Brief stable flashes are usually the gel inside the eye tugging the retina - common with age. A sudden burst of flashes, many new floaters, or a dark curtain is a retinal detachment emergency, today.
What to do
Common questions
What does it mean if I see flashes of light?
Flashes of light in your vision - like tiny lightning streaks, usually off to the side - come from the vitreous, the gel inside your eye, tugging on the retina. As you age the gel shrinks and pulls away from the retina, a common and usually harmless change called posterior vitreous detachment. NEI notes flashes and a few new floaters are typical of it. Brief flashes on their own, stable over days, usually just need a prompt but routine eye exam within a few days. The emergency pattern is about sudden change: a burst of many new flashes, a shower of new floaters, or - the big one - a dark curtain or shadow spreading over part of your vision. Those are the retinal detachment warnings, and retinal detachment is fixable but only on a clock of hours to days. That combination means an emergency eye exam today, not next week. One different pattern worth naming: shimmering zigzag arcs that build over 10 to 30 minutes in both eyes, sometimes followed by headache, are migraine aura - harmless to the eye, though new aura patterns deserve a mention to your doctor. Pymander is a free AI doctor, 24/7 by text. Describe the flashes, floaters, and any shadow, and it can help you judge how fast to be seen.