Why You See White Squiggles After Rubbing Your Eyes

It’s normal to rub your eyes after waking up from a nap or looking at screens for a couple of hours. Rubbing your eyes often feels good, and it can help you refocus on your surroundings, but it also tends to trigger visual disturbances, such as white squiggles, colorful shapes, or flashes in your field of vision.

If you’ve ever experienced this sensation before, it can be startling, but it’s typically nothing to worry about. Even so, if these white squiggles persist or occur without rubbing your eyes, they may indicate an underlying eye condition.

Our team of ophthalmologists at Eye Surgeons Associates, which serves patients in Canton, Livonia, and Monroe, Michigan, regularly diagnoses and treats visual disturbances.

This article explains why white squiggles happen, whether rubbing your eyes is safe, and when to seek professional treatment.

Understanding why white squiggles occur

The white squiggles, flashes, or colorful shapes you see after rubbing your eyes are called phosphenes. They occur when photoreceptors in your retina, a sensitive layer of tissue at the back of the eye, are stimulated, causing them to send electrical signals to your brain.

Your brain interprets these signals as visual input, even without external light, which is why the phenomenon occurs whether your eyes are open or closed. In addition to white squiggles, phosphenes may appear as:

Sparkles
Floaters and flashes of light
Geometric shapes
Swirling patterns

Getting bumped in the head or participating in an intense workout can also stimulate your retinal tissue, which is why these activities can cause you to “see stars.”

Risks associated with rubbing your eyes

Rubbing your eyes every once in a while typically isn’t a big deal. Almost everyone does it, and as long as you aren’t applying excess pressure, it can feel good or make you more alert.

However, if you rub your eyes forcefully or make it a habit, it may increase the risk of:

Eye irritation
Inflammation
Corneal damage
Keratoconus, a condition in which the cornea progressively thins and bulges into a cone shape

Rubbing your eyes can also let bacteria and other germs enter your eyes. If you wear contacts or have sensitive eyes, that can lead to an infection.

When to be concerned about white squiggles in your field of vision

Since white squiggles and flashes are often a response to external stimuli, they usually go away within a few seconds of not rubbing your eyes.

If visual disturbances occur without eye rubbing or appear alongside other symptoms, such as blurriness, a sensation that a curtain is blocking your vision, or a noticeable increase in floaters, it’s important to identify the cause.

Although usually nothing to worry about, these symptoms may indicate a more serious issue like diabetic eye disease, glaucoma, or retinal vascular disease.