• ssfckdt@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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    3 days ago

    Fun fact, this is because your vitreous humour is shrinking and as it shrinks bits of it congeal into little protein strings. They’re called floaters, but some people laugh whenever I say that for some reason.

    • JackFrostNCola@aussie.zone
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      1 day ago

      To help the the confusion, “floaters” can refer to when small chunks of poop dont flush and instead stay floating during the flush.

    • lostinasea@lemmy.world
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      2 days ago

      The way its been described to me is that if you suddenly see a snow storm in your eye then you need to get to the doctor immediately

    • thatKamGuy@sh.itjust.works
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      1 day ago

      Do you happen to have astigmatism or relatively poor vision, by chance?

      I used to get these every month or so since I was like 10 until a few years ago, when I finally pulled the trigger and got LASIK. Have not experienced one since, which is a Godsend given that they would usually last for an hour or two and be accompanied by a gnarly headache which would otherwise render me useless.

      • MehBlah@lemmy.world
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        22 hours ago

        I’m a little far sighted with perhaps a slight stigmatism. Mine are triggered by the seasons as far as I can tell. I get them mainly when the pollen drops in the spring and when the mold comes in the fall. They were particularly bad last year but some years they are just a minor annoyance.

        • thatKamGuy@sh.itjust.works
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          18 hours ago

          Ah, I found that mine were largely caused by prolonged squinting to try to account for the astigmatism; along with some combination of dehydration, lack of sleep and/or excess caffeine consumption.

      • MehBlah@lemmy.world
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        3 days ago

        It doesn’t do what I see justice. They are often beautiful. When they first occur it causes a blind spot. The zigzags are a rainbow of shimmering color. They go away after a hour or so and I feel lousy if I don’t have a headache. If I do get the headache with it I have to find a dark room and try to sleep.

        • captainlezbian@lemmy.world
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          3 days ago

          Wait, there are people who get migraines without the headache‽ I just get the agonizing ocular pressure and occasionally nausea

          • banazir@lemmy.ml
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            2 days ago

            Yes, my migraines are mostly “silent” these days. As a teenager, I just had the headaches without aura, but that changed with age. Nowadays I get all kinds of weird and uncomfortable pro- and postdrome effects, like ocular aura, but rarely pain. I have a family member whose only migraine symptom is a crippling stomach ache. Migraines are super weird.

          • MehBlah@lemmy.world
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            3 days ago

            Its a pretty rainbow that is forever at the edge of your vision. You can’t look directly at it.

      • untorquer@lemmy.world
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        3 days ago

        That’s the shape. But it’s constantly oscillating and the colors shifting rapidly.

        Vision gets obscured but for me my visual processing/reasoning gets cloudy too. I can still navigate the world but finding a door handle is difficult.

        I get sore behind my eyes after and real tired. Happened a few times in the last couple years, anxiety I think.

        Youtube mostly has classix migraine aura but this is close enough if you imagine the zigzag image.

      • Lazylazycat@lemmy.world
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        3 days ago

        Yeah and it has the best name, Scintillating Scotoma. The first time I experienced one it was terrifying.

      • Zink@programming.dev
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        3 days ago

        I occasionally get them and mine feel more black & white than color, the the jagged shape and the arc around the center of your vision is spot on.

        And remember the jagged arc is always in your peripheral vision. You can’t look directly at it and study the details because it moves when your eyes do.

      • Novaling@lemmy.zip
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        3 days ago

        I don’t know what it was like when my sister was young, but I also got occular migraines as a kid, and it’d be like a static spot in my vision where things just disappear behind it. Once that static appeared, I only had 10-20 mins or so before an awful headache would set off, and I ended up needing meds for it. They went away after 13 though.

        • 0ops@piefed.zip
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          3 days ago

          Yeah I get those every once in awhile, it starts with a blurry spot in the middle of my vision (like if I’m reading something, half of the word is blurred out no matter where I look) then half an hour later it goes away but is replaced with a migraine that lasts a few hours. Taking a bunch of ibuprofen helps. I’ve noticed it usually happens when I overexert myself without drinking enough water. Also seems to happen more in cold weather, like maybe it’s something about breathing cold dry air. Luckily it’s not chronic, it only happens once a year or so, but often enough to recognize the pattern.

      • banazir@lemmy.ml
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        3 days ago

        Well, yes and no. It’s kind of an area you can’t see, but it’s there. Also, it starts as a small dot and them starts expanding/moving. It’s also flashing, kind of like static noise on an old TV. Luckily those things usually last like 15 minutes or so. Still, not a fun experience.

    • cdf12345@lemmy.zip
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      3 days ago

      My ocular migraines always come with a pretty strong headache. Last week I had my first one without the headache. Very difficult to try to concentrate when you cannot see.

      Also when I get both types of migraines, I can’t remember names or do any sort of math.

      I typically get a song or something stuck in my head and cannot let it go while I have the headache, it sucks.

