# Is there something wrong with my eyes? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 18, 2003, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-something-wrong-with-my-eyes/182769 "2003-06-18T19:09:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![rik\_q](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9de0a6/32.png) [@rik\_q](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rik_q)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2003, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-something-wrong-with-my-eyes/182769/1 "2003-06-18T19:09:52Z")
When ever i look at something white, blue or night especially the sky i see thousands of little sparkly bits but i only notice it when i am conciously thinking about them although iam defently not imagining them. Does anyone know what this is? I’ve noticeed them for the last eight years! and they really annoy me. I went to an optician and docter ages ago but they said nothing was wrong but i know there is! any ideas? thx ---
**Author:** ![MLS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MLS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MLS)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2003, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-something-wrong-with-my-eyes/182769/2 "2003-06-18T20:11:29Z")
floaters. you’re getting old. ---
**Author:** ![MLS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MLS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MLS)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2003, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-something-wrong-with-my-eyes/182769/3 "2003-06-18T20:14:58Z")
I should have added that if it’s really been “ages” since you saw a doctor, you should see one again. I’m not a doctor, BTW, but I’ve read that as we age, little impurities get into the fluid in the eye. They are harmless AFAIK. It’s not a bad idea to see an eye doctor occasionally anyway. There are diseases such as glaucoma that have almost no symptoms until entirely too much time has gone by. If found early, it’s treatable. Just one suggestion. ---
**Author:** ![rik\_q](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9de0a6/32.png) [@rik\_q](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rik_q)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2003, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-something-wrong-with-my-eyes/182769/4 "2003-06-18T21:16:37Z")
iam only 21 ☹ ---
**Author:** ![alimarx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e274bd/32.png) [@alimarx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alimarx)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2003, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-something-wrong-with-my-eyes/182769/5 "2003-06-18T22:46:24Z")
I’ve noticed floaters since I was 15. Wasn’t so bad then, but they were observable. It gets more and more noticable as you get older. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Wolfian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/7ea924/32.png) [@Wolfian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wolfian)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2003, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-something-wrong-with-my-eyes/182769/6 "2003-06-18T22:51:22Z")
I’ve had that as long as I can remember. You’re fine. ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2003, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-something-wrong-with-my-eyes/182769/7 "2003-06-18T23:57:36Z")
This sounds more like low level [ocular flashes](http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&safe=off&as_qdr=all&q=ocular+flashes+vision) than it does floaters. While bright or persistent flashes may be a symptom of eye problems, your description of having to concentrate on them in order to see them makes it more likely you are just picking up a perfectly normal, but seldom remarked upon, shortcoming in human vison. Such flashes are often reported by [meteor spotters](http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&safe=off&as_qdr=all&q=ocular+flashes+vision), but if you’re looking for them, they’ll also be there whenever you gaze at a clear blue sky. ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2003, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-something-wrong-with-my-eyes/182769/8 "2003-06-19T02:15:57Z")
I agree it doesn’t sound like floaters. Floaters are most noticeable in bright light, when looking at a large bright surface (daytime sky or white wall). They look like little dust particles, which is what they are. If you notice any change in the way your eye behaves, it’s best to get it checked out. Even with plain floaters, if you notice a sudden increase in the number of floaters it can be a sign of imminent retinal detachment. ---
**Author:** ![Eirik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b19c9b/32.png) [@Eirik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eirik)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2003, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-something-wrong-with-my-eyes/182769/9 "2003-06-19T02:27:06Z")
First off, if you’re concerned, see your local optometrist. It does sound like you’re seeing something like phosphenes, essentially little flashes as nerves in your eye are stimulated but not by light (or not much light). But, it could be something else, like a small tear or detachment, and should be checked out. Oh, and the vast majority of floaters are not dust particles. They are usually the result of a blood vessel that used to run from the optic nerve through the center of the eye and attached to the back of the fetal lens during development. In the vast majority of cases, that vessel totaly breaks down and falls apart, but the fragments remain as floaters. Occationally, it’ll leave a mark or fragment on the back of the lens (called a Mittendorfs dot). On one occation (last week, in fact) I saw a young woman who had this blood vessel still intact from optic nerve to the lens. Very rare (and caused a cataract). ---
