Question 1

what do the flashes in vision accompanied by floaters look like?

Accepted Answer

Lightning bolts: Patients describe them differently: flash bulbs like from a camera, lightning bolts, arcs of light, etc.

Question 2

what do flashes associated with retinal detachment look like? i sometimes see very small flashes like pin pricks

Accepted Answer

LIke a flash bulb: Generally they are like a flash bulb going off and most often in the periphery of your vision.  The bottom line is that you should be seen by an ophthalmologist if you have this symptom as a retinal tear is easily treated until it turns into a retinal detachment which can be blinding.

Question 3

can anyone explain me how u see flashes of lights i only see eye floaters not flashes of light how it can be visible?wat they look like?

Accepted Answer

Vitreous issues: The eye is full of material called vitreous.  When we are young, this vitreous is a solid gel.  As we age, it liquefies starting in the center.  Bits of the gel float in the liquid and we see this as floaters.  When the central gel becomes liquid, the outer part peels away from the retinal surface.  This can cause traction on the retina, which is experienced as flashing lights.

Question 4

what does eye flashes due to posterior vitreous detachment look like? streaks of bright light or vision flickering on and off or is it something else?

Accepted Answer

Vitrous : what use?: Vitreous is the gel that occupies the middle of the eye ball.  Lightning flashes are generated by vitreous tugging on retina during eye movement. When a posterior vitreous detachment occurs, there may initially be residual areas where the vitreous remains attached to the retina, causing these light flashes. Patients have described these flashes as "a sparkle or twinkl

Question 5

i have a tiny white or yellow bump on clit gland(not hood), i went to the doctor saw.he saw one more with a flash light on that's veryyy small. he said it doesn't look like a std bc i told him it doesn't hurt or itch been there for 7 days?

Accepted Answer

: He did not say what it could be? It could be one of many things- dried smegma- a blocked sebaceous gland etc. Pl see a Gyn for diagnosis and treatment. Good luck

Question 6

how are flashes like in retinal detachment?

Accepted Answer

: You'd experience a sudden burst of multiple bright spots or floaters in only that one eye. There could be associated decrease in vision in that eye. No pain though. It's an eye emergency.

Question 7

do symptoms like flashes of light go away quickly?

Accepted Answer

Usually: Light flashes mostly are due to changes in the fluids in the back of the eye.  The retina is jostled when this happens and responds with a light flash.  You should see your ophthalmologist if this persists more than a day, if there are lots of floaters, if the vision drops, or if you see a grey -veiny veil in the vision.   Do not delay as sometimes this can be a retinal detachment.

Question 8

i can see halo-like flashes of light. is this normal? should i be worried?

Accepted Answer

Get checked out: Light flashes should generally be checked out immediately, especially if they are new in onset.  Sometimes light flashes are a symptom of migraine and this is generally benign, but sometimes light flashes mean something more serious such as a retinal tear or detachment.  The eye contains a gelatinous substance called the vitreous humor, which occupies the eyeball’s inner cavity.  It extends from the front of the eye, behind the lens, to the back of the eye and makes contact with the entire internal eyewall surface.  In the back of the eye, the vitreous is adherent to the retina.  The adherence is tenuous and the vitreous may separate from the retina at any time but usually does so as people age and the vitreous liquefies.  The vitreous is composed of 99% water and 1% mucopolysccharides (hyaluronic acid) and collagen.  When we are young, it is homogeneous, like a bowl of jello but as we age, pockets of water separate out and dissociate the back surface of the gel from the retina.  This is called a “posterior vitreous detachment” (pvd).  The solid constituents (collagen fibers) in the gel then contract centrally. Once a PVD occurs, patients will complain of “floaters” because the collagen fibers condensed in the vitreous float freely in the water and cast shadows on the retina.  In most patients, the vitreous separation occurs uneventfully, without pulling the retina with it.  As the gel contracts, however, and separates from the retina, to which it is lightly adherent, it may tug on the retina in some patients.  The retina’s job is to transmit light impulses to the visual cortex of the brain and the usual stimulus to generate these nerve impulses is a photon of light, but any stimulus to the retina, including the mechanical stimulus of tugging on the nerve fibers that make up the retina, will have the same effect.  So if the vitreous pulls at the retina as it attempts to separate, the brain will detect “flashes”.  These flashes may appear as lightning bolts, colored strobes and halos.   This can occur even in the dark where there are no photons of light to stimulate the retina (the mechanical stimulus is substituting for the photon in this case).  Once the vitreous separates from the retina it does not reattach and, in general, the flashes should disappear.  The danger however, occurs in a few unfortunate folks in whom the vitreous does not want to let go of the retina.  Although the vitreous is generally mildly adherent to the retina, some people have specific conditions (ie: lattice degeneration, high myopia) which render the vitreoretinal adhesion tighter, or the retinal thickness thinner.  Under these circumstances, as the vitreous moves away, it may bring the retina away from the back wall with it.  This is called a retinal detachment and this will lead to severe vision loss and must be surgically repaired as soon as possible.  Retinal detachments occur when the contracting vitreous tears the retina away and makes a hole in the retina.  Fluid then travels through this hole and detaches the retina.  If caught early, the hole may only need laser in the office.  If a full retinal detachment occurs, it likely requires surgery.  Most people who develop a retinal tear will bleed into the eye and the blood is opaque so it casts dark, globular, streaky shadows and floaters. So if you have new flashes, especially if there are new, dark, dense floaters associated with them have your eyes checked by an ophthalmologist to make sure you don’t have retinal tears and that your retina is attached.

Question 9

seeing a blue spot in the dark it is kind of like it a blinking light it goes away when i turn a light on also see flashes in the dark?

Accepted Answer

Visual symptoms: Please see an opthalmologist.  The flashes of light in the dark MAY indicated a retina problem.  He/she will help you.  Peace and good health.

Question 10

are controllable, predictable flashes of light in vision usually benign? like every time i look up quickly in dark, i see a small flash at the bottom.

Accepted Answer

Not always!: Posterior vitreous detachment.  This is a situation where the vitreous(jelly) of the eye detaches (not a retinal detachment), it then "crumples" up leaving dots, spots, strands of blurry vitreous; i.e. The "floater".  When it pulls away (initially tugs), it causes flashes. You should have an exam to ensure the incident did not tear the retina, which could lead to a retinal detachment.

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Doctor answers about:

What do flashing lights look like

A member asked:

What do the flashes in vision accompanied by floaters look like?

A member asked:

What do flashes associated with retinal detachment look like? i sometimes see very small flashes like pin pricks

A member asked:

Can anyone explain me how u see flashes of lights i only see eye floaters not flashes of light how it can be visible?wat they look like?

A member asked:

What does eye flashes due to posterior vitreous detachment look like? streaks of bright light or vision flickering on and off or is it something else?

A member asked:

I have a tiny white or yellow bump on clit gland(not hood), i went to the doctor saw.he saw one more with a flash light on that's veryyy small. he said it doesn't look like a std bc i told him it doesn't hurt or itch been there for 7 days?

A member asked:

How are flashes like in retinal detachment?

A member asked:

Do symptoms like flashes of light go away quickly?

A member asked:

I can see halo-like flashes of light. is this normal? should i be worried?

A member asked:

Seeing a blue spot in the dark it is kind of like it a blinking light it goes away when i turn a light on also see flashes in the dark?

A member asked:

Are controllable, predictable flashes of light in vision usually benign? like every time i look up quickly in dark, i see a small flash at the bottom.

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