I’m 72 years old and I’ve been seeing a kind of floating dark spots for the last few months. Recently I also saw flashes of light. According to my girlfriend, that can make you blind.
Joris Bartstra, journalist with medical diploma
Your girlfriend is right. Flashes of light can be seen in some types of migraine and sometimes in epilepsy, but usually the cause is a problem with the vitreous humor (the clear soup that fills your eye). With age, the vitreous shrinks. This creates folds in the vitreous humor that cause the dark spots. These stains (mouches volantes) are sometimes annoying, but they are harmless.
If you see flashes of light, you should always call your doctor. If the vitreous humor continues to ‘stick’ to the retina, it will pull on it and the pieces of retina can pull off. If things don’t go well, you can even have a hemorrhage under the retina, causing a large part to come loose and you can become partially blind.
If the flashes of light do not stop or the vision is reduced, you must urgently see an ophthalmologist. If it is over within a few minutes, there is less rush. But even then the GP will refer you to the ophthalmologist to prevent problems for later.
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