Why do my eyes feel weird looking at certain objects?

[mark1001]

Recently, I have discovered this new feeling related to my eyes. The feeling is hard to discribe but its quite strange.

When I look at certain objects such as trees, spears or anything pointy/sharp, I get this feeling within my eyes. This feeling forces me to look away from the object. I wouldnt call the feeling pain its more discomfort.

Sounds really weird but I dont have a clue what it could be related too. If I had to discribe the feeling, imagin someone holding a pin to your eye and slowing moving it forward, your reaction would be to look away, thats the best I can discribe it.

Hope you can help.

Mark

[david678194]

So this is actually a syndrome called, visual looming eye syndrome and what happens is that whenever your brain looks at a pointy or sharp object, your eyes will feel the object as if it were extremly up close to your eyes to were you think it will poke your eye, i dont know if there is a treatment though but it gets worse when you are tired, the syndrome also worsens if you have night blindness.

[John C Hagan III, MD, FACS, FAAO]

=

[TheBardiMan]

I experience the same thing! Only not with real objects. But when i daydream or thing about sharp/pointy things, but not all the time. Sometimes i don't experience it at all.

[rpertusio]

Thanks to Cattrina77, who sent this in a message:

It´s called Visual Looming Syndrome https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visual_looming_syndrome

[Sharpain]

One thing I noticed is that my left eye is not my dominant eye and it is the one that helps me minimize Sees.

[Taleelee]

I'm 37 years old and have had this problem since 13. I'm amazed to find other people having this problem. My phobia is of sharp pointy objects: furniture corners, open lap tops, straws in drinks ect... I have been gluten free for about a month (unknowingly of its suggestive connection) and have had more frequent episodes since, which brought me to googling it and finding this forum. Which leads me to believe gluten is not an issue for me regarding this phobia.
I do however relate to having some forms of "synesthesia".

What helps me is simply turn away from the object. Cover it with pillows or blankets. I haven't had a nightstand in a long time. Push my straw away and ask others to as well.

I've never had eye trauma. I have pretty good vision. I will wear reading glasses once in awhile.

It's great to read all of your comments. I will keep reading and learn from all of you...

It's funny, I thought my phobia was because I got stabbed in the eye in my past life.  :)

[Juanski]

Hi everyone,
I have to say that I am relieved to find that I am not the only one who has this condition. I found this discussion group quite by random after trying to describe to a friend how my eyes feel when I look at helicopter rotors or umbrellas.   I now know that there is an actual "phobia" for this.

- Juan

[tory81]

Hello, I have had this for years sometimes worse than others at the moment it is really bad i fined it hard to drive or just walk around the house in the morning. it seems worse in the morning and now makes me feel really sick. I would love to know how to get rid of it because irs driving me mad.
Vicky

[chester124]

Visual  Looming Syndrome.

[John C Hagan III, MD, FACS, FAAO]

This discussion is too old and long for me to answer. Please start a new discussion.

[OliveJuice1]

Following this thread! I have this same issue, and now my five year old son has been complaining about the sharpness of forks and some sensitivity in his eyes.

[chester124]

Its called Visual Looming Syndrome.

[John C Hagan III, MD, FACS, FAAO]

THIS STRING OF QUESTIONS IS TOO LONG TO MONITOR AND I WILL NOT BE ANSWERING QUESTIONS ON IT. IF YOU WISH START A NEW DISCUSSION. JHAGAN MD

[Thatoneboggs]

Hello I've been trying to scroll through the bottom. I have this problem but its my nose? Whenever I look at something pointy it hurts my nose. Its been worse and worse lately especially when I wake up. I have to press my nose in or cause physical pain for it to go away. Its keeping me away and this is like the only thing similar I can find on the internet.

[JohnHaganMD]

THIS POST IS TOO LONG. ANYONE WITH NEW PROBLEM START A NEW DISCUSSION

[JohnHaganMD]

=

[MerrickReynolds]

Hi Mark and everyone else,

Good news! Im just starting a study on this and hopefully, we can find some relief or at least get it medically documented so people don't think we are crazy ha. Thanks for everyone that has signed up to help on FB and Reddit. Not sure if you will read this, I wish there was a way to not have to scroll through 400 comments to get to the bottom of MedHelp but I hope this finds you!

