Seeing Stars

[Kanastrous]

So just now I was coughing a little bit hard and I suddenly saw this cloud of brilliant-white little glowing 'stars' floating all around in my field of vision, persisting for about 15-20 seconds.

What's the mechanism behind that, anyway? My brain rattling hard enough inside my skull to thump my visual cortex?

*edit* did a little reading on phosphenes, and yeah, that plus pressure on the orbs is basically it. Never mind.

[Darth Wong]

So just now I was coughing a little bit hard and I suddenly saw this cloud of brilliant-white little glowing 'stars' floating all around in my field of vision, persisting for about 15-20 seconds.

What's the mechanism behind that, anyway? My brain rattling hard enough inside my skull to thump my visual cortex?

*edit* did a little reading on phosphenes, and yeah, that plus pressure on the orbs is basically it. Never mind.

I've watched Bugs Bunny, and I believe the stars are supposed to circle your head while you hear bird tweeting sounds.

[petesampras]

Sparkles in the vision of one eye are a warning sign of a detached retina (in which case getting down to accident and emergency is the order of the day). Unlikely to be the case if it's both eyes at the same time though.

[Kanastrous]

I've watched Bugs Bunny, and I believe the stars are supposed to circle your head while you hear bird tweeting sounds.

Uh-oh.

Something's clearly wrong with me; I'm getting the stars but not the tweeting...

[Kodiak]

The flash/sparkles is the blood being forced to your head by the muscles. If it happens a lot you may want to see a doctor.