"Flicker" in peripheral vision when moving eyes.

I have the exact same thing. It's like a brief flash of a light bulb in my peripheral vision. It could be a pressure phosphene. 

Hi Tracie... there's no need to panic, but I would have your eyes looked at without delay, just in case. The flicker at the side is probably normal due to PVD, but it can go hand-in-hand with other problems in a few people. It did with me - see my previous post; I had to have a tear in my retina lasered.

 My side flickering faded after about a year, I think the brain just learns to ignore it !  If you start to see a shadow at the side which doesn't go away, you must, must, must, get it looked at. Also, if you get a sudden large increase in black 'floaters', as I did, get someone to check you over.

 Don't be frightened of having an eye exam, it doesn't hurt in the slightest, and in a lot of places it's completely free. If nothing else it will put your mind at rest !

 Hope this helps... please let me know how you get on.

Hi PanPilot, thanks so much for your reply!  I am very familiar with the small flickers of light and flashes, that are due to retina problems, as my husband had a detached retina last year, and his first one 13 years ago. What I am experiencing is not a flicker of light in my my peripheral vision that is not actually there. I am noticing when I am looking down doing something, such as cleaning my kitchen, cooking,  or even sometimes putting on makeup, the lightbulbs above me look like they are flickering for a few seconds. But I know that it is just me, as nobody else seems to notice it when I ask! It is very strange, and freaks me out! I had my eyes dilated and examined by my husbands retina specialist two months ago and he said everything looks good. I do have a lot of floaters, but I have had them for years. The doctor said  that it is due to my vitreous fluid clumping up and pulling away from the retina, which tends to happen as you get older. Some people see the floaters and some don't.

There is one thing which may be a factor. Bear with me here ! If you already know this, well, sorry..!

There are two types of cell on your retina, 'rods' and 'cones'. Very approximately, cone cells 'see in colour', see but only work slowly, rod cells 'see in black and white', but work very fast. You have a concentration of cone cells in your central vision, which is why you see things clearly when you actually look at them. Away from centre, there are more rods and fewer cones. There is a good evolutionary reason for this; since the rod cells in your side vision work very quickly, you can see movement to the side more readily. So, in days gone by, you could see any sabre-tooth tiger creeping up on you. Or whatever else...

The result is that these fast responding rod cells can see flickering which the slow responding cone cells can't. Sitting here now, if I look away 60 degrees or so, I can plainly see my computer screen flickering in my side vision. Some types of lamps supplied by AC flicker at 50 or 60 times a second, especially fluorescent types. I can see this in my side vision, but not looking directly. It's quite normal, a good thing even. It may be that you are noticing it more because you are concerned?

 One other thing was explained to me. In the process of vitreous detachment (which, as you say, is quite normal), the vitreous can tug on the rod cells when you move your eyes side-to-side which can fool the brain into 'seeing' movement. Once the vitreous detaches completely it should stop. Which in my case it did after about a year or eighteen months. 

 

 

Wow, you definitely sound like you have a lot of knowledge about this! That is so interesting, as I have never heard of the rod and cone cells! It happens periodically, and it's not just the light bulbs above looking as though they are flickering, but  like everything around me vaguely dims in and out, or flickers, and just for a couple seconds. Do you did have vitreous detachment? Did you experience anything like this?

Well, I'm no expert, so please don't think that. Yes I did (still do) have PVD, which was the cause of my retinal tear. I'm also one of those sad people who have to understand in detail what is going on, so I did a bit of reading around the subject once my eye was repaired. Coincidentally, Mrs. PanPilot works in the field, and has a thick book on ophthalmology... I admit that I am fascinated, the eye is actually a very complex thing. If you search for the term 'rods and cones' there are lots of diagrams and illustrations.

 I haven't encountered the 'fading in and out' symptom that you describe. I did have something which occurred when my PVD first happened, but it was more of a sensation of flashing zig-zag lights at the side of my eye in a crescent shape, which popped up when I moved my eye side to side. It faded in a few seconds. That's how I know about the danger of a shadow - it was hammered into me that if this became a sensation of a shadow I must get attention immediately, as it's the first sign of a retinal detachment. No doubt your husband can tell you all about that!

Thanks so much PanPilot! I really appreciate all the information. Yes I do believe it probably has something to do with the vitreous fluid detaching! 

Hi Traci, I have been searching everywhere for answers or for anyone else with my issue and finally found your post.  Did you ever figure out what the flickering was?  My issue is if I wake up at night or open my eyes after them being closed for a few minutes my vision will flicker rapidly.  Like going darker to lighter to darker for a couple seconds until finally adjusting.  It seems to only happen to me in a dark room with minimal light.  I know you said yours happened in normal lighting but did you find out anything?  I have started a new medication and have a feeling this is a side effect.   I am also feeling headaches around my eyes as well.  But I still worry this might be damaging my eyes/sight or a sign of damage to come.  

Hi there... in my case, it was about 18 months before I stopped noticing it. I would think that your ophthalmologist would have picked up anything seriously amiss, so try to ignore it. BUT - as I have said in previous posts, if it becomes a shadow you absolutely MUST have it looked at urgently. If you are really concerned about it, search the web for your nearest hospital with a specialist eye department, call them and ask for advice. They will probably invite you for another eye exam. Or maybe try NHS Direct for advice.

 I hope this helps!

Thanks for the reply... i guess i should try to ignore it and hope that it goes away quickly.

anyways i am planning on having regular checkups to detect any serious issues.

thanks once again. 

That sounds a very sensible plan.

I found a good approach is to distract yourself with something which needs your deep concentration, like maybe doing a puzzle. It also helps with my tinnitus !

 

Do you also experience floaters?

If yes what can we do about them?

I have recently started seeing alot of floaters. I went to doc also but she said retina is fine.