[Wrestler15]

Hello, I am returning to this thread after my first post in 2011. Wow. It's nice to see there is still an active group for support and looking for answers. I can add that over the years this issue has bothered me less. The "pain" sensation seems to be localized only to my right eye. I now wear glasses with thick frames and this seems to help as my eye feels "protected." I have also noticed that if I look in the opposite corner of my vision (towards my far left) it seems like an eye muscle in my right eye stretches and this gives some relief.

[Teyew]

After reading through this whole thread, the only thing i can add is that i had septoplasty surgery two weeks ago and my symptoms have never been worse.

Visual Looming Syndrome has been causing headaches and making it near impossible to sleep which only makes the symptoms worse.

I have always suffered but since having the nasal surgery it has been a whole new level. Immediately upon waking from the anaesthesia I noticed that the symptoms were ‘heightened’. This may gleam a little more insight that the sinuses/nose may be related.

[aceroa]

So it's been 2 years since I've posted. I can happily say that my symptoms are 95% gone! It's rarely ever a problem, and I'm no longer thinking about it on a daily basis like I was when I first posted.  

What did I do to fix it? Well I stopped wearing the glasses that I felt had too strong of a prescription. Those glasses I felt amplified my Visual Looming Syndrome. I went back to using contacts and told my eye doctor to lessen the prescription so things wouldn't look as sharp and 3D, if that makes sense.

I do definitely think that this problem is also partially mental for me too. Because nowadays, the only time I've noticed symptoms is during times of stress, but even then it's rare. So far this year, there's only been 1 instance for a few minutes, that I was bothered by any pointy objects.

I'm thankful that this is no longer a big problem for me, and that it's essentially out of my life.

My advice for anyone reading this, is to go to your eye doctor and make sure your glasses are the right prescription for YOU. That might mean decreasing the strength of your eye prescription. I would also encourage you to try contacts rather than eye glasses because that's what worked better for me personally.
Finally, I know it's hard but try not to think too much about pointy objects. It sounds silly but I feel the longer I think about it, the more likely it is that I'll have problems. I believe part of the battle is mental. Good luck everyone!

[JohnHaganMD]

Thanks for the follow up and glad it had a happy ending.  There are some eye problems that seem to only exist on the internet, likely because they are so rare, "visual looming" is one of them.

[aceroa]

Thanks! Yeah that's true, everyone I've talked to has never heard of Visual Looming, even my brother who's a doctor. Hopefully my story is able to reach others with this problem and can help them beat it as well. It sounds so obvious, but I really think going to the eye doctor and getting the right eye prescription is key to beating this. It's so overlooked, but at least that was my experience.
Cheers!

[JohnHaganMD]

Cheers.

[Brandonchick]

According to me, your this type of problem indicate the "fear of pointy objects hitting the eye", "weird sensation behind the eyes", "difficulty in focusing on objects nearby, which are moving and are not operated by the observer, such as windscreen wipers or a pencil someone else is holding".

[John C Hagan III, MD, FACS, FAAO]

=

[pacificson]

Hello

Having a first experience with this at just under 10 years old really took me by surprise too. In 20012 or 13 was the first time I ever found a person on the internet who had a similar thing... I am 31. I have had problems with windshield wipers, store shelves, white lights at night, passing trees on the road -you name it.

I am generally active but only the last few years. I think it helps but that may be obvious! My Right eye is weaker than the left. I also have had some back pain on the right side and muscle tension down the right side which I think may be related. I I have a few questions from reading the forum if people can tell me their experience!

Has anyone seen symptoms improve and what has done it?

Has anyone done any of the left eye, right eye dominance tests? If some people can do them with the eye they have to close when they feel the pain and cover the other eye I really wanna know how they feel? they are easy to find in app stores. anyones experience would be nice to hear.

Also has anyone had someone do a pen test to see how each eye responds to movement and tracking, and if its smooth? together both eyes and apart?

-My right eye is harder to control watching the pen. it is less smooth. when i get better at that the pain comes less for me.

Does anyone here meditate or do yoga and do they feel it helps? I do!

if anyone can respond it would be really awesome. thanks

[John C Hagan III, MD, FACS, FAAO]

=

[pacificson]

Dr. Hagan what is (=)?

[John C Hagan III, MD, FACS, FAAO]

It means I've read the question but don't have any response to make. This is not something I have any experience with. I have never had a patient come in with the complaints that this discussion thread is making. Sorry just nothing to add.

