Re: bright flashes during sleep

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Posted by CCF Neuro MD on July 20, 1997 at 11:55:25:

In Reply to: bright flashes during sleep posted by Misty on July 07, 1997 at 21:45:27:

Twice in the last month I woke up during the night because of a bright flash
in my head... It is like a flash bulb snap, I wake up immediately and am so
frightened that it is hard to go back to sleep. Do you think it could just be
some strange dream? I have no headache when I wake up and don't notice anyhing
unusual in how I feel...

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Hello, Misty,
There are several clinical situations where bright light flashes may be a part of the presentation, such as in seizure disorders, migraine headache, and some demyelinating processes including multiple sclerosis. However, isolated and transient light flashes that happen only during awakening is quite unusaul as any pathological process. In seizure disorders, light flash can sometimes trigger a spell, or be a part of the warning signals, but patients would have seizures. In migraine headhead episodes, light flash can trigger a headache or make an episode worse. In MS, patients can have something called optic neuritis in which other vision related symptoms are usually much more prominent, such as pain and vision loss. In addition, stroke may sometimes present with light flashes, but again other stroke symptoms would be predominent or at least concomminent. Lastly, your symptoms could have been stress related and have had no pathological consequences. The way to find out and make sure is to have both neurological and ophthalmological evaluations. This can be can at your neurologist's office, or if you prefer, at our department. Please call toll free (800) 223-2273 ext. 45559 or (216) 444-5559 for an appointment at your convenience. Good Luck.

This information is provided for general medical education purposes only. Please consult your physician for the diagnostic and treatment options for your specific medical condition.

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