Jonathan Karmark before his eye disease was detected. The gold reflection in his eye, instead of the typical red, was an indication that he had Coats' disease.
Photo Credit: Eric Karmark

No “red eye” in photos? Could be disease!

Take a look at your photos, often with a flash, there will be red spots in the eyes.  Many think that’s a bad photo.. .actually, that’s good.

What it means is the eye is healthy.

If you see a white or gold spot, it could be a sign of disease, including possibly cancer.

Looking back on photos of his son, a man in Saskatoon Saskatchewan wasn’t aware that the yellowish reflection was the sign of a problem.

The photo was taken months before the man said he and his wife noticed later that their son’s eye was “lazy”.

Their son was later diagnosed with “Coats’ Disease” and eventually lost sight in that eye.

In this photo of Johnathan the reflection is again not the typical red of a healthy eye, but white. In this case an indication of the disease that later turned out to be Coats disease, although a white or goldish reflection could indicate several other problems.
In this photo of Johnathan the reflection is again not the typical red of a healthy eye, but white. In this case an indication of the disease that later turned out to be Coats disease, although a white or goldish reflection could indicate several other problems. © Eric Karark

 The parents said had they realized earlier the goldish reflection in the photo was an indication of a problem “and not just a dodgy mobile-phone camera”, they would have taken him to a specialist much earlier.

Diagnosing eye problems from photos

Dr. Nigel Rawlings is a retina specialist in Saskatoon, “If more parents know about this, it could eventually be a lifesaving or eye-saving intervention for some people in the future.”

He said the phenomenon can also occur in adults, but generally they realize there’s a problem and see a specialist on their own.

According to Know The Glow, looking for the gold or white glow in photos is particularly important in children who are too young to indicate something is wrong with their vision.

with files from CBC, Sharon Gerein

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