I used to have these symptoms too, before I had all my dental Amalgams removed. Almost a year later now, and the symptoms are finally gone.

You know, I'm very into alternative health, but I make my living doing medical transcription for ophthalmologist (retina specialists, in particular), and I used to work in an ophthalmology office. Front desk, not a technician, so I just know what I've picked up through osmosis. I've got a ton of floaters, myself, and they've never gotten better despite mercury amalagam removal and all kinds of cleansing. I have a friend whose floaters went away after she did a long protocol with lots of juicing for breast cancer, so I don't believe vitrectomy is the only way to get rid of them.

From the allopathic viewpoint, the flashes could be from the vitreous separating from the retina, which apperently happens in most people at some point in mid and later life when the vitreous (gel) inside the eye starts to thin as we age, and when it pulls away from the retina, it can cause the flashes and floaters. I'm all for researching alternatives (like in Traditional Chinese Medicine they say the health of the eye is related to the health of the liver), but if you continue to experience flashing, particularly if it gets worse, you should see a retina specialist to check up on it because sometimes that can indicate a retinal tear or detachment starting, and to the best of my knowledge, there is no way to repair a detachment besides laser or something called scleral buckling. You don't want to ignore symptoms of a possible detachment happening because you really can lose most or all of your vision in that eye from a detachment. Once that retina is off, it's off, and it's like a thin layer of tissue paper, they have to paste it back on again, so to speak, and time is of the essence when that happens. My mom had flashing like that in the periphery of her vision on one side, and she found out she had a retinal hole which could have progressed to a tear. I know some retinal holes can heal spontaneously, and others are less likely to, it may be the opinion of the doctor as to whether it should be repaired. She ended up having a cryopexy procedure, which is kind of like freezing the edges of the hole so it wouldn't spread. Done with a needle after local anesthetic. Yuck, but she said it didn't hurt. She had some flashing after that, but it eventually subsided, and everything is fine.

The other possibility for the symptoms is something called retinal migraine, which is sort of circulation related, I think, kind of like a migraine without the head pain. I think people who get those frequently are more prone to optic nerve damage. I have a long history of headaches, and I've seen that flash in the periphery of my vision a few times when I didn't have a headache.

They are recommending antioxidants, A, C, E and zinc, in particular, along with Lutein for macular degeneration, now, and so I would think taking those supplements from a good source or trying to get a lot of green and orange vegetables in your diet would be helpful, also. I think people generally ignore the needs of the eye for health until they start having problems, we kind of take our sight for granted. I need to do some more research on the subject, myself.

Just wanted you to know that you shouldn't ignore the flashing, just make sure you get checked for the possibility of a detachment if you haven't already. Then when they say everything is OK, you can go back to the business of working on getting rid of them yourself! I personally would avoid any unecessary eye surgery, because I just think it's a slippery slope. Seems like one procedure leads to another, and then another...I wouldn't do an elective vitrectomy, anyway.

I suggest everyone read this article. It talks about the cause of floaters and eye flashes. It should help everyone.

http://www.allaboutvision.com/conditions/spotsfloats.htm

For the person who is thinking of removing their crowns, don't. When you have a root canal, the dentist fills the canal with a rubber-like material called gutta percha. They then cement a metal post in place which allows them to restore the shape of the tooth with filling material. Today's filling material of choice is a UV-set epoxy. They then cement a crown on top to finish the tooth asesthetically.

I had the same thing begin about 6 months ago. major floaters and what looked to be a tiny ball of light slide across my vision 4 to 5 times a day, sometimes even more. The Doctor was amazed to find I did NOT have retenal detachment and could give me no explaination. I can't say for sure it is connected but I began a parasite cleanse of humaworm about 3 weeks ago. After the first week, my flashes stopped completely. Haven't had one since.

I had orginally thought maybe the flashes were due to extreme sinus pressure, not to say they weren't, but either way, mine are gone.
ghostfalcon