Common Eye Questions: Floaters

[ashling]

A lot of us have had eye problems (8 eye surgeries here) and these questions come up from time to time. I came across this on Facebook. You might want to bookmark it for later.


[font size = 4] What is a floater? [/font size = 4]


http://seeforyourself.com/common-eye-problems/common-eye-questions-floaters/

Have you ever watched someone swatting at an invisible bug? What if that “bug” wasn’t invisible at all but rather something that only the swatter could see? Maybe you’ve been the one trying to hit a bug that doesn’t really exist.

Thousands of people around the world see small flecks floating right in front of their eyes. Many times, people think these are insects or stray eyelashes. In reality, these flecks are tiny floaters drifting around the inside of your eye. Even though the thought of having something floating in your eye is strange and scary, most of the time it is completely harmless.

What is a floater?
A floater is generally a small accumulation of tissue that has detached from the light sensitive tissue — the retina — in the back of the eye. As we age, the gel-like material in the eye — the vitreous — tends to shrink. As it does, it can tug on the retina, causing a small bit to detach. This process is called a vitreous detachment. Unlike a retinal detachment, a vitreous detachment is common and typically is not cause for alarm.

Although floaters appear in many shapes and colors, most are generally dark in color (black or brown) and round or string-like in shape. Most often, people report seeing a floater when looking at a bright or light-colored surface, such as the sky or a wall.

***

Is there a treatment for floaters?
Small floaters resulting from vitreous detachment are generally not treated and never completely disappear. Over time, gravity pulls the annoying flecks from a person’s vision and settles them into the lower portions of the eye where they are less noticeable. In extreme cases, larger floaters that cause visual disturbances can be treated with a laser procedure. An ophthalmologist determines the necessity of this treatment on a case-by-case basis. If the floaters are a result of a larger problem, such as a retinal detachment or hemorrhage, surgery for the underlying problem is preformed. Occasionally the floaters are removed during that process.

Floaters are harmless in the majority of cases. However, there is always the chance that they are caused by something that could damage your vision. Placing a call to your ophthalmologist or eye care professional is the simplest way to determine if further action is necessary. If a visit to you eye doctor’s office is required, a dilated eye exam lets him determine the cause of your floaters and most probably provide you with peace of mind.

[TexasTowelie]

1. I've had a retinal tag for about three decades.

I'm fortunate not to have taken any serious blows to the head. Otherwise, I would have needed surgery.

[ashling]

2. Retina detached in my left eye twice

and then in my right eye - twice

[RebelOne]

3. I had cataract surgery last month

and I thought that would get rid of the floaters, but even though my vision has improved, those damn floaters are still there. My eye surgeon told me I have Macular Degeneration in my left eye and gave me a list of vitamin supplements to slow down the process.

[regnaD kciN]

8. Actually, I had similar surgery last year...

...and my left eye developed a big one a couple of days later. The doctor told me to just ignore it, and it would gradually become less noticeable. I still see it occasionally, but I think my brain has been trained to just filter it out most of the time.

[RebelOne]

12. Yes, same thing happened to me.

My doctor told me that it was in the back of my eyeball and would eventually go away.

[Kaleva]

4. Tired. Thought the title to be about seeing floaters in a toilet.

[Major Nikon]

5. Too much fiber?

[Kaleva]

6. Had just served on a jury. My mind was in the crapper.

[Jenoch]

7. I've had eye floaters ever since I can remember.

I think I only heard the term until about ten years ago.

I got my first presciption eye glasses when I was in the second grade. I remember getting a new, stonger prescription at least once a year until I was in my late teens. I got hard contact lenses when I was 14, which I still wear daily.

In elementary school, I can remember daydreaming while watching my 'floaters'. I remember one that looked like an amoeba.

More recently I have been diagnosed with non-age related caracts. Apparently the lack of oxygen as a preemie has affected my eyesight my entire life. I am not a candidate for lasix.

[ashling]

10. Had the floater daydream

My experience w/ floaters is very similar. I first got prescription glasses in the fourth grade ... I never really wore them until I had to pass the eye test for my drivers license.

I've had cataract surgery - which helped a lot until my retina tore and then detached.

[Jenoch]

11. I wish you had not posted that last sentence.

I got glasses, including bifocals, in the second grade. I remember my first grade teacher saying to me in the cafeteria, "...you got glasses, and bifocals too!" The optometrist lived up the street from us. He prescribed glasses to my older brother too. He kept forgetting to wear them that my mother took us to the ophthalmologist and it turned out my brother did not need glasses and I did not need bifocals.

I've been wearing hard contact lenses for almost 38 years.

[magical thyme]

9. I had a giant brown fuzzy spidery floater drift into the center of my vision yesterday

for a moment, I panicked as I thought of the posts I've read here warning about floaters.

Then it started tickling my nose, and I realized a brown, fuzzy spider had just descended from my ceiling and was using my nose as a landing pad.

Sometimes those fuzzy brown spiders are really just fuzzy brown spiders!

[trof]

13. I have 'flashers'.

Prism like images in my peripheral vision.
It's called ophthalmic migraine.

Usually no headache, but sometimes a dull pain that's worse when I cough.
Can be brought on by bright sunlight or a frontal system passage (pressure change).

[Jenoch]

14. Something just occurred to me that I find

somewhat intersting and ironic. My 82 year old father has vision good enough to pass the eye test at the DMV without corrective lenses. He has needed reading glasses for a couple of decades, bt that is normal. Manwhile, one of his best friends has macular degeneration and can no longer drive.