Your visual symptoms [Archive]

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samuelj41

24-05-13, 00:33

I figured this might be a fun thread. Lately, I've been experience constant visual symptoms. My visual acuity (despite being shortsighted) is mostly fine, but now that I work in a bright office, I see all sorts of fun things I'm not used to seeing in dimmer rooms at my place.

- Floaters (of course! Turns out I have 10-15 that routinely plague me, rather than the 1 or 2 I see on my computer or while driving)

- Multi-colored sparkles

- White sparks of light

- Flashes (and eye twitches that look like flashes)

I'm sure there's something I'm forgetting, but I get these constantly, throughout the day, every day. Doesn't matter if I'm feeling anxious or not. What about you?

anxious_thoughts

24-05-13, 00:39

Hello :)
I have a floater in my right eye, I hate it! Seems to always appear when I'm driving, or when I'm looking at a white wall. I also have the white sparks of light and sometimes the multi-coloured sparkles. It worries me a lot

Mr m anxious

24-05-13, 00:46

I've had white sparks once, scared me a little but put it down to anxiety. Probably most people get this but being HA sufferers we notice everything about are bodies.

fluff

24-05-13, 08:05

I have lots of eye floaters, sparkly bits like static and small dot flashes all different colours.
Hate it prob visual symptoms are the worse to me.

Boxerharvey

24-05-13, 11:32

Ive been freaking out over my visual symptoms recently. I too work in a bright office on my computer all day and have noticed lots of floaters and especially a hair like patch on my left eye which I thought was a scratch but then I had my eyes tested the optician said they thought it was cataracts.

Recently I have been suffering with headaches, pains in my head and really feeling spaced out which I have suffered with for years which the docs keep saying is anxiety but now with the visual symptoms as well (which I seem to notice more than ever now that my anxiety levels are at their highest, I dont notice them as much when I am in a darker room) I am really worried that something serious is wrong rather than just stress and anxiety.

AceOfSpades

24-05-13, 12:28

Visual symptoms seem to plague a lot of people with anxiety.

Mine are Floaters (loads of the damn things), Flashes of light and also foggy vision (can strike at anytime and only lasts a few seconds). And also once lose of vision in my left eye (lasted around 10 minutes).

Have had my eyes looked at and they have been given a clean bill of health.

One question I my ask do any of you clench your teeth/jaw, you may do it with-out knowing a easy way to find out if you do is look at your tongue in the mirror and see if it is scalloped around the edges.

Cause wondering if things like tmd or jaw clenching when anxious effects the shape of the eye causing the flashes and other symptoms. Except for floaters.

samuelj41

24-05-13, 12:56

ace-

I just realized I do that but I do it in my sleep. is there anything that can be done for that?

Ronno

24-05-13, 13:30

I've had vision problems for years ( as you can see from my many replies to posts), you name it i have it , had my eyes tested many times , all fine , I also get on average two optic migraines a year . But I notice when I'm busy , distracted I'm much better . Anxiety has a lot to answer for , it doesn't matter what part of your body troubles you , the more you focus the worst it gets. I worried about bowel cancer about ten years ago along came i.b.s. after moving on to some other bodily symptom the I.b.s went never to return ! As for teeth grinding my dentist commented that I must do that , maybe that might be a cause a few of the vision problems , it's a great help for us to swap symptoms to reduce our anxiety.

AceOfSpades

24-05-13, 16:52

ace-

I just realized I do that but I do it in my sleep. is there anything that can be done for that?

Hi samuelj41

I know here in the UK a dentist will take a mold of the teeth to make a proper Gum Shield for night time use.

But if you can't afford that or don't fancy using one at night. You could always go to your local sports store and buy a plain old gum shield and use it for a few hours a day when you are AWAKE to help train your jaw not to clench.. NEVER USE a plain old gum shield when sleeping.

samuelj41

25-05-13, 01:06

Ace, do you know anything about the generic mouth guards you can buy online? They seem to have fairly mixed reviews. I hear the ones molded by dentists can get rather expensive.

AceOfSpades

25-05-13, 09:22

Ace, do you know anything about the generic mouth guards you can buy online? They seem to have fairly mixed reviews. I hear the ones molded by dentists can get rather expensive.

Hi, I don't really know anything about the generic mouth guards that you can buy online.
But I know they fall into 3 categories

1, Kits that are sent out that claim you take a moulding of your own teeth and then send the mould back and they make a gum shield for you.
That is the more expensive one's on the market and whilst they could be good it is very hard to get a proper moulding done of the teeth (a dentist could take a few moulds and then a couple of fittings to make sure it is done correct). So if it is not done correct you could waste a lot of money and also it could be a danger.

2, Mouth guards that you mould yourself by using boiling water and then cold water and then onto the teeth and so on until it fits tight. Cheap and I would say ok for daily use during the day. But they do lose their shape and become loss so have to be remoulded often.

3, The cheapest a plan old gum shield only for use during the day never at night (some can be moulded to the teeth again via the hot and cold water method).

So that is about as much as I know.

I would suggest asking your question on this site they are very good and most are based in the usa.

http://www.allexperts.com/cl2/320/healthfitness/Dentistry/

They will answer quick and it is free.

My option if I was to choose would be the cheapest and just use for a few hours a day (during the waking hours) Never at night and just allow it to train your mouth/Jaw not the clench..

samuelj41

26-05-13, 04:03

Anyone else?

