Question
Hi,
About 5 years ago, after noticing 2 floaters in my left eye, I started to see moving white spots when looking at a big blue sky. I also noticed a shimmering movement of light against a white background and saw those moving white spots when looking at my computer screen and a piece of white paper. I went to the see the Optometrist who then sent me to see an Ophthalmologist and they saw nothing wrong with my vision or my eyes. I do wear glasses for distance and it is 0.50.
In November of 2009, I started to notice that when driving at night, I would see blue afterimage spots. That is to say the oncoming headlights or red brake lights would create a blue afterimage once I looked away. The blue afterimage would go away after 5 to 10 seconds.
I went back to my Optometrist and told him about the Blue Light Entoptic Phenomenon and he said that it was not my case cause of the way my eyes are. I also told him about the blue spots and he did not know what it was. I went to my GP who sent me to an Ophthalmologist and he said that the vitreous fibres in my eyes are degraded and that I have a small hole in my right retina. If the hole is still there in 6 months, he will laser it shut. But he does not know what the blue spot afterimages could be. he assures me that this will not cause me to go bind.
Do you have any idea or have you ever heard of these blue spots? I am 37 with young children and am really scared about what will happen to my vision. I worry about his constantly.
Answer
Floaters are the result of degeneration of the vitreous fluid inside the eye and are to be expected with aging.
Afterimages typically result from over stimulation and fatigue of retinal photoreceptors whereby the retina is relatively insensitive to the original visual stimulus and more sensitive to the opposite. Afterimages, such as that similar in principle to the dark spot seen after looking at a flashbulb, are non-pathologic. You should not worry about them.
An atrophic peripheral aymptomatic flat retinal hole in the periphery generally does not require laser treatment.
