteen) something similar to what you describe and she was told it is eye migraines.
How old is your son?
Take him to have his eyes checked. If that is unremarkable, check with a Dr. to see if he is having migraines. I experienced the same thing and found out that I had migraines with an aura (the lights, then blackness) before the onset of the headache. I would demand that the Dr. check into this further. Maybe an MRI or CT of the head. Did they determine why he had a fainting spell? Has he had blood work to check for anemia? It would be better to be safe than sorry. Have the Dr. check into it and if he won't --- find another Dr.
Please make sure to post a follow up.
chollows
HI M.,
Taking him to an eye doctor is a good idea. It's also a good idea to take him to a chiropractor. Sometimes a nerve can get pinched simply by sleeping in the wrong position, falling down or just slumping in front of the TV. Even if there is an eye issue, it can be exacerbated by a subluxation. If you don't have a chiropractor you can go to www.ucspine.com and find one in your area. This is a list of upper cervical specialists. They specialize in working the body together as a whole and keeping the immune system working at its optimum.
God bless,
M.
The vision disturbance sounds like what happens to me before a migraine. I see a lot of different colors and lose my peripheral vision (goes black). I never fainted with one, though. It is not uncommon for a young child to have migraine headaches, or even the vision disturbance without the headache. However, I would take him to the emergency room of your local children's hospital the next time this happens and have him checked out. They could refer you to a specialist and also do tests to see what is going on. God bless!
You didn't say how old your son is. Definitely take him to the eye dr. right away. Could it be "floaters" ? They can look like different colored pieces and they sort of go black when they go away.
I most certainly would not just let your doctor push it off as an eye problem. If I were in your shoes, I think I would have him checked by an eye doctor, but then head to your pediatrician and have him checked out thoroughly. Actually, maybe just skip the pediatrician and go talk to your daughters neurologist (assuming she has one as you said she is epileptic, hopefully not confusing someone else's post). I always suggest keeping a journal of these events. When your son tells you he has seen these colors. Jot down things about that particular day before and after it happens. Such as, what he eats, did he have a stressful day, what is the forecast. did a headache follow, etc. The reason I say this is I am one that gets migraines, but this helped me find the trigger for me. I almost always get them when the weather is about to change. I see the spots and within 15 minutes its a full blown migraine unless I take something during the aura time . As soon as I notice the spots if I take medicine before the headache, it does not come on as strong. I have suggested the journal idea to my epileptic brother in law. It may not work for him, but it certainly cannot hurt to jot it down.
Before I got to the end of your post, i aid to myself migraine. I have them and get aura's which comes in colors like red , purple and it goes to black. I have to sleep in complete darkness and silence for many hours to ease out of it. I used to take Imatrex but now take excedrin for migranes. Def get him checked out and I hope he doesn't have migranes my teenage years were tough because of them they eased up in my 20's and now I get maybe two a year but they are killer.
See a neurologist. My youngest had his first seizure right before Christmas last year at the age of 16. The paramedics, the ER docs, his new neurologist, his nurses....were all asking what he saw before his seizure....
They asked if he saw colors, or flashes, or lights, or shadows, etc....
Since that seemed to be a key question from all the medical personnel right after the incident, I would get him into a neuro.....I don't think it's eye doctor stuff now. Especially since the bad headache.
My son never saw anything before any of his seizures...he goes goes "black" in an instant, but the neuro said sometimes there are visual cues that occur in the brain pre-seizure.
Good luck to you all.
