# Seeing silver glints in my vission? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 20, 2009, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeing-silver-glints-in-my-vission/521999 "2009-12-20T23:23:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Surbey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@Surbey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Surbey)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2009, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeing-silver-glints-in-my-vission/521999/1 "2009-12-20T23:23:10Z")
Every once in a while, maybe once every other month or so, I’ll see silvery glints in my vision. For instance, I just coughed fairly hard (this is usually how it’ll appear. sometimes they seem to appear if I feel short of breathe) and everywhere in my vision are silvery glints. When I look around, they follow my eye sight pattern. It is similar to watching fireflys on a summer night with random specs of light appearing all over. Instead of yellow, it’s these silver shards. They are very small and thin with no real definite shape and they are extremely bright. In fact, it’s hard to tell if they are silver or pure white but they sure stand out. Any ideas? ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2009, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeing-silver-glints-in-my-vission/521999/2 "2009-12-20T23:27:44Z")
[Seeing stars](http://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/seeing-stars). ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2009, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeing-silver-glints-in-my-vission/521999/3 "2009-12-20T23:31:24Z")
[More here.](http://everything2.com/title/seeing+stars) > [@](#): > > The stars you see are actually neurons in your visual cortex misfiring, a hallucination at the lowest possible level. When the neurons’ oxygenation changes drastically, their membrane potential also changes. Ordinarily this wouldn’t matter, because all of the surrounding neurons’ potentials would change at the same time. When it happens due to standing quickly or taking a few G’s of acceleration, the change happens so fast that the neurons closest to capillaries change well before the surrounding neurons. This causes them to fire spontaneously which your brain interprets as vision; you see stars. ---
**Author:** ![Surbey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@Surbey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Surbey)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2009, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeing-silver-glints-in-my-vission/521999/4 "2009-12-20T23:43:50Z")
hm perhaps. they certainly don’t LOOK like stars but it’s possible. Any idea if this can occur without a cough? I’ve noticed them without coughing too. I should have mentioned that a lightheaded feeling also seems to be associated with seeing these glints. Not every time but I do seem to notice it more when I see the glints without a cough. ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2009, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeing-silver-glints-in-my-vission/521999/5 "2009-12-20T23:58:58Z")
It started happening to me about ten years ago, just like the OP describes. I cough or sneeze and then see a swarm of sparkly little fireflies flashing off and on. They leave little light-trails behind them. I was just at the eye doctor’s a few months ago, told the doc all about it and the little shit told me it was all in my head. Of course what he meant was there’s nothing physically wrong with my eyes, except I’m really old and getting older by the second. That eye doctor was a cheeky bastard. ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2009, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeing-silver-glints-in-my-vission/521999/6 "2009-12-21T00:12:01Z")
[Phosphenes](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phosphene) ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2009, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeing-silver-glints-in-my-vission/521999/7 "2009-12-21T02:30:30Z")
The ones I see tend to be blue, and like **levdrakon** ’s, they leave little trails. They only happen when I cough too hard though. I agree with **Squink** that they are technically a type of phosphene (there are many types) rather than a type of hallucination. I am not a doctor, but do not think seeing them after coughing I a big deal. However, the fact that you say you are seeing them at other times, and feeling light-headed at the same time, sounds a bit worrying to me. Might that indicate a respiratory problem? ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2009, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeing-silver-glints-in-my-vission/521999/8 "2009-12-21T03:56:51Z")
The ones I get are like thousands of phosphorescent sperms, racing in different directions. Awesome. ---
**Author:** ![Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malleus_incus_stapes/32/3293_2.png) [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malleus_Incus_Stapes)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2009, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeing-silver-glints-in-my-vission/521999/9 "2009-12-21T04:03:07Z")
My star episodes almost always happen in the bathroom. Not necessarily while using the bathroom- just sitting on the toilet, or even physically being in a bathroom, can trigger it. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2009, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeing-silver-glints-in-my-vission/521999/10 "2009-12-21T05:47:59Z")
> [@njtt](#): > > I agree with **Squink** that they are technically a type of phosphene (there are many types) rather than a type of hallucination. Phosphenes _are_ hallucinations. (I mean, there are not real stars dancing around your head like in a Wile E. Coyote cartoon.) ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2009, 8:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeing-silver-glints-in-my-vission/521999/11 "2009-12-21T08:00:42Z")
I love to lay down, close my eyes and watch the phosphemes swirl gently around - very much like watching clouds in the sky and looking for pictures. I am amazed that there wasn’t a culture that used phosphemes as a scrying device. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2009, 8:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeing-silver-glints-in-my-vission/521999/12 "2009-12-21T08:03:20Z")
> [@spoke-](#): > > Phosphenes _are_ hallucinations. (I mean, there are not real stars dancing around your head like in a Wile E. Coyote cartoon.) “Hallucination” is generally reserved for problems caused by the brain. Phosphenes are caused in the eyes themselves ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2009, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeing-silver-glints-in-my-vission/521999/13 "2009-12-21T16:54:57Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > “Hallucination” is generally reserved for problems caused by the brain. Phosphenes are caused in the eyes themselves It’s a neural phenomenon. ---
**Author:** ![Surbey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@Surbey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Surbey)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2009, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeing-silver-glints-in-my-vission/521999/14 "2009-12-22T01:34:08Z")
at least I’m not alone in this… I suppose I’ll make more notes of their frequency and what I’m doing at the time. I suppose if it occurs more frequently I’ll pay a visit to the old doctor. If not, I’ll simply enjoy the show. ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2009, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeing-silver-glints-in-my-vission/521999/15 "2009-12-22T01:46:47Z")
How is your blood pressure? I’ve got a thyroid thing that gives me low BP and frequent orthostatic hypotension (dizzy when standing up, bending down, etc.). ---
**Author:** ![rohitagarwal2703](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e274bd/32.png) [@rohitagarwal2703](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rohitagarwal2703)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2014, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeing-silver-glints-in-my-vission/521999/16 "2014-04-24T17:33:29Z")
please is der any solution??? ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2014, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeing-silver-glints-in-my-vission/521999/17 "2014-04-24T18:09:48Z")
Dude, you have posted to a nearly 5 year old thread. Zombies have all kinds of crap floating in their eyes. Why not go see an ophthalmologist? ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2014, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeing-silver-glints-in-my-vission/521999/18 "2014-04-24T22:46:10Z")
**Moderator Action** Welcome to the SDMB, **rohitagarwal2703**. Medical questions belong in our IMHO forum (which wasn’t the case 5 years ago when this thread was started). I will move the thread there. Please note that any advice and opinions you receive are just the opinions of some folks on the internet and should not be considered the equivalent of professional medical advice. Moving thread from General Questions to In My Humble Opinion.