Stars before the eyes are a common phenomenon. People often experience it when looking at bright surfaces, such as the sun. Usually it’s enough to blink a few times, shift your gaze or close your eyes for a while - and the dots will go away by themselves. But in advanced cases, the causes of stars in the eyes are serious diseases of the retina, which require immediate contact with an ophthalmologist. People with myopia or elderly patients are especially susceptible to this symptom.
What are stars in the eyes
In medicine, another name for this phenomenon has been recorded - photopsia. This is the name for the simplest visual hallucinations, in which non-objective images called dots, spots or stars appear in the field of vision. They do not have a fixed shape and create a feeling of mobility. In this case, the causes of stars in the eyes are an erroneous perception of light.
The process appears in both dark and illuminated places. In one eye or both. For people who see, and for people who are blind. Photopsia usually appears when looking at the sun for a long time, but quickly goes away if you turn away from it.
Migraine as a cause of symptoms
If ripples form in the eyes and a headache, then this is a sign of ocular migraine - atrial scotoma. The disease belongs to a group of neurological disorders and often occurs due to changes in the structure of the vessels of the optic nerves.
This pathology is also characterized by changes in vision, the appearance of blurred boundaries and other visual defects: spots, glare, flickering. A person suffers from discomfort, loses his ability to work, and develops depression.
In most cases, the pathology is localized in both eyes at once, but may affect only one apple. The eyes flicker and darken for 30 minutes, after which the patient suffers from an acute migraine.
Treatment of the pathology depends on the severity of the symptoms. If the ripples in the eyes and the subsequent headache are very severe, drugs are prescribed to change the lumen of blood vessels, nootropic substances and drugs to combat depression. Doctors often recommend massage as a physical therapy procedure.
Types of migraine
There are 2 types of migraine, each of which has its own characteristics and processes:
- Migraine with aura. Approximately 1 hour before the attack, the patient experiences specific symptoms: vision is impaired, the eyes blink, the outlines of the image change, and pulsation appears. With physical activity and movement, the pain intensifies, and the patient also reacts sharply to light, sound and smells. The duration reaches several hours, rarely goes away immediately after taking the drugs.
- No aura. With this form of pathology, pain in the head appears without any accompanying symptoms. Most often, the cause is an unhealthy lifestyle or genetic predisposition. Migraines without aura often appear as a result of excessive smoking, drinking alcohol, or stress.
Both of these types of migraine symptoms have in common: severe headache and ripples in the eyes, flickering, glare, and a feeling of thirst. With migraine, most women experience emotional imbalance. Both sexes suffer from irritability and psychological discomfort.
Types of simple visual hallucination
Photopsia can be grouped into 4 categories:
- stripes or rings, sometimes zigzags, of white or yellow shades of varying brightness;
- a sudden and short-lived sensation of light in the eyes, like a flash;
- white dots, also known as stars, are distinguished by their brightness and speed of movement;
- small stripes or dots of black color that fluctuate along with the eyeballs, they are also called floaters.
Treatment methods
There is no specific treatment for eliminating floaters before the eyes during pregnancy, since therapy should be aimed at eliminating the underlying disease that provoked such symptoms. For serious diseases that threaten the health of the woman or fetus, inpatient treatment under the supervision of a doctor and medical staff is recommended. If there are no risks, the doctor may prescribe some medications, vitamins, and give useful recommendations on nutrition and lifestyle.
If drug therapy is necessary, the doctor selects safe drugs. The dose and duration of therapy are calculated individually for each pregnant woman. It is recommended to pay special attention to nutrition. The diet should contain fortified foods.
If floaters are a consequence of a disease, it is important to determine the root cause as quickly as possible and carry out the necessary treatment. It is strictly forbidden to self-medicate, take uncontrolled medications, or get carried away with traditional methods. Such treatment can aggravate the situation and provoke complications in any trimester of pregnancy.
Video: Floaters before the eyes during pregnancy
Ophthalmic diseases
Among the diseases that can cause stars before the eyes are destruction of the vitreous body, mechanophosphene and retinal damage.
Destruction of the vitreous body. The vitreous body is a clear fluid that contains 99% hyaluronic acid, water and proteoglycans, it fills the area between the retina and the lens. Due to exposure to negative elements, the composition of the vitreous body changes, causing opaque components to appear. The person watches them, meaning the stars. Similar symptoms occur if blood, medicine, or other foreign substances enter the vitreous body.
The disease is caused by other ophthalmological diseases, abnormalities in the cardiovascular system, diabetes mellitus and aging. Destruction of the vitreous body in the later stages is not curable, but is a relatively harmless disease. It carries with it photopsia, which you can get used to. In the early stages of the disease, you can identify the root cause and get rid of it. In this case, surgical intervention is possible, but undesirable: it can cause complications. This is a common cause of stars before the eyes of an adult.
The vitreous may also detach from the back of the eye. In this case, white flashes occur. This pathology does not manifest itself in the early stages, and in an advanced state it threatens blindness. It is important to note that this process is natural for older people as the connection between the vitreous and the eye weakens over time. For this reason, white stars before the eyes often appear in people during aging.
Photopsia can also occur when pressing on the eye through a closed eyelid. This is explained by the peculiarity of the retina: it perceives various stimuli (X-rays, light, electrical impulses, mechanical influence). Through mechanophosphene (a glow in the eye when pressure is applied to a closed eye), it is possible to determine whether all areas of the retina are functioning correctly. The cause of stars in the eyes may be mechanical damage to the eyeball.
