Do I go to A&E?

[TheElusivePotato]

This morning as I sat down to have my cup of tea I noticed that I was struggling to read the iPad screen, like a floater/flashing light was exactly where I needed to look.
It was the shape of a backwards question mark, and flashing kind of like disco lights. Over the last 15 minutes it got bigger and bigger and moved to the outside of my vision to the point that it has now gone.
The 111 questionnaire says it could be a detaching retina and I should go to A&E. Do I really need to? I was definitely going to do something (probably call an optician first) bit now it’s gone was it just one of those things?

I wouldn't go to A and E with something like that. I would go to my opticians the same day it happened.

I am sure there will be lots of Mumsnetters to tell you it's an emergency and go straightaway though.

I get these and they are self limiting and go after half an hour. Google scintillating scotoma and visual migraine without headache. I don't do anything about mine and they're triggered by not sleeping.
If it's something visual that is lasting a long time I would go see an optician first who can check the eye for you

I get visual migraines that sound like this. I usually don't have a headache with it. Does your stomach feel sick?

It sounds exactly like an optical migraine but second the suggestion to see an optician to check.

I didn't start getting them until I was in my 30s and I remember being afraid I was going blind the first time.

I'd go to the optician today or at least call them

I had these lots when pregnant they were migraines without headaches. I went to the optician, who sent me to the hospital for a check as I was pregnant (blood pressure was very high!)

On a Monday you've plenty of other avenues. Gp/opticians first they'll tell you if you need a&e.

I'd go to a specialist eye a and e.

Great. Thank you all. I’ll call the optician when they open. I do get optical migraines but they usually look different, a bit like car headlights in my peripheral vision. I have had an extremely stressful weekend with lots of bad news so it could be that.

Optician.

A detached retina is a medical emergency and is definitely an A and E situation. So waiting to see an optician is not what you should do.

I have had 2 incidents where I thought I had this and after ringing 111 was told to go straight to A and E. In both cases it was a PVD but I wouldn't have known this without being seen. I wasn't made to feel that I was a time waster.

@supercritter

I get these and they are self limiting and go after half an hour. Google scintillating scotoma and visual migraine without headache. I don't do anything about mine and they're triggered by not sleeping. If it's something visual that is lasting a long time I would go see an optician first who can check the eye for you

This, although in my case I still haven't worked out the cause. Had them for about 5 years now.

I get those as part of migraines. I usually have a missing patch in my vision too. Might be worth just checking you can see properly before trying to drive or anything. Reading a page of a book works for me, as I can then notice whether I can see the whole page or whether there is a missing bit. Usually resolves in a few hours for me.
Worth getting optician to check though as a range of visual problems can kick off a migraine.

Go to the optician or your GP. They can refer to the eye hospital/eye department at your hospital the same way a&e can if it is an emergency. Optician can likely confirm if it's serious or not. Could just be a migraine.
If you go to a&e, you'll be sent away or sat there all day while they deal with the chest pain and suspected strokes etc.

As other posters have suggested, it sounds like this: www.nhs.uk/conditions/retinal-migraine/
which does seem to imply that it's worth going to see someone to get a diagnosis. I get very similar-sounding symptoms before a migraine headache, DP had one just the once with no following headache. I personally wouldn't go to A&E, but I would try and see someone about it.

Given that waiting times in a&e are up to 10 hours in some hospitals at the moment, I would go to the opticians before a&e at the moment…

Sorry, very slow to answer there! Glad you'll be calling the optician today. In my experience they try to fit you in quickly for something like this.

It could be a detached retina yes. Go to the opticians ASAP and they can check it. If it is they will send an ambulance.

Sounds exactly like the aura I get with my migraines. As someone else said, it tends to be self-limited and usually clears within an hour for me. I’ve had plenty of eye related emergencies woes over the years and optician would always be my first port of call (unless you have direct access to a specialist eye emergency department) - they will generally have better kit and more capacity to see you than a GP or general A&E department and will be able to triage and refer you as required. When I went along with an issue that they considered serious (swollen optic nerves) they had me up to the neurology department at the local hospital within a couple of hours.