Why am I seeing flashes of light in my peripheral vision?!
Question: Just a minute ago, I started seeing what appeared to me as little flashes of light, or spots in my peripheral vision. At first, I thought there were bugs crawling in the wall so I quickly turned to face the wall... once I realized what was happening I just sat still. They stopped after about 5 seconds. I can remember this happening once before years ago right after I got hit on the head, but this time I'm just sitting here surfing the internet. I'm 23 years old, in decent shape, have no visual impairments, and the only medication I take at all is Adderall for ADHD. This could be because I am recovering from a night of binge drinking, but it's never happened before in response to drinking too much alcohol.
Answers: Just a minute ago, I started seeing what appeared to me as little flashes of light, or spots in my peripheral vision. At first, I thought there were bugs crawling in the wall so I quickly turned to face the wall... once I realized what was happening I just sat still. They stopped after about 5 seconds. I can remember this happening once before years ago right after I got hit on the head, but this time I'm just sitting here surfing the internet. I'm 23 years old, in decent shape, have no visual impairments, and the only medication I take at all is Adderall for ADHD. This could be because I am recovering from a night of binge drinking, but it's never happened before in response to drinking too much alcohol.
If it has stopped and you never experience it again, then you should not worry. If other vision disturbances occur over the next few days - like a blizzard of floating spots, a dark curtain moving from the periphery, or persistent flashes - then you should see an eye doctor. If you experience dizziness, persistent headache, tingling in your arms or legs, or inability to think or talk clearly, get to a doctor immediately.
The short duration of the episode that you describe is probably the result of some temporary reduction in blood flow somewhere along the visual pathway. These usually occur in migraine. Note, a migraine episode does not necessarily result in a headache. If other family members have migraines, particularly your mother, then you have probably experienced your first episode.
This will sound like a joke question, but it's not: Have you been hit on the head recently, or had a serious fall? If so, get to an eye doctor right away. Otherwise, it could be a symptom of high blood pressure (unlikely from what you say, but not impossible). There are numerous possibilities, including just a fluke, isolated incident. If it repeats, I'd get to an eye doctor.