Floaters and Flashes
Flashes and Floaters can be caused from a variety of reasons. If you just have a few floaters that have been around for years you are probably seeing remnant particles floating around inside your eye usually from when you were an embryo.
If you have many new floaters sometimeslooking like cobwebs or spots and you are 50 years or older you may have a Posterior Vitreous Detachment. All this means is that the Jelly or Vitreous Humor in your eye is clumping together (this is a normal aging change), and you are seeing shadows from this clumping. Nothing can be done about it and eventually the floater will start to fall with gravity (meaning you will see it go up in your vision) and you will stop noticing it. The PROBLEM with this is sometimes when the jelly is clumping it may pull the retina with it and cause a retinal detachment, or an Epiretinal Membrane. Your eye care professional will dilate you to make sure there is no retinal detachment. When the jelly tugs on the retina you may see flashes. If you have new floaters or flashes consult your Eye Care Professional immediately to rule out a retinal detachment.
You can read more about PVD’s Here
Flashes and Floaters may also be caused from trauma. If this occurs see your Eye Care Professional immediately to rule out a retinal detachment, retinal tear, or retinal hole. Retinal Detachments will sometimes result in flashes, floaters or a curtain or shadow moving over your vision. If you have symptoms of a retinal detachment you should seek care immediately before the detachment spreads and you have permanent vision loss. These are a big deal.
You can read more about Retinal Detachments Here
If you have many new floaters sometimeslooking like cobwebs or spots and you are 50 years or older you may have a Posterior Vitreous Detachment. All this means is that the Jelly or Vitreous Humor in your eye is clumping together (this is a normal aging change), and you are seeing shadows from this clumping. Nothing can be done about it and eventually the floater will start to fall with gravity (meaning you will see it go up in your vision) and you will stop noticing it. The PROBLEM with this is sometimes when the jelly is clumping it may pull the retina with it and cause a retinal detachment, or an Epiretinal Membrane. Your eye care professional will dilate you to make sure there is no retinal detachment. When the jelly tugs on the retina you may see flashes. If you have new floaters or flashes consult your Eye Care Professional immediately to rule out a retinal detachment.
You can read more about PVD’s Here
Flashes and Floaters may also be caused from trauma. If this occurs see your Eye Care Professional immediately to rule out a retinal detachment, retinal tear, or retinal hole. Retinal Detachments will sometimes result in flashes, floaters or a curtain or shadow moving over your vision. If you have symptoms of a retinal detachment you should seek care immediately before the detachment spreads and you have permanent vision loss. These are a big deal.
You can read more about Retinal Detachments Here
How a Patient may visualize an ocular migraine
Now flashes can come in another variety, sometimes looking like lightning strikes or zig-zag lines with different colors and auras. These are usually from ocular migraines and these may or not be accompanied with a migraine headache. This is a brain phenomenon, your eyes are not actaully seeing these auras. Ocular migraines can result in numbness, tingling, nausea, mood changes, fatigue, light sensitivity, blurred vision, or temporary blind spots. Migraines sometimes have different trigger factors such as foods, medicines, bright lights, stress, birth control pills and more.
You can read more about migraines Here
You can read more about migraines Here