Visual Disturbance

For the past year and an half I have experienced a strange disturbance in my vision, which occurs occasionally in both glaring and dim light.  

The disturbance appears in my central vision.  It looks like the grayish smudges you see on the edges of a bad xerox copy.  It is see through.  It does not move like a floater, but stays centrally located when I look around.  When I blink, the disturbance/image disappears for a second and then reappears.  It lasts no longer than 20-30 seconds.  I see it against light surfaces, but not against dark surfaces.

This happens only when using close vision.  For instance tonight I was attempting to take a picture of the cat with a cell phone.  The camera's screen was dimly lit.  When I looked up, the disturbance was present.   It also sometimes happens when a bright, glaring light reflects on a book I'm reading.

I have seen my opthalmalogist several times and all basic tests are normal.  I am near-sighted with astigmatisms in both eyes.  I have all sorts of floaters in both eyes.

I have experienced migraines which produced auras but no headache in the past.  I don't recall if I have had a migraine of this kind since this "disturbance" began.

Tonight, my left eye is itchy.  I do have allergies and just had a shot yesterday to help me build up my tolerance.  

Any help I could get in discovering what the disturbance is would be greatly appreciated.  

[Sandy Feldman, MD, MS]

Dear Phebemaria,

I would recommend that you seek the care of an eyeMD specializing in neuro-ophthalmology to help assess the visual disturbance you report.

Dr. Feldman

Sandy T. Feldman, M.D., M.S.
ClearView Eye and Laser Medical Center
San Diego, California

[reeree183]

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