seeing flashes of black lines after elbowed in eye

[MovieVVhore]

I'm a 28-year-old male who wears contacts (-7.50 left eye, -7.00 right eye). I was just elbowed in the left eye a few hours ago while playing basketball. I've spent the last couple of hours holding an ice pack to it to minimize any swelling. However, I've noticed that almost any time I look to the left or move my gaze from right to left, I see one or two short black lines flash very quickly. They kind of look like a greater than sign ( > ) except the two lines are separated. The upper diagonal line I see a lot more often than the lower diagonal line. I think I occasionally see little black specks as well. I'm worried that I may have detached my retina or something. What's your professional opinion and advice?

[Timothy D McGarity, M.D.]

Hi, more than likely you have experienced a posterior vitreous detachment (PVD) with or without retinal tear and possibly bleeding into your vitreous cavity. You need to seek the care of a trained ophthalmologist (Eye MD) urgently (today). Are you located near a large hospital? Please let me know if this needs to be explained further.
Go get help!

[Timothy D McGarity, M.D.]

Great! I'm glad you were treated and you had the awareness to go seek help. Good luck.

[MovieVVhore]

Thank you, Tim. I ended up going to the ER shortly after I posted the original message. I had some holes in my retina that were immediately fixed with laser surgery.