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Moms View Message Board: General Discussion: Archive June 2008: Seeing flashes of light....
Has this ever happened to any of you? Occasionally I get a few what I call floaters in my vision, sometimes flashes of light just a few. Well today in the shower I had several, almost like fireworks. I am very nearsighted. I don't know what it could be and was wondering if any of you had experience with this?
You need to get in to see an eye doctor as soon as you can. Flashes are caused by improper stimulation of the eye's retina, or the optic nerve, which the brain interprets as light or flashes. The floaters are the gel-like vitreous begins to liquefy and contract. Some parts of the vitreous form clumps or strands inside the eye. The vitreous gel pulls away from the back wall of the eye, causing a posterior vitreous detachment. This is common with people that are nearsighted, as they age it gets worse.. But a combo of the floaters and the flashes could mean you are beginning to develop a retinal detachment or another serious problem in your eye. As you know your vision is nothing to mess with and this is surly not a time to sit it out and wait to see what happens next.
When you call the eye doctor, tell them that you are nearsighted, that you are experiencing floaters and flashes, and that you need to be seen as soon as possible. Are you diabetic??
I just went in for exactly this same problem. You must go in asap. Ditto with Bobbie. Let them know what you are seeing. Sometimes it's retinal detachment, sometimes it's not. Better to be safe. Bobbie's pretty much explained it. The one other thing it could be is a migraine.
I will go to my eye doctor today and let you both know the outcome.
It could also signal blood pressure issues and a host of other medical issues. Good job for getting this looked at!
My mil has this occasionally & she was told by her doctor that it was a different kind of migraine.
Well I went to the optometrist today and she dialated my eyes and examined them with a bright light. She said that she didn't see anything and my eyes looked healthy. I was feeling pretty good until I talked to my friend who said that her bil just recently went through the exact same thing, went to the optometrist was told that they didn't see anything and that everything was fine and went on vacation a week later. Then while driving he started to lose his sight and he and his wife went to the emergency room he ended up having two eye surgeries since then and was told that he was very lucky. I called them (lenscrafters) to ask if they would refer me to an opthamologist instead.
Definitely see an opthamologist, because an optometrist is great for regular vision checks, but this could be more serious, so I wuold want a doctor to sign off if it were me. Good luck!!!
Definitely an opthalmologist. An opthalmologist is an M.D. with extra training. Never mind asking Lenscrafters for a referral to an opthalmologist - call your primary care physician first thing in the morning, describe your symptoms, and ask for a referral to an opthalmologist. I have nothing against Lenscrafters, but they are not the best source for this kind of referral. They have no investment in referring you to someone who is not part of their system. If you don't have a primary care physician, or if money is an issue, is there an eye clinic in your area? Or call your local hospital and find out if they have any opthalmologists on their lists. I am not trying to make a diagnosis, but retinal detachment is a possibility, and from everything I have read this is a problem that has to be dealt with very quickly to prevent permanent damage or even blindness. Don't mess around with this, please. I'm glad you went to an optometrist right away, and urge you to take the next step just as quickly.
Ginny, I can call my primary care doctor, should've done that earlier today...I started thinking about it this morning, that maybe I should go to get my eyes checked for this problem, it was a half hour before I was to report to work and so i had my dh make an appt with the doc at lenscrafters, realizing it was Friday and I probably wouldn't get into an opthamologist today, boy now I have to wait! Not sure if my regular doc is open tomorrow but Monday for sure I will call and get them to refer me to someone. We have good insurance, it is called eye med. Believe me I am worried, I wouldn't want to lose my sight. It is frightening me. I won't sit on this. Thanks ladies...
Glad you're making the appt. And yes, an opthamologist is who you need to see.
I realized as I thought about it, logging on at this ridiculous hour, that you wouldn't be able to reach your primary on Saturday, but I'm glad you are going to get to an opthalmologist. When you talk to your primary, emphasize your symptoms and your fears. Do the same when you call for the appt with the opthalmologist, and ask for an emergency appointment. If you and your primary are on the kind of terms where you can ask him/her to call the opthalmologist's office and emphasize the importance of an emergency appointment, do make that request. Our primary did that for Scott with an issue he had a couple of years ago, and the specialist saw him within a couple of hours.
Did you make it in to see a ophthalmologist??
I did and everything checked out okay! Thank you for asking bobbi...
So, are you going to look into this issue further??? Or have you gotten an all clear??
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