Orgasms can blind you

Blindingly good sex is something we all hope for figuratively, not literally. This study has found incidents of an orgasm so powerful it blinded the person having it.

'Postcoital visual loss due to valsalva retinopathy' is the scary sounding name for a scary sounding event.

It occurs when a blood vessel bursts in the eye, due to undue pressure being put on the retina.

In a case study in 2014, examined by scientists at the universities of Edinburgh and Southampton, a 21-year-old man reported that he held his breath and pushed out his diaphragm during orgasm, resulting in the burst vessel.

A 29-year-old male patient presented to eye emergency clinic after noticing a left paracentral scotoma on waking. On direct questioning the patient revealed an episode of vigorous sexual intercourse the preceding evening. During orgasm the valsalva manoeuvre can produce a sudden increase in retinal venous pressure resulting in vessel rupture and haemorrhagic retinopathy.

Luckily the blindness is only temporary, but still is not the most pleasant feeling.

According to the study's authors, Luke Michaels and Naing Latt Tint, they hope it will ensure doctors examining patients consider sexual activity as a cause of physiological change, despite the social taboos of discussing sex with strangers.

HT Discover Magazine

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