View Full Version : Visual trails... help!
Hi guys. Been a while since I was on this forum. I hope you're all doing well! Or as well as can be with this anxiety hanging over our heads :)
So, a couple of weeks ago I seem to develop this visual trail thing. I was in bed reading on my phone, the room was dim, and I moved my hand to scratch my head and from my peripheral vision I thought I saw something translucent following my movement. That's how I found it. There was no other symptoms during that time and I wasn't feeling anxious too.
When I wave my hand back and forth, from my peripheral vision I could see trails/outlines of my hand playing catch up with my real hand. It usually happens when the light is dim. I googled and found the term Palinopsia and some people with Visual Snow seem to experience this as well. I never took any drugs that could produce this phenomenon. I do not see the trails when my eyes are focused on my hand.
I know I should check with my eye doctor but I'm scared :( so I thought I would ask if any of you ever experienced the same thing. I'm even scared to sleep with the lights dimmed now.
Thanks guys!
Hi there. I also suffer with visual trails. Do you take any medication for your anxiety? Any anti depressant?
Hi Chlobo. No, I'm not taking any meds for my medication, just some vit d supplement and calcium. Do you take any anti depressant? Have you had the visual trails for long and is it similar to my case? Did you see a doctor about it? Sorry for so many questions!
When I googled I found many people who have the same thing but there isn't a real conclusion as to what's causing it, and there aren't many topics about this.
Ugh. I just keep thinking of the worst case.
I used to take medication but not now. I’ve has the trails for months and obsessed about it quite a lot. I was goofing and driving myself a bit crazy but then something else popped up tat worried me even more and I sort of forgot about it. It’s been going on with my eyes for a long time and like you in summer light it’s noticeable. I wouldn’t worry too much to be honest, if the only way your mind will rest though is by seeing an optition then I would make an appointment:)
Thanks, Chlobo! I feel somewhat comforted knowing I'm not alone :hugs:
Hi
DO you suffer with dry eyes?
x
Hi elviiswi. I do have dry eyes, yes. I was given drops to be used daily but sometimes I forget to oops. But yeah I do.
Hi
It may just be that.
A combination of dry eyes, dimly lit room, not blinking as on your phone etc.
I have really dry eyes, mine "click" when i blink they are so dry :wacko:
xx :flowers:
Elviiswi, I really hope it's because of something "simple" as that! My eyes do get very dry sometimes, especially since I am working with computers. I did read that dry eyes can cause double vision, although what we have isn't exactly double vision.
Anybody else has/ever heard of this visual trailing thing?
I have this too. It would happen at night and almost be like watching a 3D movie without the glasses. I went to the optician and my prescription had changed. Since getting new glasses it hasn’t happened anywhere near as much, though it does still sometimes if I’m particularly tired.
Hi redsoles. Thanks for the reply. I looked up image of 3d movies without glasses and they also looked a bit like double vision. When it happens to you, does it happen with the image in front of you or only the one in your peripheral vision?
After experimenting until my arm hurts, I'm pretty sure this weird trail/double vision thing comes from my left eye. Cos it only happens when I move my left arm, and when I close my left eye, things seem a bit better. And the "trail" follows if i wave my arm from left to right. I didn't think I got a trail from right to left.
I do wonder if it's cause my left eye needs glasses. I'm wearing glasses, but my left eye was fine so the working lense is only the right one. I was naughty though, and only wore them when I needed them and I know it isn't good as it would make my good eye (the left eye), work overtime to compensate my right eye. I think my eye doctor also said if I didn't wear the glasses, it might even cause a squint. I read that can cause double vision.
But is what I have double vision, as it happens on my side vision and only with moving objects?
Uhhh. I know I know I should go to the doctor. I'm going to have to gather my courage first. It's just Google keeps telling me scary story about cancers and tumors and MS and stuff I'm really chickening out :huh:
I tend to get it only in my peripheral vision and usually only at night, or at least I don’t notice it during the day.
Go and get your eyes checked. It won’t hurt and it may just be something as simple as you needing a new prescription. I had a corneal ulcer in my right eye in 2000 and it’s left a scar which is why I’ve developed astigmatism and I’m pretty sure that doesn’t help.
Hi, it's interesting that you mentioned your phone because I noticed that some phones give off a light that leaves trails when moving. Also the objects illuminated by such a light can give off trails. I suffer from a wide variety of visual symptoms and I noticed I became sensitive to some lights that give off a certain frequency. Also, eye strain can cause distortions in the peripheral vision, and people with anxiety certainly suffer from a lot of strain in their bodies. :)
Does anyone still suffer with this?
