What causes phosphenes when eyes are open?

[God_of_Fun]

I've been experiencing this for a while. It started when I was 16, though it may have been earlier, with seeing auras of no particular color only energy around anything that was backdropped by white or the sky. I proceeded to ignore it until one day 9 months ago I looked up and the sky wasn't blue anymore it was, well, phosphenes-y. The when I close my eyes I see the same pattern. The aura's persist. All of these symptoms are easily filtered out when busy. Around the same time I also developed tinnitus, which I can only hear when I'm in bed and its quiet and I remember that its there to be listened to.

[JohnHaganMD]

It would be one of the many entopic phenomena. Please read the section in Wikipedia.com on entopic phenomena. One of those is being able to see the blood vessels in your eye and the blood cells (corpuscles) in your eye

JCHMD

[rajesri21]

When I meditate by closing eyes,I  see an eye inside look like exactly like human eye but the size of that eye is different at different times.Is that the image of our eye reflected in phosphenes.Plz clarify...

[Bee94828]

Thankyou !

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

Re-read this discussion comments. It would apply to you also.  If nothing serious has developed over 2 years its not likely to be anything serious.
JCH MD

[Bee94828]

Hi, I'm 18 years old. I keep seeing white flashy lights along with tiny black dots that NEVER goes away. Sometimes when I wake up after a long sleep they get brighter and then when I start ignoring them it gets less noticeable [it is ALWAYS there!], but maybe I'm just getting used to it. I first started noticing these when I was 16, but I think they have been there even before. I got my head checked, also my blood, but there was not anything wrong. What do you think is happening?

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

=

[SarahVS]

Google Visual Snow Syndrome. And welcome to our facebook group. The tinnitus IS related. Visual Snow syndrome is recently being researched by Prof Goadsby and Prof Schankin in the US and by prof Ferrari at LUMC in Leiden, Netherlands.

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

I think your anxiety is more of a problem than your observations. Now that you've been to a neuro-ophthalmologist and been found free of disease I would not worry unless something else develops. In the meantime be sure you're under the care of a psychiatrist. The medical treatment of anxiety and depression are one of he greatest triumphs of modern medicine. You might head over to the anxiety forums also.

JCH MD

[koorosh1]

Is there anything I can do to help cure or fix my eyes from seeing visual snow and keep my eyes from looking up.

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

1. Make sure you have had a thorough eye exam by an Eye MD and your eyes are normal.  2. Get on with life and ignore it.  3. If you have high anxiety see a psychologist or psychiatrist to work on it.  4. Consider CBT (cognitive behavior therapy)

[aco275]

The pinky hue moves up for a ffew seconds. It can be pinky-white and then it dissapears. And it doesnt seem like a neurological symptom. I have symptoms of health anxiety, as i am paranoid and have to be reasured from a doctor about every symptom. What do you recomend

[aco275]

Hello !
I am 15 years old and experience a phenomena. Every day i see a pinky hue kind of dot in my vision in both eyes that goes away after a few seconds but when i change my eye movement i see it again. I can see only one. Its driving me nuts. I can see it in rooms only(in the house). Outside even in dark or day i do not see this phenomena. I have been to a neuro-ophtalmologist who found no abnormalities. I have seen this phenomena for a few years. I also experience blue field entoptic phenomena but my doctor sead my eyes are healthy. And they are not migraines as i do not experience the zigzag aura or the scotoma. And i do not have diabetes. I do have health anxiety.

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

That is not a phosphene. Most likely its an eye migraine or ophthalmic migraine scintillating scotoma.  The fact you've had them so long is very reassuring and usually rules out TIA due to disease of heart, brain, blood vessels or eye.

Use the search feature and archives to read about; use good search and pull up images of migraine scotoma;

JCH MD

[td82520]

Is it common to have a 15 min episode of these that are present with eyes open and shut in the exact same location in my field of vision, but years apart (5years ago?)?  I had a L shaped area that if seen on a clock face extend from 7pm to 11pm. This thin tiny area seems to move inside this boundry with jagged black and white bands, like a strobe effect juts in this thin L shape area at the edge of my file of vision.  WIkipedia has a great diagram that was exactly what I saw a slice of. I feel great and had a perfect eye exam last week - female, age 50. I have had floaters, but they're not an issue. I need glasses for TV and magnifiers for reading, and have a slight astigmatism in both eyes.Blood work lab results are great too.  Should I be worried?

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

Use the search feature and archives to read about entopic phenomena; also read the section on wikipedia about it.

The tinnitus is likely unrelated. See an Ear-Nose-Throat physician MD about it.

JCH MD