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I get these sunstars (I hadn't heard that name before) in my normal vision at night. I see them on all the street lights and car headlights. Is that normal or
by GlennS 6y ago
I get these sunstars (I hadn't heard that name before) in my normal vision at night. I see them on all the street lights and car headlights.
Is that normal or does it indicate some sort of problem?
If I were to ask an optician about it, what words should I use to explain the problem? Would they know what a "sunstar" is? Is it different to "lens flare"?
- wahern 6y agoYou might have astigmatism. A simple examination will tell you. When I put on my first pair of prescription glasses in my early 20s, I was astonished at how different everything looked, and how so many weird optical effects like starbursts/sunstars slowly crept up on me such that I didn't realize my vision had changed so drastically. (The period between my last eye examine in adolescence and when I sought help for night driving was also the period I discovered computers and Linux and long nights hacking.)
- GlennS 6y agoAh, thank you. I do have astigmatism and my glasses do correct for it. That explains it then.
- wahern 6y agoI've had a few lens corrections over the years, but starbursts seem to only get worse with time since that first prescription where they completely disappeared. Whenever I bring up the question of corrective surgery my ophthalmologist manages to somehow change the subject. I suspect that my astigmatism has gotten so bad that lenses can't completely correct it (thus worsening starbursts), making me a poor candidate for surgery in his opinion, notwithstanding all the marketing promises out there. Perhaps we're both in the same boat if you're also still seeing starbursts with your prescription.
- swagasaurus-rex 6y agoAnother thing that can cause sunstars are your own eyelashes. If you look at a bright light at night while drooping your eyelids, you will see vertical bands that match the shape/direction of your eyelashes.