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Dr. Andrew Rynne
MD
Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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What Causes Colored Flashes Of Light In Peripheral Vision Area After Sauna Bathing?

After being in a sauna for ten minutes or so, I had this bright red orange yellow big dot appear appear in the middle of my field of vision. It looked like the heat sensors you see on movies that detect people in a building. It slowly went away after a few minutes. Should I be concerned that I damaged my eyes in some way? and Has this been known to happen in saunas?
posted on Tue, 21 Jul 2015
Twitter Sun, 16 Aug 2015 Answered on
Twitter Fri, 30 Nov 2018 Last reviewed on
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General & Family Physician,  's  Response
I warmly Welcome you to HCM.

I have carefully worked through your case , and I can realize your health worries. What happens is , in sauna there is sometimes:
* Water temperature adjustment issues.
* Chlorine and other chemical adjustment issues.

These are the two major issues that have severe impact on some people if they stay in such a situation for sometime. Yes people in Sauna and in swimming pool get problems with vision due to allergy to chemicals in water.


If this was a temporary one time event,please don't worry. But if it happens again, I will preferably suggest you to avoid sauna and go to an Ophthalmologist for complete evaluation and confirmation. There may be problems with eye pressure or some issue with optic nerve (main nerve of the eye).


Hope it helps. If you need further assistance, contact me anytime directly from my profile.

Regards!
DR.HANIF
USA
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What Causes Colored Flashes Of Light In Peripheral Vision Area After Sauna Bathing?

I warmly Welcome you to HCM. I have carefully worked through your case , and I can realize your health worries. What happens is , in sauna there is sometimes: * Water temperature adjustment issues. * Chlorine and other chemical adjustment issues. These are the two major issues that have severe impact on some people if they stay in such a situation for sometime. Yes people in Sauna and in swimming pool get problems with vision due to allergy to chemicals in water. If this was a temporary one time event,please don t worry. But if it happens again, I will preferably suggest you to avoid sauna and go to an Ophthalmologist for complete evaluation and confirmation. There may be problems with eye pressure or some issue with optic nerve (main nerve of the eye). Hope it helps. If you need further assistance, contact me anytime directly from my profile. Regards! DR.HANIF USA