Some Causes and Features of Unequal Pupils
Cause |
Common Features* |
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Adie (tonic) pupil (a pupil that does not constrict normally in response to light) |
One or both pupils are too wide, do not fully constrict in response to light, and widen slowly after being constricted by light No other symptoms |
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Argyll Robertson pupil |
Pupil that constricts better to accommodation (when a doctor's finger moves towards the eye) than to light History of syphilis |
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Birth defects of the iris |
Features that are present lifelong Usually other birth defects |
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Chemicals and drugs (including scopolamine patches, cocaine, pilocarpine, drugs in animal flea collars or sprays, certain aerosol drugs for asthma or COPD such as ipratropium or tiotropium, and organophosphate insecticides) if they contact the eye and some eye drops |
In people who use or have been exposed to these substances Sometimes difficulty focusing, particularly on nearby objects |
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Horner syndrome (disruption of certain nerve fibers that connect the eye and the brain) |
On one side of the face, a drooping eyelid, a small pupil that is slow to widen in response to darkness, and decreased sweating If the cause of Horner syndrome is a disorder (such as migraines or a lung tumor) or an injury, other symptoms |
|
An eye injury or eye surgery |
In people who have had an eye injury or eye surgery Sometimes pain with exposure to bright light and/or eye redness |
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Physiologic anisocoria (pupils that are normally different sizes) |
Present for a long time No symptoms or abnormalities found during the examination A difference of less than 1/16 inch (about 1 millimeter) in pupil size and pupils that constrict normally in response to light |
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Double vision and a drooping eyelid Sometimes in people who have had a head injury or who have a bulge (aneurysm) in an artery supplying the brain, bleeding in the brain, or a brain tumor |
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*Features include symptoms and the results of the doctor's examination. Features mentioned are typical but not always present. |
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COPD = chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. |
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