Is my eye flutter dangerous?

A final assessment of the risk potential of eye flicker is not possible due to the limited number of studies available so far. Up to now, eye fibrillation has only occurred in connection with benign clinical pictures or as an independent phenomenon, so that a potential association with malignant diseases is not assumed. Flickering of the eye is more frequently associated with stress, physical or mental overload or in combination with headaches, especially as a harbinger of migraine attacks. The symptoms usually subside after the end of the stress or when the associated clinical picture subsides.

Could this be a sign of a stroke?

The term eye flicker is a very unspecific symptom, as the term “flickering” can be understood to mean many different visual disorders. For example, a stroke can also lead to visual disorders. A stroke usually comes suddenly and is usually located on one half of the brain.

The visual pathways are interconnected in the brain in such a way that everything we see on our right side (not with our right eye!) is absorbed by the left half of the brain. Conversely, the brain picks up everything in our left field of vision on the right side of the brain.

If one of the two hemispheres of the brain is now affected by a stroke, the visual disturbances in the field of vision on the opposite side may become noticeable. These symptoms can range from slightly blurred vision to flickering eyes to pronounced visual field failures. In pronounced cases, affected persons no longer perceive one half of the room at all.

In addition, there are characteristic other symptoms such as half-sided weakness or paralysis of the arm and/or leg. The face can also be affected. As with the eyes, the face, arms and legs are crossed with the brain, so that a stroke, for example in the right hemisphere of the brain, is noticeable on the left side of the body (weakness of the left arm and leg, weakness of the left half of the face and visual disturbances on the left side). Speech disorders can also occur during a stroke. The acronym “FAST” (face = face, arm, speech = language, time = time) is used to help remember the symptoms of a stroke.

Could this be an indication of multiple sclerosis?

In some cases, flickering of the eyes can also be a first indication of multiple sclerosis (MS). This is a disease in which the nerves of the central nervous system increasingly lose their insulating layer (myelin). Autoimmune processes thus gradually reduce the conduction speed of the nerve tracts.

It can also lead to malfunctions in the transmission of nerve impulses. A typical site where multiple sclerosis first becomes apparent is the optic nerve. Demyelination (de-isolation) of the optic nerve can cause various visual disorders (often a flickering of the eyes). You can find more information on this topic under: Multiple Sclerosis.