i have been perusing these forums for a few months now, so i feel somewhat aquainted...athough this is my first post, so please pardon my table manners...
And on to the question... I have been experiencing a rather peculiar visual phenomenon. I see through my left eye (only my left eye) a floating violet coloured halo...sort of a ring, semi transparent. It tracks (i.e. it followes my eye movement) and becomes more prominent after blinking. it tends to attain a brighter hue in natural light. I am right eye dominant so I can mostly ignor it although it has been hovering around for 2 days now and is disconcerting to say the least. I am myopic and wear glasses/contacts. I attribute this to eye fatigue/strain...staring at computer screens 8 hours a day. the modicum of research I have had tyme for has turned up little info on the cause of this sort of visual anomaly...It is not a bright spot, it is not a dead spot. I did not suffer a mild stroke...blah, blah, blah...This is NOT drug induced...
Any opthalmologists out there? Has anyone experienced anything like this before? Any feedback would be appreciated.
p.s. forum rules says HTML code is off. How doyou turn it on? Or do you just throw some tags in?
WAG here: when the human fetus is developing, there is an artery (or vein? Don’t recall…) inside the eye that dies off when the eye is fully developed. The only problem is that the dead husk of the artery (or vein) remains floating around in the fluid of the eye, and occasionally moves between the cornea and the retina (I have a big hunk floating around in my left eye right now, and it moves with the eye… it looks, to me, like a long thread-like bacteria viewed through a microscope…). Could a large chunk of defunct (chunk of defunct!! Great band name!) artery (or vein) obscure your vision a bit, and cause a violet colored halo? Maybe…
Anyways, I would see an eye doctor about this, just to make sure it is NOT something more serious!
PS:I think HTML code is off so that the boards can dictate their own special fonts, etc. (guess, as I’m a total newbie at coding)… check the FAQ’s for coding to see special fonts and smilies…
Try a search on ‘floater’ in your search engine for more info, but here are some FAQs. They are pretty good, and I can’t tell from your description where you fit in.
As for the HTML code…I think you just need to check the Automatically parse URLs box on the thread reply/create screen.
I’m not a doctor but my father had a surgery for a retinal detachment a few years ago and heard all about it. Your symptoms are somewhat similar to his description. I suggest you call a doctor or nurse immediately and follow their advice. Retinal detachment can spread if left alone, and if it spreads to the center of the field of vision, surgery cannot completely recover your eyesight. Also, never take medical advice on the internet, unless that advice is “go see a doctor immediately.”
oh, I do plan to visit an optomitrist in the Very near future…I thought about the whole retinal detachment thing…I dismissed it due to lack of pressure behind the eye, as i understand they are painful…no pain here. as to the reference to the shape of the “floater” I would say amoeba…sans the cillia.
No, retinal detachment doesn’t cause any pain. There are no pain receptors on the retina, otherwise it wouldn’t be so easy to burn out your eyes looking at the sun through a telescope. Also, myopic people are at risk for retinal detachment, and I understand stress and fatigue can contribute to it too. (At least, my father suffered it after pulling a few all-nighters.)
If it’s been around for 2 days I guess it’s not about to get suddenly worse, but there are no guarantees. If I were you, I would drop everything and go straight to a doctor right now. There are very few things more important to me than my eyesight.
Retinal detachments are not always painful. Your description does not sound like a floater. Floaters are specks caused by solid matter in the vitreous humor. See an opthalmologist this am.
perhaps painful was the wrong word…more like pressure behind the eye…it is not a speck or a splotch. it becomes more obvious while blinking, not always that noticable…that link was appreciated many thanks!!!
