Have you or a loved one ever noticed seeing sparkles in your vision? This “phenomenon” isn’t evidence of another world or a sign of anything except that you might need to see youroptometrist in Falls Church, VA. We get it, though. Seeing sparkles, flashes or shimmering lights in your vision can be both puzzling and concerning. While these visual disturbances may seem interesting, they can indicate various underlying issues that should be addressed. Here’s what you need to know.

Ocular Migraines

Did you know you can have a headache without pain? One common cause of sparkles in your vision is ocular migraines, also known as visual migraines. These occur when blood flow to your visual cortex is temporarily disrupted, leading to visual symptoms such as flashing lights, zigzag patterns, or shimmering areas. Unlike traditional migraines, ocular migraines don’t always cause a headache, and those shiny sparkles in your vision might be an important clue that this is what’s actually happening..

Posterior Vitreous Detachment

As we age, the gel-like substance in our eyes called the vitreous can begin to shrink and pull away from the retina. This process, known as posterior vitreous detachment (PVD), can create the sensation of sparkles or flashes of light. While PVD is often harmless, it’s important to monitor for other symptoms like a sudden increase in floaters or dark spots, which could indicate a retinal tear. This is nothing to mess with, as it can lead to vision loss or blindness if left untreated.

Occasional sparkles should be reported to your eye doctor immediately. Even if they end up being nothing concerning, you should get a professionaleye exam in Falls Church, VA. Your optometrist can perform a thorough examination to determine the cause and recommend appropriate treatment.

Are you confused about what an eye exam really is, or what the difference is between an eye exam and a comprehensive eye exam in Falls Church, VA? You’re not the only one. But it’s really quite clear (like your vision will be after a comprehensive eye exam!). A comprehensive eye exam is more than just checking your vision; it assesses the overall health of your eyes and can detect early signs of eye conditions or other health problems. Comprehensive eye exams are often needed when the person has special concerns or underlying issues like a history of glaucoma, diabetes or other things. To get to the point, here’s what you can expect during a typical comprehensive eye exam.

Review of Medical History and Vision Concerns

Your comprehensive eye exam will begin with a discussion of your medical history and any vision concerns you may have. The optometrist will ask about current medications, past eye conditions, and any family history of eye diseases. If you’ve experienced changes in vision or symptoms like eye strain or headaches, this is the time to speak up!.

Vision Tests

The core part of the exam involves checking your visual acuity, or how clearly you can see at various distances. If you need corrective lenses, the optometrist will perform a refraction test to determine your prescription. You’ll look through different lens options, indicating which ones provide clearer vision. You’re probably very familiar with this part, unless you’ve never visited the eye doctor before, which we hope is not true!

Eye Health Assessment

Next, your optometrist will examine the external and internal structures. This may include shining a light into your eyes to check how your pupils react and using a slit-lamp microscope to inspect the front part of the eye, including the cornea and lens. Tonometry may also be performed, which measures the pressure inside your eye and screens for glaucoma.

There’s a lot more to comprehensive eye exams, but you can review all the particulars with your optometrist in Falls Church, VA when you visit Nova Vision Center. Contact us today to book your appointment!

Cornea scratches are a type of eye injury that can cause vision loss in some cases. If you have injured your eye and are now dealing with blurred vision or a scratchy, irritated feeling, it’s important to come to see our emergency eye care team atNova Vision Center in Falls Church, Virginia. We can help you get the medical attention you need.

What Are Corneal Scratches?

Corneal scratches, also known as corneal abrasions, are injuries that affect the protective cover of the eye. The cornea’s top layer, the corneal epithelium, can be scratched due to contact with debris such as metal debris, the edge of a piece of paper, sand, and other irritants.

What Are the Symptoms of Corneal Scratches?

If you’ve injured your eye or debris has gotten into it, you may have symptoms of a corneal scratch. Common symptoms include:

• Tearing up/watery eyes
• A feeling like you have something in your eye
• Blurry vision
• Redness
• Photophobia (sensitivity to light)
• A headache
• Pain

It’s important not to ignore the symptoms. Instead, you need to take action.

You can begin first aid by rinsing out your eye with a saline solution. You can also pull your upper eyelid over the lower one to cause tearing, which can help flush the eye. Then, call our emergency care team, and we’ll set up a time to have you come in for an exam and to identify a corneal scratch if you have one.

Get Emergency Eye Care at Nova Vision Center

A corneal scratch can be minor or lead to infection and threaten your vision, so it’s important to seek care as soon as you can. Our emergency eye care team is waiting to help here at Nova Vision Center in Falls Church, VA. Call today and we’ll ensure you get the support you need.

If you have myopia and wear glasses or contact lenses in Falls Church, VA, you may wish that there was a way to correct your vision once and for all. While myopia may get a little bit better naturally over time, it will never disappear all by itself.

What Causes Myopia?

One of the primary causes of myopia is an elongated shape of the eye. This causes light rays entering the eye to miss their target. They bend or refract, which causes blurry eyesight; specifically nearsightedness.

Over time, the elongation of the eye becomes less pronounced. This affects vision and can make a person’s eyesight become “less” myopic. In other words, their nearsightedness might be less severe, and they may experience an improvement in vision. This mild improvement may continue as time goes on, or it may stop at some time. However, the fact that nearsightedness is lessening gives some people the idea that myopia disappears in later years. Unfortunately, this simply isn’t true.

Myopia Control is Possible

While the bad news is that myopia doesn’t go away altogether, it can be controlled so that it doesn’t worsen. For the millions of people who suffer from this condition, that’s good news. When vision stabilizes, it means you can enjoy better vision with your existing prescription, instead of having to change your contacts or eyeglasses prescription more frequently. It also means that your eye doctor in Falls Church, VA can get a baseline measurement of your vision, to use as a guide to see how your eyesight fares over time.

No one wants to live with myopia, but at the very least you can ensure that your eyesight doesn’t worsen when you have some control over the myopia. Contact us to learn more.