Medical Questions > Conditions and Diseases > Vision and Eye Disorders Forum

See Pulsing Light When Going From Light to Dark

Must Read
What is pink eye?
What is pink eye and how long is pink eye contagious? Basic facts on types of conjunctivitis and pink eye here....
Read more >>
Pink Eye Causes and Risk Factors
Pink eye can be allergic, infectious or chemical. Details about what causes pink eye here....
Read more >>
Pink Eye Symptoms
What to do for pink eye? Learn to identify symptoms of pink eye first, and know when to seek medical help. Start understanding more here....
Read more >>
Conditions and Diseases
Celery Seed For Gout
Should I See Allergist Or Dermatologist?
Has Amyone Seen This?
Vision and Eye Disorders
New Glasses Seem Worse Than My Old...
I See Sudden Black Images
I See Wave-like Features In My Fieldof V...
Related Topics
Can You See My Avatar?
Going to the Park to See Stace
I Get to See Stace/mez. Tomarrow..nah Na...
September 4th, 2005
Does anyone else have these symptoms? I've had them for 4 years and can't find anyone else with the same thing. All of the below happen in the same area of my right eye:
started early to mid 2001

all of the following occur in my right eye, at about 3 o’clock and halfway between center and peripheral field of vision.

I have had floaters all of my life and this is not a floater.

Symptom i:
this occurs every morning upon waking. The affected area is a rounded square, irregular edges (and islands), and has the sensation you get after looking away from a bare light bulb or after a camera flash. It last for about 30 to 45 seconds and diminishes with each blink of my eyes. If I close my eyes, I can’t tell anything is there. (unlike looking away from a camera flash or bare light bulb).

Symptom ii:
this occurs each time that the affected area crosses from a dark area to a bright area such as a white wall in a well lit area or going from inside light to outside daylight. It varies in intensity from day to day. The affected area is an area of a crescent moon, an oval the same size as the moon, and then the same size area as the oval that shimmers. The whole area reminds me of a migraine aura that is just getting started. Blinking seems to intensify the brightness of the area for a split second. After 2-5 minutes in a bright area, it seems to fade but is still visible. If I close my eyes, I can’t tell anything is there. (unlike the aura of a migraine.).

Symptom iii:
this occurs randomly from one to sixty days apart. The affected area flashes or pulses very intensely when moving from bright areas to dark areas. The pulse is like a strobe light flashing at about 7-10 times a second. It last anywhere from 1-3 minutes. It also occurs if I close my eyes in a bright area. It has lately happened upon waking during the night. In those cases, I have no choice but to get up and turn on lights to get it to subside. I have not been able to correlate these events to anything, I did notice the last time it happened, I had sinus congestion. This symptom seems to be getting more intense and occurring more frequently.

I would love to hear from anyone with the same problems.

I need to add that I have had three comprehensive eye exams (the works) in the last nine months by three different ophthalmologists. All three have said the same thing, “everything looks fine, and your eyes are in great shape”. This is three doctors in three cities, all seemed to be very sharp. I have a neurologist appointment scheduled for the 27th of september.