      • the_elder@midwest.social
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        3 days ago

        Glad I’m not the only one! I had one a bit ago that was weird. If my right eye could see my right hand but my left eye couldn’t, it felt disconnected from me. Like it was someone else’s hand. Once my vision came back I still couldn’t read for about 2 hours without sounding out each word. Migraines can be wildly scary sometimes.

    • rumba@lemmy.zip
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      3 days ago

      I had one once, a decade ago, no pain, but mine was black and white squares, some had x’s in them, it looked like some unholly mix of Apple and Xwindows just righ there in my vision in just about that overall shape you displayed. I also felt SUPER disconnected at the time. My wife and I were picking stuff up at storage, I just ignored it, got what i needed from storage and it went away in less than 5 minutes. I was thankful to not have the oft associated headache

      • nomy@lemmy.zip
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        3 days ago

        I just ignored it, got what i needed from storage

        This is the most American Male statement I’ve ever seen. You probably had a fucking stroke or something bro, dang. Good luck out there, try to take care of yourself.

        • boonhet@sopuli.xyz
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          3 days ago

          It’s not uniquely American. Estonian men are the same. Despite the free healthcare. The saying goes (and I’ll try to translate the Russian swears to English words to keep the meaning intact, but they’ll lose their colorfulness): The Estonian man never visits the doctor because he only knows two diseases: “whatever” and “quite fucked”. Whatever passes on its own and there’s no cure for quite fucked anyway.

      • paperazzi@lemmy.world
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        3 days ago

        I had this a few times when I was working an extremely stressful job. Changed jobs and voila! No more ocular migraines. Mine was more silvery and blue than red but otherwise your pic looks just like it.

    • LyD@lemmy.ca
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      3 days ago

      I don’t get ocular migraines so I have never seen something like this. I can see subtle multicolour flashes if I close my eyes and do things like looking around quickly or apply pressure to my eyes. This image reminds me of the flashes I see, but 1000x more intense. Would you describe it like that?

      • Pulptastic@midwest.social
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        3 days ago

        It is called a scintillating scotoma or ocular migraine. Scintillating is accurate; this clear crescent shows up in your vision and It is rippling with rainbow fringes. It starts off as a point somewhere in your vision, slowly expanding into a visible crescent that continues to expand. After about half an hour the crescent expands beyond your field of vision (FOV). For me it is paired with a loopy slightly lightheaded feeling that goes away with a whoosh once it leaves my FOV.

        They are often triggered by bright light and may be correlated with migraines. I’ve had three of these happen but never had a migraine headache afaik.

        Edit: clear might be the wrong word? My mind blends it in other than the rainbow fringes, but I think I can’t actually see what is behind the crescent.

      • MehBlah@lemmy.world
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        3 days ago

        No I’ve seen what you describe. What I see when I’m having one is most often a shimmering electric zigzag. Sometimes it take different shapes and the colors vary. Its always at the edge of my vision and moves when I move my eye. Its better to close your eyes when they are happening. At least for me. I have had them in both eyes at once and its really freaky since normally I only get them in one eye at a time. They don’t merge well and the combined blind spots have rendered me almost completely unable to navigate. I’ve pulled over while driving more than once and waited it out.

    • Noxy@pawb.social
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      2 days ago

      I’ve seen that exact same shit. Well not exactly, but as you describe elsewhere, shimmery. No pain whatsoever, just that strange visual artifact

    • kinther@lemmy.world
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      3 days ago

      First time I had one of these I was so stressed out. I thought I was about to have a stroke.

      • murray_TAPEDTS@lemmy.world
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        3 days ago

        Same! I was on a road trip in Ireland and it came out of nowhere. Freaked me out. I’d never had one until a few months after my first bout with COVID. Now I get them but usually only if I’ve not been drinking enough water for a few days, and ONLY when I stand up. It’s preceded by a weird sort of throbbing where it feels like sound is turned down in time with my heartbeat.

  • thisbenzingring@lemmy.sdf.org
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    3 days ago

    Congratulations! You are getting older. They are called eye floaters and most people have them in some compacity. I notice them mostly when looking at the blue sky on a sunny day.

      • pyre@lemmy.world
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        3 days ago

        if they’re only dots yours might be the blue field entoptic phenomenon which is different. they’re just blood cells flowing before your retina and it’s totally normal.

        • untorquer@lemmy.world
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          3 days ago

          Nah, worms/proteins and all. Varies in density over long periods of time(3-6mo) between never noticing it and it being slightly annoying.

          Wiki says it’s not uncommon even at young ages.

  • ragebutt@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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    3 days ago

    I have a lot of these because I’ve had numerous eye surgeries and they’re ultimately just gunk in the vitreous fluid of the eye. I wish there was a way that they could drain, filter, and replace your vitreous fluid when it gets like mine. Like an eyeball oil change. There’s not though, as far as I know.

