Winter reflection damage

[WDaveO]

Good Afternoon,

I was outside for around 3 hours on Friday doing a long walk. At no time during the walk did I have any pain or notice anything going on with my eyes out of the ordinary but when I returned I realized I had a bright spot on my right eye which i expect is from damage from reflections off of the snow. My left eye is totally fine however there is a static spot on my right eye that seems to glow and/or discolour images. If I cover my left eye I can see this almost round area where things get a colour cast while if I close my eyes I can see the spot glowing and then fade to black. The spot is always in the same place and hasn't gone away after 2 days though it may have faded in intensity it is hard to say. I've tried researching it but I'm not familiar with the terminology so I'm not certain if I found any references to it. All I'm wondering is can I reasonably expect it to just go away and if so how long is it likely to take / when should I consider it a reason to see a doctor? Thanks for any assistance you can provide.

[Houman Vosoghi, MD]

You should go see a retina specialist.  Most of the time it's just overstimulation of the retina causing a washout effect.  If it's been there more than 2 days you have to be examined to make sure it hasn't caused a sun burn to the retina.

HV

[WDaveO]

Thanks for the responce. I did end up going to see a doctor (I'm actually in the Canadian military and I didn't think it could happen that quickly so I was wondering how to know if it was important enough to try before I deploy :) ) As it turns out the light probably wasn't a factor I apparently have Central Serous Retinopathy and bulge it caused in my right eye just made the glare effects more pronounced after my 3 hour march. Luckily it's expected to go away on its own over time.