Retinal lesions are diseases associated with retinal rupture or detachment. The operation of the part of the visual analyzer that is responsible for the perception of light is disrupted. The disease can lead to blindness, so it is necessary to consult an ophthalmologist to determine the causes and treatment of stars in the eyes at the first sign.
Retinal damage can be treated surgically at an early stage. People suffering from diabetes mellitus, pathologies of the endocrine system, vegetative-vascular dystonia and neurological disorders are most susceptible to the disease.
Ophthalmological causes of photopsia can be:
- corneal lesions;
- glaucoma;
- cataract;
- choroiditis;
- macular edema;
- retinal hemorrhage;
- retinopathy.
Other reasons
If the occurrence of photopsia is not associated with eye pathology, then most likely the cause lies in neurological diseases with brain damage or cardiovascular diseases.
These reasons may include:
- ocular migraine, or visual scotoma;
- preeclampsia and eclampsia during pregnancy;
- hypertension and its complications (acute and chronic hypertensive encephalopathy - brain damage against the background of very high blood pressure);
- traumatic brain injuries;
- brain tumors, as well as intraocular neoplasms;
- effect on the body of certain poisons (organophosphorus compounds);
- migraine;
- vertebral artery syndrome due to cervical osteochondrosis or other pathologies.
In conclusion, it is worth noting that the most common causes of photopsia include pathologies of the retina and vitreous body, so these lesions should be looked for first. Photopsies of cortical origin (caused by brain damage) are quite rare, but still, if the ophthalmologist does not find a problem, you must make an appointment with a neurologist.
Treatment of photopsia
Simple visual hallucinations can be treated with pharmaceuticals. Eye drops "Emoxipin 1%" resolve spots. They are used 3 times a day for a month. Wobenzym tablets give a similar result. They are taken 5 tablets 3 times a day, the course duration is 2-4 weeks. The drugs are usually supplemented with vitamin and mineral complexes with lutein.
There are also surgical methods to treat the disease. When destroying the vitreous body, vitreolysis (dividing large opaque particles into small ones using a laser) and vitrectomy (replacing the vitreous body with a saline solution) are used. Both processes have many side effects, so they are resorted to only in extreme cases. If the retina is damaged, laser or tissue freezing is used to eliminate tears and stop retinal detachment.
The first reason is destruction of the vitreous body.
The cavity between the lens and the retina of the eye is filled with a gel-like substance - the vitreous body. It consists almost entirely of water. Normally, the vitreous body is transparent. This is explained by its strict composition and the structure of the molecules of other substances included in it.
- Under the influence of negative factors, these molecules disintegrate, as a result of which the volume and composition of the vitreous changes, and opaque particles are formed. This pathological process is called destruction. The reason for the stars and flies lies precisely in the formed particles.
- Visual impairment can occur when blood, drugs, or other substances enter the vitreous body. In such a situation, the same symptoms occur as during destruction.
- It is worth noting that in old age, floaters, black dots and stars are a completely normal phenomenon due to the aging of the body.
From about the age of 40, the first signs of the disorder appear, but their appearance in young people is not excluded.
Prevention
You can prevent a number of diseases and get rid of photopsia with the help of eye gymnastics.
Ophthalmologists advise doing a number of exercises. Sit on a chair and straighten your back, look alternately to the right, left, up, down. The gaze must be translated quickly. Next, you should close your eyes tightly for a few seconds, sharply open your eyes, relaxing your muscles, and calmly look forward for 10 seconds.
Under no circumstances should you rub your eyes or even touch them with your hands. If necessary, it is better to rinse with running water.
Stars in the eyes may appear from overwork. In this case, you should put things aside, look away from the computer and sit for a few minutes with your eyes closed. You also need to walk outside more, follow a healthy lifestyle and sleep the optimal number of hours for you.
Star vision (or photopsia) is a visual hallucination that results in spots, streaks, or bright flashes appearing before the eyes. The phenomenon usually occurs when looking at bright objects, is single in nature and passes quickly. If photopsia recurs over a long period of time, you should consult a doctor. Since this may indicate serious ophthalmological or neurological diseases.
Medical treatment
It is necessary to begin therapy after identifying the causes of the disease; self-administration of analgesics, antispasmodics and NSAIDs can lead to addiction and exacerbation of symptoms. You can get rid of unpleasant sensations without medications:
- massage your temples and head;
- do gymnastics for the neck and eyes;
- take a walk outside or ventilate the room well;
- use a cold compress from a decoction of medicinal herbs or plain water - apply it to the sore spot and on the eyes;
- take a contrast shower;
- sleep for 1-2 hours in a cold room without access to light.
If your head starts to hurt, you need to measure your blood pressure to make sure there are no dangerous factors.
When using drugs, their purpose and effectiveness should be taken into account. For mild attacks, you can take Aspirin, Indomethacin, Analgin or Ibuprofen and Paracetamol.
Important! The drugs “Naramigran”, “Relpax”, “Amigrenin”, “Sumatriptan” are indicated in the treatment of acute attacks of headaches.
Doctors also recommend using medications to treat regular migraine attacks between relapses. For this purpose, new antidepressants, a group of anticonvulsants, and drugs based on propranolol are prescribed.
