DOCTORS have been left baffled after a woman complained of a bizarre medical condition saying her eyes open and then stay shut for three days at a time.
Australian Natalie Adler claims she has suffered with the condition for four years.

The 21-year-old from Melbourne said: "My eyes are closed for three days and then open for three days.

Spasming

"Something happens overnight (on the third night). I go to bed and I can open my eyes, and then when I wake up the next day I can't. Nobody knows why."

Ms Adler's problems started at school after a nasal infection.

She said: "I just never got better.

"I woke one Sunday and my eyes were swollen. It was the day before an English exam.

"My eyes started closing intermittently, really randomly, but within a few weeks they were closing for three days."

Experts cannot explain the condition.

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Royal Eye and Ear Hospital associate professor Justin O'Day said: "Natalie's a mystery. She's a one-off and we don't have a diagnosis.

"It's unusual to see somebody with this degree of spasming and eyelid closure, especially at this age."

The doctor said a condition called blepharospasm – random muscle spasms forcing the eyes to shut – could offer some explanation.

On days where Ms Adler's eyes are closed, she says she can see from a small slit in her left eye.

And on days when her eyes are open – marked in her diary – Ms Adler tries to do as much as possible.

She said: "On my 18th birthday, my eyes were closed, but on my 21st they were open, so I had a party."