Sparks when looking sideways

[wunbun]

Dear Doctor,

I started having one floater in my right eye since I was a child but I would only notice it very rarely.  Since two months ago I have been seeing it all the times.  When I close my eyes and look all the way to the left or right I would also see a "spark of light" that disappear right away.

If I open the curtain in a completely dark room to look outside when it is very bright, and then I close the curtain again, I would see lights flashing for almost 5 seconds in the darkness.

I had an eye exam with an ophamologist in Jan this year, and another one with an optometrist in July this year.  Both of them said that my eyes are okay and I only have floaters.

Should I be concern and get another eye exam?  If yes, should I see an optometrist or an ophamologist?

Thank you very much for your help.

Wun

[wunbun]

Hi cackleberry, thanks for your message.  I just read it, and am glad that someone understands how frustrating it is to live with floaters!

[cacklebunny]

Hi wun:

I saw you had noted floaters...if they're very noticeable like mine, obviously it's a problem.  I'm not sure why doctors are minimizing or poo-pooing those who have large, dark, numerous floaters that disrupt vision.  It's not that some people are more prone to complain about them than others:  it's that some people have worse cases of floaters than the rest of the population that have so few as to never notice.

I recommend downloading a program called the Floater Simulator. It is DEAD ON accurate. It even simulates the strange starbursts and "boiling" lights some people in this group have described.

You can download it at:
http://www.floatershell.com/

[wunbun]

Thanks so much for your response Doctor.

[Forum-OD-MP]

everyone has floaters.  no big deal.

"When I close my eyes and look all the way to the left or right I would also see a "spark of light" that disappear right away."

pressure phosphene.  totally benign.

"If I open the curtain in a completely dark room to look outside when it is very bright, and then I close the curtain again, I would see lights flashing for almost 5 seconds in the darkness."

photostress.  again, totally benign.

no, you do  not need another eye exam if those are your only 3 complaints.  all 3 of those are totally normal and completely benign, and totally unfixable.