What could be causing sudden onset of blurry, wavy vision in one eye, without any apparent cause, in an individual with no mentioned past medical history or current medications?

Sudden Onset Wavy, Blurry Vision in One Eye

You need urgent same-day ophthalmology evaluation because your symptoms—sudden wavy, blurry vision with light-like distortions in one eye—could represent serious sight-threatening conditions including retinal detachment, posterior vitreous detachment, or acute angle-closure glaucoma. 1, 2, 3

Most Likely Serious Causes Requiring Immediate Evaluation

Retinal Detachment or Posterior Vitreous Detachment

• Photopsia (seeing flashes or wavy light distortions without actual light exposure) is a hallmark symptom of posterior vitreous detachment and retinal tears or detachment 4, 5, 3
• The "wavy" visual disturbance you describe resembles the flash-like phenomena that occur when the vitreous gel pulls on the retina 4, 5
• Retinal detachment typically presents with a curtain-like visual field defect, but early stages may show only photopsia and blurred vision 2, 3
• Patients with symptomatic floaters and flashing lights require urgent dilated funduscopic examination by an ophthalmologist to evaluate for retinal tear or detachment 3
• Without treatment, retinal detachment causes permanent vision loss and usually requires surgical intervention 2, 3

Migraine Aura (With or Without Headache)

• Migraine with aura can cause transient visual disturbances with characteristic fortification spectra (wavy, shimmering patterns) 1, 4
• Migraine aura without headache is a recognized entity that presents with isolated visual phenomena 4, 5
• These visual disturbances are typically bilateral (though may seem unilateral), last 15-30 minutes, and resolve completely 4, 5
• However, this diagnosis can only be made after excluding retinal pathology with dilated examination 4

Acute Angle-Closure Glaucoma (Less Likely But Critical)

• Acute angle-closure presents with blurred vision from corneal edema, halos around lights, severe eye pain, headache, and nausea 1, 6, 7, 2
• The absence of severe pain makes this less likely, but intermittent angle closure can present with transient blurred vision and halos without severe pain 6, 7
• Untreated intermittent angle closure has a 50% risk of progressing to acute crisis within 5 years, and 18% of untreated eyes become blind 6, 7

Critical Red Flags Requiring Emergency Department Visit

Go to the emergency department immediately if you develop:

• A curtain or shadow moving across your vision (suggests retinal detachment) 2, 3
• Severe eye pain with nausea or vomiting (suggests acute angle-closure glaucoma) 7, 2
• Complete or near-complete vision loss (suggests retinal artery occlusion or other vascular emergency) 2, 3
• Eye redness with severe pain (suggests multiple urgent conditions) 7, 8

What You Should Do Right Now

Call an ophthalmologist today for urgent evaluation—do not wait to see if symptoms resolve 4, 3:

• Even if symptoms improve or disappear, you still need examination because transient symptoms can be warning signs before permanent damage occurs 6, 4
• The ophthalmologist needs to perform dilated funduscopic examination to visualize your retina and vitreous 4, 3
• Gonioscopy may be needed to assess for narrow angles if angle-closure is suspected 6, 7

Less Urgent But Important Considerations

Corneal Edema

• Corneal edema causes blurred vision with diurnal variation (worse upon waking, clearer later in the day) 9, 1
• Your symptoms don't follow this pattern, making corneal edema less likely 9

Refractive Error or Dry Eye

• Simple refractive errors cause consistent blur, not wavy distortions or photopsia 9, 1
• Dry eye causes intermittent blur but not the flash-like phenomena you describe 1

Critical Pitfall to Avoid

Do not dismiss these symptoms as benign even if they resolve spontaneously—transient visual disturbances can represent warning episodes before potentially blinding conditions like retinal detachment or acute angle-closure crisis 6, 4, 3. The fact that you're experiencing these symptoms without looking into a light strongly suggests an internal eye problem rather than a benign external cause 4, 5.