Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsWhy It HappensCommon CausesSerious CausesTreatment
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
Why It Happens
Common Causes
Serious Causes
Treatment
Photopsiadescribes a visual disturbance commonly referred to as “seeing stars.” It can occur when temporary pressure is placed on theretinaof the eye (such as when you sneeze hard), causing momentary flashes of light in the absence of a light source. You might see sparkles, prisms, or streaks of light that look like lightning bolts.
Photopsia can also occur with amigraine headache, stress, brain-related circulation problems, or conditions affecting the retina or the gel-like substance inside the eye called thevitreous.
This article describes some of the possible causes of photopsia, both common and uncommon, and what can be done to treat these conditions.
Verywell / Joshua Seong
What Are the Most Common Causes of Vision Loss?
Why Am I Seeing Stars?
When the lining in the back of your eye—called the retina—senses light, it sends messages to theoptic nerve. The optic nerve then relays these messages to the brain, which identifies the image.
When you are seeing stars or sparkles, something other than visible light is stimulating the retina. These false flashes are known asphosphenes.
Pressure on your eyes is the most common cause of photopsia. For example, you might see stars when you:
The visual disturbance usually only lasts for a few seconds and is not a health concern.
Can Dry Eyes Cause Floaters?
Common Causes of Seeing Stars
When you see stars for a prolonged period or frequently, there are a number of possible causes. Here are some of the least serious explanations:
Posterior Vitreous Detachment
This jelly-like substance is attached to the retina and helps keep the eyeball plump. With normal aging, the vitreous can start to shrink and may occasionally tug on the retina, causing you to see stars, floaters, or flashes of light. These disturbances usually occur at the outer edge of your field of vision (called yourperipheral vision).
As PVD is a normal part of aging, no specific treatment is needed. Rare complications such as retinal detachment or tears may require urgent surgery.
Migraines
Seeing stars is also common withmigraineheadaches. Referred to as amigraine with aura, these disturbances typically last 20 to 30 minutes, causing a variety of visual disturbances like:
2:055 Types of Migraine Auras Visualized and Explained
2:05
5 Types of Migraine Auras Visualized and Explained
With some migraines, a visual aura can happen without pain. These are calledocular migrainesand can affect either one or both eyes.
Anxiety
Photopsia can also occur with extreme stress. With anxiety, your body will release a hormone calledcortisolthat triggers the “fight-or-flight response.” This is the response that helps you face a perceived or actual threat.
In addition to giving you a burst of energy, the fight-or-flight response causes the dilation (widening) of thepupilsso you can see clearly in the dark. When this happens, the sudden dilation can shift the vitreous and trigger photopsia.
Stress-induced photopsia mainly affects middle-aged people who often have aging-related eye conditions.
One example isretinitis pigmentosa(RP), a rare eye disease mainly affecting adults in their 40s. Studies suggest that stress is one of the three things (alongside fatigue and bright light) that trigger photopsia in this group, causing:
According to the American Academy of Ophthalmology, stress can also visual disturbances in people with eye diseases likeglaucomaordry eye syndrome.
What Is a Migraine Aura Like?
Serious Causes of Photopsia
Sometimes a more serious condition can cause you to see stars. In such cases, photopsia may serve as a warning sign of a disease that has not yet been diagnosed.
Retinal Detachment
You may see stars, flashes, or bands of light if you haveretinal detachment. This is a medical emergency in which the retina pulls away from its normal position in the eye. Left untreated, a detached retina can lead to permanent vision loss.
The symptoms of retinal detachment include:
How to Tell If You Have a Detached Retina
Brain-Related Problems
While less common, seeing stars may be a sign of a problem in parts of the brain, including theoccipital lobe, that regulates vision.
Example includes:
Vision Changes From a Stroke
Wet Macular Degeneration
With wet macular degeneration, abnormal blood vessels grow under the part of the eye that helps you see fine detail, called themacula. This damages the macula far quicker than an earlier stage of the disease, calleddry macular degeneration.
People with wet AMD frequently experience visual distortions, such as seeing sparkles of light or objects that suddenly appear to bend and distort.
Diabetic Retinopathy
Some people with untreated diabetes may developdiabetic retinopathy, a condition that occurs when high blood sugar damages tiny blood vessels in the retina. These vessels can leak blood and other fluids into the macula, causing blurred vision,tunnel vision, and evendouble vision.
The leakage can also increase pressure inside the eyeball, compressing the retina and causing visual disturbances like sparkles of glitter-like specks of light.
Diabetic retinopathy is a serious condition that can cause extreme vision loss if the blood sugar is not brought under control.
Preeclampsia
Preeclampsiais persistent high blood pressure that develops during pregnancy, usually after week 20. In addition to headaches and abdominal pain, people with preeclampsia often experience blurred vision or flashing lights. This may be due to increased pressures placed on the blood vessels servicing the retina.
Visual disturbances are often the first signs of preeclampsia and may serve as a red flag for this potentially life-threatening pregnancy complication.
Can Low Blood Pressure Make You See Stars?
Treatment for Seeing Sparkles of Light
The treatment of photopsia can vary based on what is causing it. In some cases, photopsia is treated directly; in others, treating the underlying cause will help clear the visual disturbances.
