During a consultation, your doctor will use various techniques in his assesment of the symptom: Pupil dilation. These may include a physical examination or other medical tests. Your doctor may ask several questions when assessing your condition. It is important to remember that your consultation is a two-way process and any extra information you can share with your doctor may help them with their diagnosis.
Some of the questions your doctor may ask are listed below:
Why: to determine if acute or chronic.
Why: Bilateral pupil dilation would most likely suggest drug intoxication such as Phenobarbital, marijuana and PCP. Other possibilities include concussion and glaucoma.
Why: may suggest concussion or intracranial haematoma (brain blood clot) as the cause of pupil dilation.
Why: e.g. iritis may be seen in inflammatory bowel disease, ankylosing spondylitis, Reiter's syndrome, diabetes mellitus and sarcoidosis; Oculomotor nerve palsy (third cranial nerve) lesion may be caused by brain aneurysm, brain tumor or meningitis.
Why: some medications may cause bilateral pupil dilation such as Phenobarbital an agent used for epileptic seizures.
Why: e.g. marijuana and PCP may cause bilateral pupil dilation.
Why: to help determine the risk of neurosyphilis.
Why: e.g. glaucoma, brain aneurysm.
Sometimes, other symptoms may be present and may help your doctor analyse your condition. These may include:
Why: Blindness would suggest an optic nerve lesion (second cranial nerve). Impaired vision may also suggest glaucoma or iritis.
Why: suggests definite eye disease such as iritis or glaucoma.
Why: may suggest iritis due to either ankylosing spondylitis, Reiter's syndrome or inflammatory bowel disease.
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