[pacificson]

Dr Hagan

Could this be a kind of Binocular Vision Disfunction causing headaches and dizziness? Possibly could be from both eyes not tracking together and having trouble telling the brain about bright, pointy, or moving objects?

[John C Hagan III, MD, FACS, FAAO]

I have said many times I don't have a problem with saying "I don't know" when I have no experience or don't have a clue about something. I have never had a patient come in with these complaints so I have nothing to draw on. If you want to push it to the limits then see a neuro-ophthalmologist at a well known, respected medical center.

[ryveit]

Its been a couple of years since I posted here. I think I want to try to pursue fixing this Visual Looming Syndrome again. I noticed a few people on here mentioned allergies being the cause. I used to be on an allergy pill and nasal spray, and as far as I remember, my symptoms were relieved temporarily. I have seasonal allergies which cause intense sneezing (worse in the spring and summer months). Also nasal dryness which causes me to sniff, sometimes with pain, leaving me with tenderness inside my nostrils. I do notice a temporary intensity of symptoms after a dry sniff. I was also recently diagnosed with a deviated septum. I think I may look into getting back on allergy pills and maybe getting my septum realigned.

My symptoms recently got worse when I began taking a pill called Sertaline for anxiety. I stopped taking the pill and am beginning to see my symptoms return to less intensity. There are a few pills which have increased the severity of my symptoms.

Does anyone else here have allergies which cause dry nostrils?

[ryveit]

Another mention: My left eye has been having muscle spasms on the upper eyelid for about a month. It isn't constant, but it is frequent.

[John C Hagan III, MD, FACS, FAAO]

=

[Adambrian]

According to me, you must go to Eyecare Specialist as soon as possible. Then doctors will suggest you what you can do or which type of medicines you will take. Please wash your eye daily & contact eyecare enter which near by you.

[John C Hagan III, MD, FACS, FAAO]

=

[Brett85]

Hi, I have the same issue and don't take any medication whatsoever. I find issues with looking at hooks in a shop, pens in peoples hands, bugs on the car windscreen, focusing on telephone cords (coiled type on an old style phone), I also have difficulty focusing on black chalk boards with white chalk writing and struggle with focusing on bright lights at night time. I'm 32 and would say i've had this issue since i was a teenager, lately i feel it's getting worse and becoming more noticeable to people who aren't aware of my "strange eye thing". I probably could do with wearing glasses but keep putting it off. Has anyone found this helps? I know i have a mild astigmatism in one eye so thinking this could be the issue.

[x_Aria_x]

Hey there, so sorry to hear you have this too!  It seems like there are quite a few possible causes to this issue.  Do you ever wear contacts?  I'm nearsighted.  I have an astigmatism (apparently at an odd angle) in one eye & a little bit of one in the other.  I've only really started wearing contacts / glasses for the past 2 years.  I started wearing one regular contact and one toric one for the astigmatism - was ehh, okay.  I went to another eye doctor who pointed out that - since my astigmatism is at the odd angle - I only had a few choices of contacts (so...conflicting information).  I ended up not doing well with contacts & switched to glasses.  I've found that sometimes, when weird eye thing is bothering me, I feel better taking the glasses off for a while.  That might be because I stare at computers, numbers, & spreadsheets all day though.  Aside from my eyes, I get a weird feeling around the bridge of my nose, so I prefer metal glasses & don't have them too tight around my nose.  Just a thought, but if you can wear contacts instead of glasses, it might be a better idea?  This wiki page is probably the most detailed information (not a lot) - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visual_looming_syndrome    - but it does mention astigmatism as a possibility.  I'd say going to an ophthalmologist wouldn't hurt - it could help, either way you say you've been putting it off  :)   My eye doctor looked at the nerves in my eyes & said they seemed fine, that was good to hear.  I do think my issue is antidepressant-related, so I can't really say that glasses helped - but they could very well help you.  That wiki site says this is a "neurological and muscular state" & that things like being tired, drinking - I guess that might affect the muscles.  I have horrible allergies, so sometimes I take sudafed (with pseudoephedrine) - it seems to loosen up the muscles & give some relief.  Maybe not a long-term solution, but it's a cheap thing to try (I am NOT a doctor!).  Hope you keep us all updated.  The ophthalmologist on this thread, John C Hagan III, MD, FACS, FAAO, will hopefully chime in.