Here are some examples:
Summary
Seeing sparkles of light and similar visual disturbances is known as photopsia. The individual flashes of light are called phosphenes.
Usually, seeing stars is due to temporary pressure on the eye. This is typically harmless and only lasts for a few seconds. However, if you see stars often or they last for a long time, see your provider. You may need treatment for an underlying cause like migraine or a retinal disorder.
20 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Brown GC, Brown MM, Fischer DH.Photopsias: a key to diagnosis.Ophthalmology. 2015;122(10):2084‐2094. doi:10.1016/j.ophtha.2015.06.025American Academy of Ophthalmology.Retina.American Society of Retina Specialists.Posterior vitreous detachment.Bond-Taylor M, Jakobsson G, Zetterberg M.Posterior vitreous detachment - prevalence of and risk factors for retinal tears.Clin Ophthalmol. 2017;11:1689-1695. doi:10.2147/OPTH.S143898MedlinePlus.Migraine.Yildiz FG, Turkyilmaz U, Unal-Cevik I.The clinical characteristics and neurophysiological assessments of the occipital cortex in visual snow syndrome with or without migraine.Headache. 2019;59(4):484‐494. doi:10.1111/head.13494American Academy of Ophthalmology.Surprising links between stress and the eyes.Bittner AK, Haythornthwaite JA, Diener-West M, Dagnelie G.Photopsias are related in part to perceived stress and positive mood in retinitis pigmentosa.Eye (Lond).2012 Jan;26(1):101–108. doi:10.1038/eye.2011.247Kriebel D, Sama SR, Bradbury M, et al.Risk factors for retinal detachment: a case-control study.J Occup Environ Med.2020;62(6):445-451. doi:10.1097/JOM.0000000000001867Zhou H, Zhang X, Lu J.Progress on cerebrovascular diseases.Bosn J Assoc Basic Med Sci. 2014;14(4):185. doi:10.17305/bjbms.2014.4.203Freeman R, Abuzinadah AR, Gibbons C, Jones P, Miglis MG, Sinn DI.Orthostatic hypotension: JACC state-of-the-art review.J Am Coll Cardiol. 2018;72(11):1294-1309. doi:10.1016/j.jacc.2018.05.079American Optometric Association.Concussions.MedlinePlus.Macular degeneration.MedlinePlus.Age-related macular degeneration.American Optometric Association.Diabetic retinopathy.Preeclampsia Foundation.Signs & symptoms.American Academy of Opthalmology.What is a posterior vitreous detachment?Bandelow B, Michaelis S, Wedekind D.Treatment of anxiety disorders.Dialog Clin Neurosci. 2017;19(2):doi:10.31887/DCNS.2017.19.2/bbandelowJohns Hopkins Medicine.What is a concussion?Preeclampsia Foundation.Answers to our most frequently asked questions.
20 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Brown GC, Brown MM, Fischer DH.Photopsias: a key to diagnosis.Ophthalmology. 2015;122(10):2084‐2094. doi:10.1016/j.ophtha.2015.06.025American Academy of Ophthalmology.Retina.American Society of Retina Specialists.Posterior vitreous detachment.Bond-Taylor M, Jakobsson G, Zetterberg M.Posterior vitreous detachment - prevalence of and risk factors for retinal tears.Clin Ophthalmol. 2017;11:1689-1695. doi:10.2147/OPTH.S143898MedlinePlus.Migraine.Yildiz FG, Turkyilmaz U, Unal-Cevik I.The clinical characteristics and neurophysiological assessments of the occipital cortex in visual snow syndrome with or without migraine.Headache. 2019;59(4):484‐494. doi:10.1111/head.13494American Academy of Ophthalmology.Surprising links between stress and the eyes.Bittner AK, Haythornthwaite JA, Diener-West M, Dagnelie G.Photopsias are related in part to perceived stress and positive mood in retinitis pigmentosa.Eye (Lond).2012 Jan;26(1):101–108. doi:10.1038/eye.2011.247Kriebel D, Sama SR, Bradbury M, et al.Risk factors for retinal detachment: a case-control study.J Occup Environ Med.2020;62(6):445-451. doi:10.1097/JOM.0000000000001867Zhou H, Zhang X, Lu J.Progress on cerebrovascular diseases.Bosn J Assoc Basic Med Sci. 2014;14(4):185. doi:10.17305/bjbms.2014.4.203Freeman R, Abuzinadah AR, Gibbons C, Jones P, Miglis MG, Sinn DI.Orthostatic hypotension: JACC state-of-the-art review.J Am Coll Cardiol. 2018;72(11):1294-1309. doi:10.1016/j.jacc.2018.05.079American Optometric Association.Concussions.MedlinePlus.Macular degeneration.MedlinePlus.Age-related macular degeneration.American Optometric Association.Diabetic retinopathy.Preeclampsia Foundation.Signs & symptoms.American Academy of Opthalmology.What is a posterior vitreous detachment?Bandelow B, Michaelis S, Wedekind D.Treatment of anxiety disorders.Dialog Clin Neurosci. 2017;19(2):doi:10.31887/DCNS.2017.19.2/bbandelowJohns Hopkins Medicine.What is a concussion?Preeclampsia Foundation.Answers to our most frequently asked questions.
