Blob in vision - like after-image of camera flash

[fruitandnutlover]

For the last few years, I get this strange thing in my vision. It can just come on out of the blue, no warning signs. All of a sudden in one of my eyes (hardly ever in both eyes at the same time) if I blink against a light/bright surface such as the sky, computer screen, tv etc, I will see a bright blob, just like the after image of a camera flash. It often appears in different parts of the eye (although this last week I've had a few in the same place!). It is often just the size of a pin head although sometimes, like this morning, it was larger like the size if my little finger nail. They will last from a few seconds to minutes and occasionally up to an hour or so. Then gradually fade away to a grey blob then go.
They aren't floaters as I have those already.
They completely freak me out and I can not help but go into a panic every time I get them!
I've had lots of eye tests, nothing shows up. I've been to the gp about it (am off again today as I've had quite a few this week and it's worrying me).
In 2013, I even paid to see a neurologist privately, he said he didn't really know what is was but if he had to pigeon hole it he would say it was silent migraines.
I occasionally do get ocular migraines but the visual disturbance is always in both eyes at the same time and like a flashing lightening strobe, this is different.
Please, I am hoping someone out there gets this as it's causing me so much stress and I don't know anyone who suffers from it.

[claireypoo]

I get this quite a lot (posted about it on here previously) and I've seen a fair few people on here with it over the years, especially people with a visual/seeing fixation (I've had that for a long time, starting with floaters).

There's a really long thread on a health board entitled "For those with the bright spot when blinking symptom" google that and you'll see it has been running for years!

The phenomenon is harmless - at least after extensive sight tests, MRIs, neuro-opthamologists etc none of these people suffered any actual damage to their vision. Neither did it lead to anything else. Most of the people with this strike me as "high anxiety" and although there are theories, there's no real explanation for it.

I have a theory too.

Eyes are a mass of nerves and just like in our bodies when we twitch or feel a sensation we aren't used to because of stress, eyes do the same. The retina is only able to show pressure as light flashes and blinking increases that tiny pressure for a tenth of a second, so we see light. Maybe our retinas let too much light in in one place and we have a persistence?

Do you get after images too? I do. Also after images from glare or camera flash take AGES to go with me. Definitely longer than pre long term stress.

I have found the only way to deal with them is try to ignore them (hard I know) but if you're like I was you'll be blinking MORE when you have one to check it's still happening. I looked like I was batting my flippin eyelashes when I had one!

Mine last anywhere from a millisecond to an hour - some last longer (depends on the person I think), but I've noticed if something manages to take my mind of it - it goes faster. Maybe because I'm not "telling my brain" to notice it. Like with floaters... my opthamologist said "Oh for goodness sake, Claire, DONT TRY TO LOOK AT THEM!" [emoji23] She went on to say that TEACHES the brain to notice them more (she was right).

PM me if you want to chat about this any time - I've been wayyyyy down this rabbit hole for years and years. :)

Claire

PS my eyes are still totally healthy :)


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[fruitandnutlover]

Claire, thank you so much for replying, that has really helped me.
It has become a real obsession of mine and I'm always blinking up at the sky, my husband says 'What on earth are you doing? Your becoming obsessed!' Which of course, he's right I am!
Like you, I also have longer after image. It's worse now in the summer when the sun shines on cars etc and I happen to look that direction, next thing I know I'm thinking 'oh no I've got these bright blobs, how long will they last?' and of course I'm then stuck in the cycle of worrying about it etc.
Went to see GP yesterday and he said it's something I've just got to live with.
May try a hypnotherapist see if I can break the cycle?
Thanks again for replying, good to know I'm not the only one :)

[claireypoo]

I totally sympathise. X Been there a long time.

Reducing anxiety will help but once you've trained your eyes to notice this sort of thing with all the checking and testing, you need to train them NOT to notice again, and that means essentially, like with so many other anxiety symptoms, doing "nothing at all".

If you see a flash, an after-image, a trail, a floater, a halo, a blob, a vibration, a flicker, or any other harmless phenomena like blue field entoptic phenomena, visual snow, basically ***ANYTHING THAT YOU KNOW ISN'T *REALLY* THERE***

Stop. Just cut that crap out!
Close your eyes.
Breathe.
Then look at things that are REALLY there.

THE WRONG WAY

Me: OMG what's that flash?
Brain: What flash?
Me: THAT FLASH????
Brain: OMG OMG OMG WHAT THE HELL IS IT?????
Me: IDK!!!! CAN'T YOU DO SOMETHING????
Brain: I'M SCARED! [flaps brain hands] Here's some adrenaline in case we have to run away! Eeek!!!!!!
Me: [panicky sweaty winking blinking mess zooming my eyes around like an eagle-eye action man]

THE RIGHT WAY

Me: Oh, there's one of those flashes again
Brain: huh?
Me: It's nothing, go back to sleep.
Brain: zzzz
Me: [looks at puppies on the internet/reads a (print) book/examines leaves/looks at cats sitting down/watches TV]

[emoji3]

Try to calm your whole visual system if you can, meditation helps and things like 45-55 percent brown tinted glasses/ light sunglasses (not dark ones, they can make it worse). Avoid staring at backlit screens for hours and hours and hours without a break, too. The more we look/test/check the more we strain our eyes. And the more weird crap we'll SEE.

But mostly try to let it be, ignore it, it won't hurt you... live with it there and don't wake your brain up with it x

[emoji3][emoji3][emoji3]

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[fruitandnutlover]

Thanks again Claire your replies have really helped :)