Mysterious Flashes

It has been over 18 months since my last eye surgery and in that time there had been no vision issues. But in November of 2020, just before Thanksgiving, I started experiencing new flashes but in my right eye. They aren't the type of flashes I used to get in my left eye which looked like streaks of light or lightning flashes that would appear at the top of my vision. The flashes in my right eye are a bit difficult to explain, but they remind me of the lens flare effect or  flashbulb effect you would see in photographs (example of lens flare in the photo below). They appear at the center of my vision and they have a blueish hue. They appear suddenly then quickly dissolve from the center outward. 

Photo by Tygarfield

When I experienced the first flash I thought it happened because I sat up too quickly after bending down so I didn't worry about it. I didn't expect to see it again but it happened again, several more times. They started to appear more frequently and by the end of December they were occurring almost every day for at least 6 times a day.  Then I started to worry, because I thought about retinal detachment and wondered if the flashes were occurring in my macula which is the central part of my vision. I've also read in the past that macular degeneration can occur in some cases of pathological myopia.

In January (2021) I saw my ophthalmologist and explained as best as I could what was happening. He asked me how often I saw the flashes and how long they lasted. I told him about how they would appear frequently on some days but not everyday and how they lasted for about a second. He examined my eyes but he didn't find any signs of possible detachment which was good. I scheduled an appointment to return to the clinic in April and during this appointment he still didn't see anything wrong which was again a good thing, but there was still no answer as to why I was experiencing these flashes or sparks in my right eye. He said there was no sign of tugging, but he wanted me to return to the clinic in three months since this was an ongoing  issue. I was scheduled to return to the clinic the first week of July but since there was nothing new happening with my eyes at that time I decided to reschedule the appointment for August but in June I did see the cornea specialist. 

My appointment with the cornea specialist was a follow-up exam for my left eye which received the IOL (intraocular lens due to cataract surgery) in 2019. I spoke to the cornea specialist about the flashes in my right eye and he said that what I was describing sounded like migraine flashes (which I've heard before the last time this happened) and upon examining my eye he said that everything looked normal to him. At this appointment I also received a new prescription for glasses which revealed that my prescription had changed again, but not for the better, which is something I'm really concerned about.

It's funny how I see these flashes so often but each time I go to the eye doctor nothing happens. I wonder if the doctor thinks it's all in my head. Phantom flashes.