A 20-year-old woman from Rhondda has been diagnosed with a rare brain condition after her optician noticed something unusual in images taken of her eyes during her standard eye test. Emelia Jones, who works as an NHS call handler, had been experiencing splitting headaches for several months - which had become so painful she'd sometimes find herself unable to get out of bed - and consequently booked an eye test at her local opticians to get her sight checked.
During her eye test at Specsavers Treorchy, Emelia was given an "optical coherence tomography test" which involves looking into a device which takes 1,000 images of the back of the eye and then layers the images together. The images helped optometrists see a detailed view of their patients' eye's deeper structures and ascertain if anything needed to be addressed.
When reviewing Emelia's images, optometrist Anna Rees noticed there was a swelling at the back of Emelia's eyes and advised her to go to hospital for further tests. At Royal Glamorgan Hospital, Emelia undertook a lumbar puncture and a CT scan of her brain - and was later diagnosed with idiopathic intracranial hypertension, a rare condition where spinal fluid collects in the brain. You can download the WalesOnline app for the latest news stories directly to your phone.