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
Brown GC, Brown MM, Fischer DH.Photopsias: a key to diagnosis.Ophthalmology. 2015;122(10):2084‐2094. doi:10.1016/j.ophtha.2015.06.025American Academy of Ophthalmology.Retina.American Society of Retina Specialists.Posterior vitreous detachment.Bond-Taylor M, Jakobsson G, Zetterberg M.Posterior vitreous detachment - prevalence of and risk factors for retinal tears.Clin Ophthalmol. 2017;11:1689-1695. doi:10.2147/OPTH.S143898MedlinePlus.Migraine.Yildiz FG, Turkyilmaz U, Unal-Cevik I.The clinical characteristics and neurophysiological assessments of the occipital cortex in visual snow syndrome with or without migraine.Headache. 2019;59(4):484‐494. doi:10.1111/head.13494American Academy of Ophthalmology.Surprising links between stress and the eyes.Bittner AK, Haythornthwaite JA, Diener-West M, Dagnelie G.Photopsias are related in part to perceived stress and positive mood in retinitis pigmentosa.Eye (Lond).2012 Jan;26(1):101–108. doi:10.1038/eye.2011.247Kriebel D, Sama SR, Bradbury M, et al.Risk factors for retinal detachment: a case-control study.J Occup Environ Med.2020;62(6):445-451. doi:10.1097/JOM.0000000000001867Zhou H, Zhang X, Lu J.Progress on cerebrovascular diseases.Bosn J Assoc Basic Med Sci. 2014;14(4):185. doi:10.17305/bjbms.2014.4.203Freeman R, Abuzinadah AR, Gibbons C, Jones P, Miglis MG, Sinn DI.Orthostatic hypotension: JACC state-of-the-art review.J Am Coll Cardiol. 2018;72(11):1294-1309. doi:10.1016/j.jacc.2018.05.079American Optometric Association.Concussions.MedlinePlus.Macular degeneration.MedlinePlus.Age-related macular degeneration.American Optometric Association.Diabetic retinopathy.Preeclampsia Foundation.Signs & symptoms.American Academy of Opthalmology.What is a posterior vitreous detachment?Bandelow B, Michaelis S, Wedekind D.Treatment of anxiety disorders.Dialog Clin Neurosci. 2017;19(2):doi:10.31887/DCNS.2017.19.2/bbandelowJohns Hopkins Medicine.What is a concussion?Preeclampsia Foundation.Answers to our most frequently asked questions.
Brown GC, Brown MM, Fischer DH.Photopsias: a key to diagnosis.Ophthalmology. 2015;122(10):2084‐2094. doi:10.1016/j.ophtha.2015.06.025
American Academy of Ophthalmology.Retina.
American Society of Retina Specialists.Posterior vitreous detachment.
Bond-Taylor M, Jakobsson G, Zetterberg M.Posterior vitreous detachment - prevalence of and risk factors for retinal tears.Clin Ophthalmol. 2017;11:1689-1695. doi:10.2147/OPTH.S143898
MedlinePlus.Migraine.
Yildiz FG, Turkyilmaz U, Unal-Cevik I.The clinical characteristics and neurophysiological assessments of the occipital cortex in visual snow syndrome with or without migraine.Headache. 2019;59(4):484‐494. doi:10.1111/head.13494
American Academy of Ophthalmology.Surprising links between stress and the eyes.
Bittner AK, Haythornthwaite JA, Diener-West M, Dagnelie G.Photopsias are related in part to perceived stress and positive mood in retinitis pigmentosa.Eye (Lond).2012 Jan;26(1):101–108. doi:10.1038/eye.2011.247
Kriebel D, Sama SR, Bradbury M, et al.Risk factors for retinal detachment: a case-control study.J Occup Environ Med.2020;62(6):445-451. doi:10.1097/JOM.0000000000001867
Zhou H, Zhang X, Lu J.Progress on cerebrovascular diseases.Bosn J Assoc Basic Med Sci. 2014;14(4):185. doi:10.17305/bjbms.2014.4.203
Freeman R, Abuzinadah AR, Gibbons C, Jones P, Miglis MG, Sinn DI.Orthostatic hypotension: JACC state-of-the-art review.J Am Coll Cardiol. 2018;72(11):1294-1309. doi:10.1016/j.jacc.2018.05.079
American Optometric Association.Concussions.
MedlinePlus.Macular degeneration.
MedlinePlus.Age-related macular degeneration.
American Optometric Association.Diabetic retinopathy.
Preeclampsia Foundation.Signs & symptoms.
American Academy of Opthalmology.What is a posterior vitreous detachment?
Bandelow B, Michaelis S, Wedekind D.Treatment of anxiety disorders.Dialog Clin Neurosci. 2017;19(2):doi:10.31887/DCNS.2017.19.2/bbandelow
Johns Hopkins Medicine.What is a concussion?
Preeclampsia Foundation.Answers to our most frequently asked questions.
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