Long before the founding of the nation in 1776, long before the founding of any nation for that matter, seeing stars and stripes didn’t necessarily mean you’d just woken up in the middle of a July 4^th parade.

In the best sense, it might mean that, but it was much more likely you’d just hit your head or woke up with a migraine headache. Both, it’s fair to say, could also be the result of a particularly impassioned semiquincentennial celebration, so it’s understandable there might be some confusion…

Assuming however these disorienting flashes of light or wavy lines in your vision are experienced midwinter or late fall, it’s safe to say the fireworks and flag-waving had little if anything to do with it.

Photopsia – Flashes of Light

If you grew up consuming Looney Tunes cartoons on Saturday mornings, a quintessential American television institution, then you’ll likely recall the ubiquitous halo of stars circling above any character who had just been unceremoniously hit in the head by a rock or an errant anvil!

If anything has changed in these last 50 years as a nation, at least less people are plagued by falling anvils. The disquieting corona of stars, however, is still a calamitous prospect under the right circumstances.

Photopsia as it’s called, is the term used for seeing flashes of light, sparkles, floaters, or shimmering shapes in your vision when no external light source is present to cause these illuminations. Generally, photopsia is a short-term phenomenon that can be treated and often clear up quickly.

The most likely causes of “seeing stars” are migraine headaches, elevated blood pressure, head or eye impact injuries, or dehydration, all of which effect the pressure on the retina, which causes the visual anomaly we call seeing stars. These conditions are all generally treatable after which vision will return to normal.

In fact, simply rubbing your eyes with considerable pressure will cause the gel between your lens and retina to stress and pull on the retina itself causing a temporary seeing of stars.

Photopsia – Shining a Light on a Larger Concern

In some case when photopsia is more persistent, it can be the result of a more serious condition. Untreated migraine conditions, concussion, retinal detachment, preeclampsia in pregnancy, macular degeneration, viral infections, tears or holes in the retina, autoimmune diseases, ocular tumors, or diabetic retinopathy are all much more serious possibilities.

If you are experiencing persistent flashes of light, floaters, or blurred vision, see your eye doctor immediately for a comprehensive examination and treatment.

If you happen to also see red, white, and blue bunting, a superfluity of flags, fireworks and sparklers, it’s much more likely the stars and stripes you’re seeing are relatively harmless and will pass within a couple of days