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Weird eye problem

5

5683565

Suspended
Original poster
Feb 18, 2006
586
0
Hong Kong
Ok this was weird.

Today, I was working in a normal room lit condition, and I started seeing very bright 'star' like things swirling around me; probably about 100 of them. I thought it was a swarm of bugs but quickly realised that it was my eyes doing it. This whole thing only lasted about 10 seconds.

Anyone know what this is about? I eat 3 square meals a day, don't do drugs and weigh about 143 pounds.

To put it in computer related terms, I felt like my internal graphics card was playing up and giving me video artifacts.
 
jamesmcd said:
Ok this was weird.

Today, I was working in a normal room lit condition, and I started seeing very bright 'star' like things swirling around me; probably about 100 of them. I thought it was a swarm of bugs but quickly realised that it was my eyes doing it. This whole thing only lasted about 10 seconds.

Anyone know what this is about? I eat 3 square meals a day, don't do drugs and weigh about 143 pounds.

To put it in computer related terms, I felt like my internal graphics card was playing up and giving me video artifacts.
Click to expand...

Were you using the computer for a long period of time? If not your probably just going crazy. :p
 
i would say pre occular migraine but since it was only for a brief time and followed by nothing else, i'll skip that.

i don't know specifically what that might be but it happens to me every so often too. <shrugs> it could be from my past life as a cartoon, being hit in the head a lot with anvils making me see stars.
 
Regarding the first post, no, I hadn't used the computer for about 3 hours, and even then it was only for about 10 minutes.

Regarding the second post, I assume you are taking the piss right? I used the word star to describe them because they looked like that, except they were swirling like bugs. This was in the middle of the day, in sunlight.

Edit: Regarding the third post... thanks for that, this did in fact start at my peripheral vision and moved more central, however it looked nothing like the image they drew.
 
a guess

honestly i think it's just a shift in blood flow to the brain. it is a temporary and quick reaction to (probably) a brief decrease in oxygen. it happens most after i get up too quickly, or sometimes for no reason i can understand at all. i think it happens to everyone a time or two. happens to me probably once or twice a week.

edit: i have had a few occular migraines, (and MANY "regular" migraines) it didn't look like that drawing either. lousy drawing. thing is though, migraines are hard to miss, that is a pain like no other. just make sure it doesn't keep happening, if it does, tell a doctor and get a referral to an eye specialist.
good luck to you. i bet it's nothing to worry about.
 
Yeah I usually feel faint if I stand up too quickly, however during this wierd moment I didn't feel faint at all, I was sitting down and felt fine. Very odd, however I still have my vision so I guess I am ok. Either I have nothing, a brain tumor, or I am just going insane. :eek:
 
jamesmcd said:
Yeah I usually feel faint if I stand up too quickly, however during this wierd moment I didn't feel faint at all, I was sitting down and felt fine. Very odd, however I still have my vision so I guess I am ok. Either I have nothing, a brain tumor, or I am just going insane. :eek:
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a sudden drop in blood pressure can make a person feel faint. this seems to happen a lot when we stand up too quickly. (which begs the question: what is the appropriate speed to stand up at? but that's a whole other thing i guess)

i found a good link, might make an intersting read and or ease your mind. seeing stars

There are at least three possible reasons for seeing stars. Sylvester the cat saw stars when Granny walloped him over the head for trying to eat Tweety Bird. A blow to the head can cause the vitreous fluid that fills the back two-thirds of the eyeball to rub against the retina. In fact, as we age, the vitreous fluid becomes thicker and can push or pull on the retina even with more modest movements of the head.

"The retina does not feel pain – it only responds by sending some form of light signal," says Dr. David Granet, professor of ophthalmology at UCSD. "So certain types of exertion stimulate the retina and cause the "stars."

"Of course a shower of stars, flashing light or a curtain on vision are all potential warning signs of retinal detachment and should be of concern."

Injury to the retina should be treated immediately to minimize further tearing and bleeding into the eye. If the damage is not too extensive, retinas can be repaired with a laser on an outpatient basis.

Another reason for seeing stars is small clumps of gel that form in the vitreous fluid. These "floaters" cast a shadow on the retina when they pass in front of it, and are most obvious when you are looking at a plain background.

The third reason for seeing stars has to do with levels of oxygen and/or nutrients reaching the brain. According to Dr. Joseph Scherger, family medicine physician at UCSD Healthcare, "The brain, including vision, runs on glucose, oxygen, a balance of electrolytes and ample circulation/blood pressure. One might have visual changes, like 'stars,' if any of these are low."
Click to expand...
 
Thanks for that information! You are better at researching than I am obviously. I assume it's nothing, but reading one bit gave me reason for slight concern... "Of course a shower of stars, flashing light or a curtain on vision are all potential warning signs of retinal detachment and should be of concern."
 
Yeah, i was gonna say that either the retina was detaching, or that you were just in a strong radiation field and the radiation was interacting with your retina or optic fibre or something, causing weird random blips/signals to be sent to your brain. It's sort of like a video camera placed in a LINAC bunker when it's in operation (if you know what I mean). Anyway, you see static because the radiation is interacting with the camera's sensor or wiring, me thinks, and this could be the same.

But um.......retinal detachment sounds more likely. ;)
 
jamesmcd said:
Thanks for that information! You are better at researching than I am obviously. I assume it's nothing, but reading one bit gave me reason for slight concern... "Of course a shower of stars, flashing light or a curtain on vision are all potential warning signs of retinal detachment and should be of concern."
Click to expand...
helps to know what words to plug into search engines though, a small advantage i suppose.

eh, i doubt that. most retinal detachment is usually the result of injury. a few chronic health conditions need apply but that is getting into a whole other thing. plus the symptoms (the visual disturbances) don't come and go, it would be consistent.

i'd try not to worry for now, i'd just keep an eye out for it and if it happens more frequently or you just get that strange gut feeling something is wrong, tell your doctor. i am a big believer in going with your instincts.

p.s. abstract is a butthead, pass it on. :D
 
Do you mean like paramecium, with their swimming hairs on the edge moving them around your vision?
 
Happened to me many times. It's kinda scary. I think they look like sperm. :p

My eyes are even weirder then that. EVERYtime I look at something white (see it now because of white background), I see the little sperm swimming around. It's even worse when I look at the sky. It's done this longer then I can remember.

The weird thing is, I've NEVER had an injury anywhere.
 
That's normal. Those are individual solidified/jellified bits of the fluid floating around in the liquid gel stuff in your......cornea? Um, anyway, I forget the parts of the eye, but they just float around
 
Abstract said:
That's normal. Those are individual solidified/jellified bits of the fluid floating around in the liquid gel stuff in your......cornea? Um, anyway, I forget the parts of the eye, but they just float around
Click to expand...

That’s right, and it’s usually in bright conditions that you would notice this, example, outside in natural light conditions, I have been aware of this for decades.
 
iMetroid said:
Happened to me many times. It's kinda scary. I think they look like sperm. :p

My eyes are even weirder then that. EVERYtime I look at something white (see it now because of white background), I see the little sperm swimming around. It's even worse when I look at the sky. It's done this longer then I can remember.

The weird thing is, I've NEVER had an injury anywhere.
Click to expand...

Yeah, those are "Floaters". I'm not sure if that's the medical term or not, but look it up on webmd or something. I have them too. No cure.
 
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