George
Did you find this post helpful?
|
Travis13
replied September 5th, 2005
George, I too have had these wierd lights that look like a strobe light, in all three conditions it has been in that you stated. I dont know what it is or why it happens but I have had many many many eye exams from over 5 differenet doctors from opthomologist to a neuropthomologist, including a ct scan of my brain, and all of it was fine. I just started to notice what u explain after my checkups and everything. I have very bad allergies and was wondering if that could do with it too, maybe the pressure or something, but do you see the flashes when you're watching t.V.(a regular t.V. Without any type of screening), when theres seomthing white on the screen. Do u ever get what could look like tunnel vision when you look at something in the dark for about 15 seconds, really focusing on it, and then it goes completely black until you move your eyes around?
-travis
|
Did you find this post helpful?
gbirchfiel
replied September 8th, 2005
Travis – yes and yes. I have had the same two things you describe as long as I remember. (i’m 46 now.) the good news is that either it is getting better over the last forty years or I just don’t pay very much attention to it anymore. I am starting to believe what my last ophthalmologist said. He seemed to think that I pay very close attention to what I see and also that my eyes are pretty sensitive. I buy his argument to everything except the thing I described at the beginning of this thread. The pulsing blob and the shimmering spot are not normal and I not just paying more attention to them. If that were the case, I would have been ignoring it for 43 years and all of the sudden I start paying attention to it every day for the last 3 years. Let me as another question; are you susceptible to seeing tv’s flash if you go to a store that has a lot of tvs lined up? I can go to a coworkers desk and if they have a real low refresh rate set on their computer, it drives me crazy and I have to look away from there tube or adjust there monitor. They can’t tell any difference but I sure can. And I do think sinus pressure has something to do with all of this. If the neurologist can’t find anything, I going to a sinus/orbits doc and see what they say.
--- george
|
Did you find this post helpful?
Travis13
replied September 8th, 2005
Thank god...Just thought there was something wrong, and yes the t.V.S like flash, I dont know really how to explain it + with old computer monitors they flash if im not looking directly at them, like in my peripheal vision, (with t.V.S also), they will just start flashing like nuts! It's like taking a video recorder to a t.V. How you can see certain waves, but ya... I was at work and I asked my buddy to look at a fixed point that I had looked at, so you could see the monitor of the computer, in your perihperal, and he said ya he saw the waves/flashes too. It's for all comptuer monitors except for flat panels for me. Thanks, youve relieved me a lot, let me know what your sinus/orbits doc says.

Thank you,
travis
|
Did you find this post helpful?
Susie1964
replied February 26th, 2011
George / Travis,

Can't believe I found your posts! I have just tried calling a doctor to get an emergency appointment for exactly what you are decribing! (patricularly, George's symptom 1. George, I get exactly the same thing, right down to the roundish square spot with three or four "island' like spots near it, right eye, 3:00!! I get regular eye exams, and am told all is well also. It's still very scary to me! I too, am 46 years old. I also see flashes from my computer screen out of the corners of my eyes! I'm not a doctor, but I do believe that we probably do have sensitive eyes, and that this all has something to do with pulsating blood vessels, pressure, and allergies (I am stuffed ALL the time!). Benn down the same road as you....eye exams, MRI brain scans, etc, etc. All negative. Hang in there, guys!

Donna
|
Did you find this post helpful?
Tintinet
replied July 21st, 2012
Strobe flash effect
I'm glad I found this posting. For the past few days I've experienced the focal strobe effect intermittently. Seems to be localized to about 8:30 in my right eye. Can't see it with my eyes closed. If it persists, I'm going to go see an optometrist and will follow up.
|
Did you find this post helpful?
teddyteddy
replied May 10th, 2013
I noticed flashing light and dark spots in my right eye that were in time with my heart rate. I got very concerned as I just had an eye injection 3 weeks ago for wet macular degeneration. The retinal specialist said it was probably migraine (which I do get, but it does not pulsate like this). I am not convinced but have another visit scheduled for next week. I did find one mention on the internet of this happening when one eye is weaker than the other. My left eye is 20/25 and my right eye (after bleed) is 20/70 which is a big difference. Unequal eye strength is called amblyopia. I hope this straightens out when I am able to get glasses with correction for my decrease in vision.
|
Did you find this post helpful?
Sign up for FREE weekly health tips!
... Saving
Ask a doctor

Featured Experts
ibFaql
Fabian A. Quevedo
Stephen Thompson
Stephen Thompson
Optometry - Family Practice, Contact Len ...
eHealthPedia Articles
Cataracts
Cataracts Causes and Risk Factors
Cataracts Diagnosis
Cataracts Symptoms
Cataracts Treatment