Eye Trauma

[sinewave]

Good Afternoon. I was playing soccer and I got hit really hard with the soccer ball on my right eye. Instantly I saw a lot of thick swirls of black floaters and looking straight ahead I could only see above but couldn't see anything below because of a sort of black shadow. This shadow slowly disappeared about 20 to 30 minutes later but the black floaters remained. A few days after, I also started to see some tiny flashes of light in the corner of my eye. I got checked out by an Optometrist who recommended that I see an Ophthalmologist because it looked like the retina could have damage or tears after examination. I saw an Ophthalmologist (almost a week later as I had to travel overseas for this) and did an ultrasound and they said that the retina is not detached. However, there is a lot of dried blood covering areas of the bottom part of the retina so he was unable to say with 100% certainty that there are no retinal tears at all. He also used, I think, a scleral depressor to press on my eye to try to see all of the retina but couldn't. I had examination on Monday and I am to go back in 2 weeks to have another ultrasound done to see if there is any damage as he should have a clearer view of the entire retina by then.

He said that if I see a shadow, new floaters and flashes that I should rush back to the emergency room right away. He feels that the blood at the back of the eye is what I am seeing as floaters. These floaters are not as thick as they were a week ago. They used to float across my vision sometimes making my vision blurry so that I couldn't see the eye chart until they moved. Will these ever go away? Will they continue to break up to a point where I may not see them anymore? Also, a day or two after the exam, I started to see like a small flash of light zoom across the bottom of my eye now and then. Should I be concerned about that?    

[sinewave]

Thank you for the prompt response. I will get it checked out as soon as possible. I can see my Optometrist until I am able to travel in order to see the Ophthalmologist.

[Ray T Oyakawa, MD]

You may need surgery to clear the residual blood if it does not clear.  The flashes are of concern.  You need to be checked with new symptoms.

Dr. O.