    A tip: if you suddenly see a ton more of these get it checked out asap, especially if you are very near sighted

    • RacerX@lemmy.zip
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      3 days ago

      Everytime I see this warning, I become hyper aware of every single one and it freaks me out.

      • ragebutt@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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        3 days ago

        If it makes you feel any better you’ll know when it happens, they increase by a lot. If they increase noticeably you should get it checked out but if it increases so substantially that you’re like man what the hell is going on then you need emergency care, basically, but also you can’t really miss it?

    • Fuck u/spez@sh.itjust.works
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      3 days ago

      Someone in my family had a double retinal detachment and the surgeon asked if he wanted his floaters removed while they were in there putting things back together. It’s apparently possible because he has no more floaters.

    • Gerudo@lemmy.zip
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      3 days ago

      There actually is. I have looked into it before because I have a lot of floaters, but have never had surgery. The risk and downtime with the surgery is pretty high, so it’s usually not recommended.

  • MBech@feddit.dk
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    3 days ago

    Nope, you’re the only person ever to have seen this weird stuff. It’s probably a sign that you’re about to die.

  • cub Gucci@lemmy.today
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    3 days ago

    This is not inside your eye, it’s outside out there. Please, do not ignore it and write to your FBI agent immediately

  • Rob T Firefly@lemmy.world
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    3 days ago

    I have a permanent eye floater. When I get really bored I find suitable things in my field of vision to look back and forth between and play pong with.

    • Evono@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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      3 days ago

      Hopefully you had your eyes checked just to be sure.

      It’s likely just a glass body part which is normal sadly.

      But also could be something with the nerves , no panic just a thing my wife got similiar stuff and gets checked yearly to be safe.

  • Pacattack57@lemmy.world
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    3 days ago

    Squiggly line in my eye, fluid.

    I see you there, lurking on the periphery of my vision.

    But when I try to look at you, you scurry away.

    Are you shy squiggly line?

    Why only when I ignore you do you return to the center of my eye?

    Oh squiggly line, it’s alright, you are forgiven.

  • Random_Character_A@lemmy.world
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    2 days ago

    I got few permanent ones.

    When I was a kid I played geologist and crushed rocks with a large iron hammer. Few of the metal splinters that ended in my eyeballs left a mark that is still visible today when I look at the sky.

    Not actually floaters, I know.

  • wulrus@lemmy.world
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    3 days ago

    Seen them for decades, but thought it’s best to keep them a secret. Until Family Guy just casually mentioned them like they were no big deal! Not as crazy as I thought, after all …

      • sp3ctr4l@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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        3 days ago

        I believe this is another related, simililar, yet technically different phenomenon, with different causal mechanisms, but yes, lets keep adding to the list, lol.

        Also, brb, you’ll never believe this, apparently my pizza delivery guy’s name is ‘Hiro Protagonist’, he’s almost here, and I gotta ask him what is up with that name.

      • zaphod@sopuli.xyz
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        3 days ago

        Visual snow is different, it’s constant and looks more like tv static or film grain, fun stuff, not.

      • sp3ctr4l@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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        3 days ago

        I mean, now maybe, lol, but I noticed this as a middle schooler, and I was in pretty good shape back then… and I still have the exact same experience to this day, in the right lighting conditions, if I can just sit or stand still and look at a mostly cloudless sky.

    • HereIAm@lemmy.world
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      3 days ago

      I most commonly see these these when I have a migraine, really bad sneezes, or I flick my eyes or move my head quickly. I’ve heard it’s fine unless you see a bug chunk at the same time as that could be a sign the retina has broken or come loose?

      • sp3ctr4l@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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        3 days ago

        The dots are white blood cells moving in the capillaries in front of the retina of the eye.

        From the wiki page.

        So, yeah, it makes sense that very similar or even just the same effect can be intensified by all those things you mention, they all alter the motion of blood in your eyes.

        As to a big chunk moving?

        I am not an eye expert, but I would intuitively think that yes, a big splotch moving could be the retina itself moving… but it could also potentially be something like a clot in one of those capillaries breaking loose… which is probably still bad, but maybe not necessarily as bad?

    • Grimy@lemmy.world
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      3 days ago

      Always wondered what this was called. I get this often in winter, less during summer. It really puzzled me the first few times it happened, I just figured I was getting diabetes. I have a black tail that follows them so it’s even more noticeable then in the picture.

      • sp3ctr4l@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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        3 days ago

        Basically, lighting conditions have to be just right to … basically, allow you to actually see your own white blood cells, in your own eyes, against the … background/everything you are seeing.

        So my guess would be that in the summer, where you are, the … ambient light of the sky is too bright, it overwhelms this effect, but in the winter, maybe its mote generally humid, or the light is coming through more atmosphere , at more oblique angles, and is thus less intense.

        Though if you are also seeing a… black tail, like… they’re followed by a black smear or a motion blur or something… that could be something else?