OliviaD

26-05-13, 16:33

Where do I start??

- Vortex seen in sunlight
- Increased palinopsia
- Scheerer's phenomenon
- Heart pulse seen in vision
- Veins pulsating in vision (I had it during a strong cough!)
- Visual snow
- Floaters (those I don't mind)
- Phosphenes
- Colors and shapes when I'm in the dark
- Occasional flickering when going from light to dark
- Rare migraine auras (painless)
- Patterns moving
Etc.

Marietta08

26-05-13, 22:55

I worry about my eyes all the time! I'm slightly long sighted. Sometimes my vision is a bit blurred and other times it's alright. I've had my eyes tested 3 times in a year, once at the hospital because I was referred there by my optician. She thought I had some scarring and pigment changes. I did have some benign pigment changes but it turned out that I have pigmented retinae because I have darker skin. I last went to the optician's in October because I was getting some eye flashes. He said my eyes were alright but it could be visual migraines. I got really panicked at the beginning of the year about seeing things out of the corner of my eye but then that went away. I haven't been getting the flashes as much as lately but sometimes when I'm on the computer reading something, it's like pictures are "catching" the corner of my eye and moving/shifting. I did get this a little while ago and then I hadn't noticed it for a bit. I think it's more likely to happen when I've been on the computer for a while and my eyes are strained. Also, the windscreen in my family's car is slightly curved at the corner and I worry it throws my vision off slightly.

I posted a query on the Specasavers site a couple of months ago because I was panicked, I posted a copy of my prescription and the optician said my visual acuity was quite good. If anyone's really desperate, they may find it helpful to ask a question on the Specsavers site. :) (Although it would probably help more if you've had your eyes tested more recently, because you know someone has actually looked at them).

Ace, I do clench my teeth sometimes because I'm on edge a lot. I probably shouldn't do it anyway because I have a funny jaw that runs in my family!

P.S. I also get it where patterns seem to affect my eyes sometimes and last year the spiral binding in notebooks seemed to "jump" out at me in the corner of my eyes.

Ronno

27-05-13, 11:08

OliviaD

27-05-13, 12:41

Guys, consider taking a supplement specific for the eyes. I bought one which is really helping me, though I doubt it can be sold outside Italy (actually it's made in the Republic of San Marino). It's called Normoretinal and if you want to see what it contains see here http://www.medicalage.sm/prodotti.asp
:)

almamatters

27-05-13, 12:52

I regularly get floaters, flashes of light especially in my right eye . I have had loads of tests and seen an eye consultant who said my vision is perfect and felt that the sensations were stress related, he also said a lot of people have floaters but anxious people just notice them more.

Marietta08

27-05-13, 14:44

Hi Marietta .
Your symptoms are so similar to mine , right up to the car windscreen !
Also I'm long sighted , and when I have my eyes tested reading the small letters on the chart i have no problems , I mentioned that I have floaters and optic migraines , and she wasn't concerned , the small flashes , bright spots , floaters,
Blurry vision usually comes when my eyes are tired . And I don't know about you but low light is a problem . I can accept that I'm over sensitive about my eyes , and the symptoms over the years have never hurt me , but I can't help but get a little anxious . I'm trying to practice to ignore these symptoms but its hard . We're all battling , some say less battling more accepting ,
Take care , ronno

Hi Ronno, it's a relief to hear of someone having similar symptoms, although of course it's not good for you!

Yeah, my eyes are worse when tired too. The optician I went to in 2011 told me that I have a small prescription and I only really need to wear my glasses when my eyes are tired and the one who replied on the Specsavers site also said that if I'm tired I'll need to wear them more for comfortable near vision. Low light doesn't help my eyes either sometimes. I know what you mean, it can be really hard to ignore the symptoms.

Take care too. :)

samuelj41

27-05-13, 16:16

That's so weird, I have a warped windshield on my car as well. It's on the right side, and it occasionally freaks me out when a car passes in front of me and looks all blurry/distorted for a second.

Ronno

27-05-13, 17:55

Some thing I read not so long ago as you get older the gel inside you eye becomes more liquid and tugs on the retina , which causes you to see small flashes , I asked about this on my last eye check up , and she said , this happens ,and is a harmless condition , but wasn't happening to me yet. But sometimes it makes me think. Also does the delicate eye muscles being tense with anxiety play their part and cause visual problems ? I know my optic migraines have nothing to do with the eyes , it's the narrowing of the blood vessels , anyway just throwing a few thoughts into the pot .

Marietta08

28-05-13, 17:09

It's on the right side of the car for me too but I sit in the passenger side, so that could be why it's different, because the left side is nearer to me and a different angle.

I was given a leaflet about that, the gel tugging on your retina and causing flashes. Does anyone know if it tends to happen more towards middle age? Or just when you get nearer 30? When they say, "as you get older". I'm not sure if they mean when you get to like 40-45+ or just when you're not a teenager/early 20s anymore! lol. I'm 29.

I definitely think that anxiety can affect eye muscles because when you're anxious everything gets tense. But I don't know for sure.

OliviaD

29-05-13, 17:42

Nice question about "when you get older". Most people, for example, get floaters when they're middleaged... I started seeing them when I was 14, I think. :meh:

Marietta08

29-05-13, 20:00

I thought they'd mean more like middle aged but I wasn't sure. (Not that I think middle aged is really old!). I get floaters too and have been seeing them for a few years now. Maybe it just depends.