Floaters and Small Bright Flashes

[Dakota102010]

Hello. I'm 25 years old, and am very nearsighted. For the past 6 years or so, i have been experiencing floaters and small flashes in my visions. I guess im looking more for ways to help "ignore" the little bright flashes than anything else. I have been to my eye doctor and an opthamologist and they have examined my eyes, and i told them about the floaters and small flashes. They have given the same answers to what ive seen on here, which is easing on the mind that they are not signs of brain tumors, or anything really serious. Becasue i like to self diagnose, haha, and always think the worse. When i first noticed the small flashes and floasters against white backgrounds and on bright days, i thought that i had a brain tumor. I do alot fo work with computers, and i find that i notice them more when using computers and on bright days. My eye doctors have both kind of said to just ignore them, that they are not harmful right now, its more of the camera flash bright flashes that they said they are worried about. My office walls are white, and i use a computer alot, and my boss wont paint the walls, haha, so i get quite stressed out when i see these floaters and small pin dot flashes all day when i look at the white backgrounds. I work in architecture, so looking at white drawings all day, and a computer screen, i see these all the time, and can get quite bothersome. Is there any techniques other than rolling your eyes. This works for the floasters, but its the little flashes against white backgrounds i would like to try and improve or ignore. Could this be due to dry eyes as well? any suggestions?


This discussion is related to Posterior Vitreous detachment.

[Dakota102010]

With the floaters, i also indicated to my eye doctor and opthalmologist that when looking at bright backgrounds, little bright dots are visible, like a pin dot, that move around quickly, is this along with the "photopsia", This was what alarmed me to thinking it was related to the brain. When i roll my eyes i can make the floaters tempoarily move out of my vision, but these little dots dont go away with eye movement. At night i cant notice them, its only during the day in the office when its sunny ( My office is white, so that doesn't help ). Any recommendations as far as eye exercises i could do, i use a computer alot as i work in Architecture.

[Flavius G Pernoud III, MD]

It's not dry eyes. Floaters are common and as long as you have been examined and are sure there is no traction on the retinal nor any hemorrhage, you have to learn to ignore them. They are always more prominent against a bright plain background like the sky. I'm not sure about the white dots. They could be a photopsia called "phosphene of quick action". Check that out.