**Author:** ![suezeekay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/839c29/32.png) [@suezeekay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suezeekay)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2003, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-something-wrong-with-my-eyes/182769/10 "2003-06-19T03:55:06Z")
I have floaters and flashing light as well. A couple of times a year I’ll get jagged flashes at the edges of my vision on both sides; all I can do is put a hot towel on my head, lay down and wait for it to go away. I absolutely freaked out the first time it happened, but a retinologist told me there were no problems. Eirik, can I ask you: I have floaters but the other day they got so bad I couldn’t read with my left eye; but, they vanished in 24 hours. should I be concerned as long as they went away? ---
**Author:** ![Askance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askance/32/8281_2.png) [@Askance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askance)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2003, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-something-wrong-with-my-eyes/182769/11 "2003-06-19T04:58:19Z")
I love it that a thread called “Is there something wrong with my eyes?” is right above one called “Masturbation” ! ---
**Author:** ![CelraySoda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e36b37/32.png) [@CelraySoda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CelraySoda)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2003, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-something-wrong-with-my-eyes/182769/12 "2003-06-19T05:26:56Z")
There was a column answered by Cecil himself about this. They are retinal detatchments floating around in your eye jelly from when you were growing up. It was a little more scientific but that was pretty much what they said. No harm done to you. -M ---
**Author:** ![bbeaty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c0e974/32.png) [@bbeaty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bbeaty)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2003, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-something-wrong-with-my-eyes/182769/13 "2003-06-20T03:16:53Z")
Are the sparks wiggling? If your sparkly bits are zipping around, then they’re actually leukocytes in the capillaries in front of your retina. They are large enough to cast shadows on the retina, while red blood cells in the capillaries are a bit too small for this. I would predict that blue light would enhance the effect, since blue wavelengths are shorter, so smaller objects will then cast shadows. The overall “moving leukocytes effect” is called “Scheerer’s Phenomenon.” If you watch carefully you’ll see some of the little sparks tracing a repeating path. Each path is actually an invisible blood vessel in your eye. Also you can see the sparks moving fast-slow-fast-slow in time with your heartbeat. As for myself, I usually notice this effect after suddenly lying down on the ground and staring up at the bright sky. I suspect that this occurs because the blood pressure in my head is high for a moment, which expands the capillaries in my eyes, which makes the moving blood cells slightly more visible than normal. I’ve heard that some people see these moving specks all the time. This might be genetic (abnormally large retinal capillaries) or might be a consequence of old age, or it might even have something to do with high blood pressure. ---
**Author:** ![Shirty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b38774/32.png) [@Shirty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirty)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2003, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-something-wrong-with-my-eyes/182769/14 "2003-06-20T05:38:29Z")
Does anyone else notice that in a darkened room or, say at night, when you look around you don’t see shades of black (my crude description of the dark) but more like what night vision goggles see; a ‘fuzzy’ representation of the world, looking a bit like ‘snow’ on a poorly tuned tv. If anyone understands this description, is this normal for them? ---
**Author:** ![Zoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a4c791/32.png) [@Zoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoe)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2003, 5:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-something-wrong-with-my-eyes/182769/15 "2003-06-20T05:48:20Z")
Is it possible for several people to see these little sparkly, glittery thingies at the same time? After a storm, several of us were in the backyard where we had been watching a rainbow. I saw them first, then my husband and two grandchildren. A couple of other adults couldn’t see them. We thought it might be weather related. Something else that I have always called floaters are dark and are more likely to move when I bat my eyes. I can also see my pulse in these sometimes. ---
**Author:** ![rik\_q](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9de0a6/32.png) [@rik\_q](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rik_q)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2003, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-something-wrong-with-my-eyes/182769/16 "2003-06-20T17:03:19Z")
comatoast i get that aswell!