Twice now I've had kind of a curved bright light that is in my right eye. It just comes on out of no where. It has happened twice now and lasts for several minutes at a time. I can still see out of the eye when it happens but it is very irritating because I can't not notice it. The first time it scared me because I was driving with my grandchildren. I am 43 years old. I thought I was having a stroke or something. Does anyone know what this might be?

Hello, cutup--I've had those darned things too. I'm 56, but have lights sometimes like that. I had one back in 1990 or so that was so bad for a day or so, I went to the Dr. He dilated my eye and couldn't see a thing. I think these lights we get are fairly common as we begin to get older. I even have a brochure somewhere in this junk pile, about it, that I got two years ago. If it persists, I'd just go on in to the eye Dr. to be sure everything is okay. I got a flash in the rt. side of my rt. eye the other night like someone had just made my picture! So, I know what you're having, but I don't "think" it's a serious problem, but to be sure, I'd see the eye Dr. anyway. Hope this has helped.

Tony

Thanks Tony
This aging stuff is a pain. I was going to call an opthamologist today and hesitated. I guess I should go ahead and make that appointment just to be on the safe side.

I've had those "lights" for years. Doctors could never explain them to me. Then, one day I was listening to Dr. Edell on the radio and he was describing ocular migraines. Bingo! I'm sure that's what mine are. Some people suffer from both the headache pain and the visual pulsating light; some people just experience the ocular migraine without the headache pain. I might have two or three episodes a year, and they last for about 20 - 25 minutes.

A year ago , at 58, I suddenly got a flashing arc
on the outside edge of my eye but I can only see it IN THE DARK. I've had it ever since; it's pretty bright. It is vitreous detachment, no biggie. Now, if you have lights on the side followed eventually by what looks like a curtain being drawn across the vision field - that is retinal detachment which is Very serious, must be operated on right away or you can go blind !

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Susan Gene