Floaters/Afterimages/ Flashes/ Halos

[katie2424]

I have experienced some visual symptoms since I was sixteen year old. I am almost twenty four now and otherwise a healthy female. I noticed lots of floaters around the age of sixteen and also had weird symptoms of seeing spots of color or small black or metallic looking shapes in my vision. These disturbances do not last very long, usually through a few blinks. They are usually triggered by looking at bright light, or a bright object and then looking away. Two years ago, I developed the symptom of seeing halos around traffic lights at night. Around this time I also developed what I have since learned to be called "afterimages." For example, if I wave my hand, I will see a trail following it. If I look at a white light, I will see a spectrum of color after wards. If I look at a red light, and gaze upon something else after, I will see a green light. I also developed around this time a slight " flickering" in my vision and am a sight "visual snow." My sensitivity to light has also dramatically increased, and when walking towards the sun, I lose a lot of color in my vision. Everything looks shady and grey. I have been seen by several eye doctors since the onset of the symptoms at age 16 and again when I developed the halos at night. No one has ever been able to figure it anything that could be wrong. I stopped seeking medical attention a year ago. I had an MRI which came back as normal, but this was prior to the onset of halos.

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated or recommendations for other avenues to pursue would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for your time.

Katie

[yojit]

Is seeing negative afterimage a eye or a neuro disorder and can it be a sign of a major problem?thanks

[Ray T Oyakawa, MD]

If you have been evaluated and nothing serious was found and it is stable-I would just follow and at least have routine yearly checks.

Dr. O.

[katie2424]

Thank you Dr.

I did see one nearly two years ago. He did not do anything that a regular eye doctor did not already do. He ran no tests or anything. My situation has not progressed in a while, and I have adapted to these odd vision disturbances but it is always in the back of my mind.

If I do go to see a neuro-opthalmologist this time around again, are there any tests that I can request to prevent my condition from being overlooked again?  Furthermore, do you have any plausible guesses for what this may be, so that I can ask the Dr. to check for those conditions.


I've spent over 4,000 in medical bills with no answers, which has led me to not seek any medical attention for awhile....on a scale of 1 to 10, how important/ urgent do you think it is to seek attention for my symptoms being that they have stayed stable for quite some time ( just your best guess).

Thanks again Dr.

Thanks again Dr.

[Ray T Oyakawa, MD]

Please see a neuro-ophthalmologist.

Dr. O.