The mother of a 16 year old girl called the office towards the end of the day recently.  The daughter had been at soccer practice and was struck in the face over her left eye by a hard kicked ball.  She was experiencing some “squiggly lines” in her vision.  We had her come in immediately for evaluation.

Even though the eye was not hit directly by the ball, the “jolt” of the ball striking the surrounding area caused damage inside the eye as the contents of the eye were shaken up.  In the periphery of her left eye (way off to the side), the vitreous gel had pulled loose from her retina and torn some blood vessels in the process.  This caused a hemorrhage, or blood leak.  This phenomenon is called “commotio retinae”.

The patient was sent immediately to the office of a retinal specialist for further evaluation.  In some cases, the retina can actually detach and require immediate surgical intervention.  In this case, the retina was intact and no treatment was necessary at that time.  She will soon be cleared for full activity in both soccer and volleyball.

The take-home message here is that even if things “seem OK” after trauma, it’s best to get checked out as soon as possible.  Like many things in life, eye problems can be much easier to fix sooner rather than later.

Advertisement