I'm seeing a flashing curved line of light...(for optometrist, eye doctor)?!
Question:
I'm seeing a flashing curved line of light...(for optometrist, eye doctor)?
in my left eye. It's actually in the corner of my eye. I wear glasses and have astigmatism and I've never experienced this. It's bothering somewhat since it obstructs my vision where that light is because it's just flashing. What could it be? Do I need to check my eyes right away or can it wait to see if it leaves on it's own? This barely started to happen about an hour ago. Has anyone with eye problems experienced this?
Additional Details6 days ago
It seems to have disappeared already, and lasted for about an hour. I'm not prone to migraines(have never had one) and since I still don't feel one coming I don't think it is one. But thanks for everyone. I have a clue of what it is at least and next time I'll check my eyes I'll tell my optometrist about it so he can check if it's severe or not.
Answers:
I just stopped by on my lunch break and read your question. From your description it definitely sounds like a migraine. BUT not a classic migraine. In a classic migraine the patient has a prodromal symptom. That can be a visual aura, a tingling or numbness of a part of the body, a buzzing or ringing in the ears, basically some type of a sensory phenomenon. This occurs because of a vascular change in the brain at the beginning of the migraine process. The prodromal symptom continues until the vascular event resolves. Then the phenomenon goes away. In classic migraine, though, a headache will follow closely after the resolution of the vascular event.
Some patients may experience the vascular event (which causes the sensory phenomenon) but not progress to the headache phase. We call this an ocular migraine.
Patients who have ocular migraines are more likely to some day progress to classic migraine. Hopefully, this won't be the case and hopefully you won't even have any more ocular migraines. But, be aware of this possibility and if you do notice in the future you are converting to classic migraine go in and see your M.D. There are some good oral medications available for managing migraine. Have a great day and a better tomorrow.