[x_Aria_x]

   Hey, I bookmarked this article years ago & am just looking back into it.  My issue is a little different - it's not so much pointy things that bother my eyes, more like sharp angles - corner of a ceiling, corner of a computer where I X out a screen, too many bars on a birdcage sort of thing.  It's generalized at the bridge of my nose / behind my eyes.  My brother remembers having the pointy issue.  After trial & error, I know why this happens to me & my brother - for us it's a side effect of antidepressants.  Pain pills don't help, the one migraine med I tried didn't help - Klonopin makes this go away for me.  It's not something people like to prescribe much anymore, but my dad is a psychiatrist so we tried it.
   I started on antidepressants in 3rd grade for obsessive compulsive disorder, and need them for depression.  Before ever taking Klonopin, I'd been on and off different antidepressants to find the best one.  Every time I went off one, the weird eye discomfort would go away.
   I've recently been trying to find something else - benzos are very stigmatized.  I started on Klonopin when I was 18 and I'm 34 now.  I've been tapering down the Klonopin to see if I can do a lower dose without the eye craziness, but it's coming back.  I've also notices twinges of OCD when angles are bothering me.
   The only other thing I've found that has given *some* comfort is sudafed with pseudoephedrine.  Sounds weird, but this eye thing is weird too.  If anyone wants to talk more, I'm checking the boxes to be notified of new activity on this / joining the community.
   I did go to a neurologist recently, but they tried to tell me it was neck related and wanted me to do physical therapy (I know for me it's a side effect, I may try a new neurologist, that seems ridiculous to me).  People have tried to blame this on lifestyle, exercise, eating healthy, drinking, smoking - I never did anything bad in grade school, so I believe I've ruled all of that out!
   Anyone else on an antidepressant or have any OCD?
~*~*~ Aria ~*~*~

[x_Aria_x]

This is interesting (found it reading up) - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visual_looming_syndrome  ......I do have an astigmatism set at a strange angle in one eye, and a little bit of an astigmatism in the other eye.  According to my eye doctor, the nerves in my eyes look perfectly healthy.  There are only certain brands of toric contact lenses for an astigmatism at the angle mine is at (I wear glasses, but they drive me crazy).  Has anyone been to a Neuro-ophthalmologist?    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neuro-ophthalmology        .....seems like something to try.
I'm sure you're not all just on antidepressants  :)

[John C Hagan III, MD, FACS, FAAO]

Sorry, never had a patient complain of this and have no experience with it at all.

[AmaRus56]

Hello Aria,
My 13 yr old son has recently been complaining of these symptoms and is taking Lexapro for anxiety.  I would be interested in learning more about your experience.

[John C Hagan III, MD, FACS, FAAO]

=

[x_Aria_x]

I sent you a ridiculously long message  :)   If anyone else would like more info. from me, I'd be happy to send you one too.

[John C Hagan III, MD, FACS, FAAO]

=

[x_Aria_x]

Small update - I ended up going to a neurologist & having a brain MRI (it came out with nooo issues!).  I didn't originally go for eye reasons - I was having really horrible muscle pain in my neck & shoulders, which eventually lead to tingling in my hands/arms (plus my mom has MS, so I wanted to rule that out).  The neurologist had no suggestions (I figured, but I didn't know if there was maybe some sort of migraine med or something to try *shrugs*).  His advice to me was to stick with the meds I'm on if they're working.  He also said that if I wanted to really get my eyes checked out, I should go to a neuro ophthalmologist (at this point, I'm not planning on it).  I started a biologic for plaque psoriasis, thinking it would just help my skin - it turns out it got rid of all of the neck & shoulder tightness as well.  So I likely have psoriatic arthritis (which causes inflammation).  I'm adding this because the wiki page says this is a neurological & muscular thing.  My eyes are no different, but it just had me thinking that there are a lot of things that can cause inflammation on your face, even if you're not really aware that it's happening.

[John C Hagan III, MD, FACS, FAAO]

Thanks for the update and I'm happy you are feeling better.

[Fangs129]

I tried researching for treatments but their are none as of now.  Does anyone have any ideas on how to treat this.

[John C Hagan III, MD, FACS, FAAO]

=