Yes I had this too. I got my eyes tested and I needed a new prescription. It hasn’t happened since I got new glasses.
I also get the clicky eye thing when I blink. Highly annoying.
Yes I get all manner of visual issues. I get eye strain and am really sensitive to lighting that has a flicker like fluorescent or LED lighting. I get a feeling of pressure when I bed over and sometimes pain behind one eye. I find these things bother me a lot less when I don't focus on them but I'm a bit obsessed with them at the moment so they're getting worse. Eye stuff is so subjective that once you start focusing on it, it's hard to let it go.
Has anyone actually had a formal diagnosis of what causes it? I have begged for a neurologist appointment!
From another thread about this....
Just a few thoughts on trails and visual anomalies.
I was a partier in my youth and did LSD and Mushrooms quite a bit. Talk about trails and visual anomalies! :wacko: The drug just enhanced what was already there.
That's the point. We ALL have them. Our bodies are pretty noisy but our minds have just tuned it out. If I purposely focus on it, I can wave my hand across my field of vision and see trails. If I focus on it, I can hear my heartbeat. If I focus on it, I can hear a bit of tinnitus in my right ear.
IMO, you're just hyper focused. Even though you say you're not, you are. It goes back to my campfire analogy. Most people experience these things and not even give it a second thought. A person with HA will see it and start checking everything, focusing on the anomaly and attributing something sinister to it.
Positive thoughts
Hello all,
I too have this problem and me and another person on another site have been working together to try to figure it out. You can see our discussions here:
healingwell.com/community/default.aspx?f=9&m=3810943&p=1
We basically see the same thing, we've never taken drugs and it just happened suddenly.
It is, as said, like a ghostly/translucent shadow that plays catch up. Only in the peripheral vision, never on focusing on an object in motion.
I've also noticed it quite heavily when watching movies on a computer screen. If I'm looking at the person and he moves his arm ect., there's a type of smear coming off of their arm playing catch up quite quickly, instead of just the actual arm just moving without anything else. It looks completely irregular and not normal as I remember things. It's definitely more obvious in dim lighting than if outside in the daytime, which could mean it's just less apparent even if it's still happening?
It's very distressing. I somehow went months with not being too bothered by it, or forgetting about it, but recently it got worse. Or way more noticeable, it's hard to tell. I hope it's not that the trails are way longer now, which makes it more noticeable, or if it's just a random fixation on it because of anxiety.
---------- Post added at 21:11 ---------- Previous post was at 21:07 ----------
Yes I had this too. I got my eyes tested and I needed a new prescription. It hasn’t happened since I got new glasses.
I also get the clicky eye thing when I blink. Highly annoying.
What was your eye conditions and prescription? Did you notice translucent type trialing coming off of objects in motion in front of you. Things you're not looking at directly, but off in the peripheral?
If it's relatively slow moving, it's easy for me to see this translucent shadow of say my hand, or an object, extending out like half an inch playing catch up. If it's faster it becomes like a smear extending out which makes motion of things look not natural, especially when watching movies and such up-close where people are moving their arms and hands.
bigboyseththeog
17-02-20, 20:46
hey i know this was posted a while ago but i’ve been dealing with the same thing for a while now, i was just curious if you ever found the answer to what causes it? or if you’re at least okay?
Yes I still have it, but it’s been a while so it doesn’t bother me as much now cos I’m used to it, I guess? At least I have stopped experimenting with my arm now! I did have my eyes checked last year though, and the doctor said everything was fine :)
LeafeonSpirit
11-09-22, 12:00
Hellow, saw that this thread hasn't been active but I've recently been seeing these trails for about a few months. It first started when I walked past something and swore I saw something but didn't pay any mind to it. Then I saw it with my hands and now in tvs. It seemed to started when I wore new glasses so I gotten me new new ones. It did appear to weaken and thought it would go away but now it appeared to be back to the way it was. I noticed that when it gets really bad my eyes feel strained and maybe warm. Although I've seen the doctor and eye doctor, I'd like to talk to someone who has experienced it and see how it has progressed as I fear the trails would get worst and worst..
LeafeonSpirit
11-09-22, 12:11
Yes I had this too. I got my eyes tested and I needed a new prescription. It hasn’t happened since I got new glasses.
I also get the clicky eye thing when I blink. Highly annoying.
Quick question, how long did it take to go back to normal? Mine appeared to got better but tonight it gotten worst
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