Flashing light upon eye movement

[bad eyes]

I see flashing lights in my left eye when I move my eye in the dark.  The flashing stops when I hold the eye still.  Should I be concerned?  What are the possible causes?

[Nancy T]

Wow, interesting. I have had this for several years--flashing white circles in my left eye when moving my eyes in the dark. (I am now 51.)

The optometrist was not concerned, and I never mentioned it to the ophthalmologist whom I now see, but I've had several eye exams since it started, so in my case at least it must not be anything bad.

Nancy T.

[katika29]

I had flashing lights which I ignored for a few weeks until all of a sudden a black curtain fell across my eyesight and I couldn't see anything but black out of that eye.  I went to the eye Dr. right away.  I had a retinal detachment, which if I had paid attention to and gone to a Dr. earlier could have prevented my loss of vision in that eye.  Floaters and flashes of light when occuring together usually indicate an eye problem, possibly detached retina - go to a eye specialist right away, don't wait.

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

Yes, you should be concerned. you need to see an Eye MD ophthalmologist to determine if you have retinal hole, tear, posterior vitreous detachment, vascular occlusion, etc. Find one at www.aao.org

JCH MD