. I can now see an afterimage in the bottom right of my vision in my left eye. It appears every time I blink. Is this something I should worry about?
DEC 04, 2012
Question:
I was hit in the eye with a football and I was diagnosed with a bruised retina. At first I was seeing bright flashes for several hours, but shortly thereafter they went away. I can now see an afterimage in the bottom right of my vision in my left eye. It appears every time I blink. Is this something I should worry about?
Answer:
Your eye transmitted the force of the football blow to the retina causing swelling. This usually disappears although if severe can lead to scarring and some loss of vision at that site. If you have an afterimage, it might reflect some instability of the retinal architecture at that point (remember everything in the retina is upside down and backwards so a disturbance to the left in vision is due to changes in the retina to the right side in the back of the eye). If persistent, this might indicate a risk of the retina coming loose at that point. You should see your ophthalmologist to evaluate this with a good peripheral retinal examination.