Eye floaters - Symptoms and causes - Mayo Clinic
Had my first real experience a week ago. Was having lunch when this large snake-like 'thread' passed over my sight line. I of course went to rub my eye, but to no avail. Asked my wife what she could see? Nothing.
Over the next couple hours the snake broke up into many smaller pieces and reminded me of a kaleidoscope. By nightfall it was down to about 20 or 30 pieces and by morning it was 4 or 5.
Eye Dr. explained it to me and gave me a sense of relief. All else is healthy in my eyes. She also correctly predicted that one would center itself in my sightline and be rather annoying until I gave up and simply lived with it.
Expected relief date? 1-2 years.
Anyone else?
Had my first real experience a week ago. Was having lunch when this large snake-like 'thread' passed over my sight line. I of course went to rub my eye, but to no avail. Asked my wife what she could see? Nothing.
Over the next couple hours the snake broke up into many smaller pieces and reminded me of a kaleidoscope. By nightfall it was down to about 20 or 30 pieces and by morning it was 4 or 5.
Eye Dr. explained it to me and gave me a sense of relief. All else is healthy in my eyes. She also correctly predicted that one would center itself in my sightline and be rather annoying until I gave up and simply lived with it.
Expected relief date? 1-2 years.
Anyone else?
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It doesn't seem to change much in the long term, and the other eye will do the same thing
at some point. Did they tell you about the small chance of this causing a detached retina?
Fun stuff.
Floaters are usually a consequence of Posterior Vitreous Detachment (PVD). It's a sign of ageing that 75% of people over 65 develop.
It’s not a sign of disease or eye health problem and any symptoms usually get better with time.
Posterior vitreous detachment - RNIB - See differently
It’s not a sign of disease or eye health problem and any symptoms usually get better with time.
Posterior vitreous detachment - RNIB - See differently
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Hmm, dislocation, floaters, I hate to tell you what is next!
Actually it is good you did not ignore it. A sudden release of floaters is the first sign of a detached retina. Can be a result of a fall. So the good news is that you are just a generally healthy guy getting older.
Yes you do get used to them and they often do continue to break up into smaller less noticable pieces.
But sometimes they can actually be flies, the noise gives those away!
Do mention it at your annual check up. They most likely will add a few more blood tests. No I am not trying to get you stuck more often with sharp objects!
Hang in there.
Actually it is good you did not ignore it. A sudden release of floaters is the first sign of a detached retina. Can be a result of a fall. So the good news is that you are just a generally healthy guy getting older.
Yes you do get used to them and they often do continue to break up into smaller less noticable pieces.
But sometimes they can actually be flies, the noise gives those away!
Do mention it at your annual check up. They most likely will add a few more blood tests. No I am not trying to get you stuck more often with sharp objects!
Hang in there.
I bought a cheap hand held microscope online to look at my stylus. It had a dark spot in the field of vision so I sent it back. Lo and behold, the second one had a dark spot in the same location. Turned out to be a dark spot in my vision in the left eye. Now I use my right eye and haven't seen the spot.
We had a patient years ago that named his most obvious floater, like a pet.
You did the right thing, Cal.
For posterity: Any time a floater(s) just shows up, it's time to call your eye doctor right away. They're one of the very few things that will get you seen right now in our office rather than having to make an appointment.
Fortunately, most of the time they are harmless.
Nope, I've been functionally blind in my left eye all my life, had "lazy eye" that turned it in towards the bridge of my nose. Because of that, my brain's visual cortex rejected it and never recovered in spite of the fact that the eye eventually straightened out. To this day the only way I can see with my left eye is to close, or cover the other, and even then the visual acuity is no better than the extreme peripheral vision in my good eye. I can "see" stuff, and even though it's not blurry vision, it's indistinct, so I can't discern faces, or read print, or see anything well enough for it to be useful at all.
But it's all good, I've lived with it all my life, and I get along just fine.
Mike
My brother had something milder, but like that, and had to wear a patch on the good eye
on and off for some time, to train the other eye.
Yesterday I had what looked like a large black worm or wisp of smoke in my right eye that moved everytime I tried to look at it. It slowly dissipated as if it were smoke over the course of about an hour.
Apparently it was a minor bleed inside the eye.
Weirdest thing I've experienced (I've had floaters for as long as I can remember, and I'm still in my thirties).
Apparently it was a minor bleed inside the eye.
Weirdest thing I've experienced (I've had floaters for as long as I can remember, and I'm still in my thirties).
120/65 50bpm. So all good there.
Definitely good advice there.
Opthalmologist said not to worry. Apparently as layers move and unstick, they can cause very small bleeds. She said that as long as the peripheral vision doesn't start to go dim, then all is good in the world.
Maybe I was squinting too hard (and stressing) while trying to solder SMD parts
I've had floaters all my life. Some eye-docs comment on them. Some old theories associated it with nearsightedness, though mine is(was) mild.
This year I had what I decided was a bleed. Red crescent streak when I moved my eye. It faded, with an exceptionally large floater.
My niece "had weird crescent like flash in left eye", and said her eye doctor "found retinal tear" and sent her for laser treatment TODAY! OMG, this could be serious?
I called my eye-doc and as Tim says, he got me examined the same day. He did a very thorough exam both eyes, said "PVD". He also said "cobweb" which describes that corner of my vision. And he said I was absolutely fine, OK to drive, come back next year as regular, unless anything strange happened.
He gave me a PVD paper which was awful bland. The American Society of Retina Specialists have a better paper. Of note: "Most patients experience PVD after age 60, once in each eye". So (when verified by a doc!) not a big deal.
The big floater is apparently debris from the head of the optic nerve, why it looks like a leaky washer.
Thanks for the 1-2 year guideline. My doc didn't say and I was starting to wonder. Be patient, OK.
This year I had what I decided was a bleed. Red crescent streak when I moved my eye. It faded, with an exceptionally large floater.
My niece "had weird crescent like flash in left eye", and said her eye doctor "found retinal tear" and sent her for laser treatment TODAY! OMG, this could be serious?
I called my eye-doc and as Tim says, he got me examined the same day. He did a very thorough exam both eyes, said "PVD". He also said "cobweb" which describes that corner of my vision. And he said I was absolutely fine, OK to drive, come back next year as regular, unless anything strange happened.
He gave me a PVD paper which was awful bland. The American Society of Retina Specialists have a better paper. Of note: "Most patients experience PVD after age 60, once in each eye". So (when verified by a doc!) not a big deal.
The big floater is apparently debris from the head of the optic nerve, why it looks like a leaky washer.
Thanks for the 1-2 year guideline. My doc didn't say and I was starting to wonder. Be patient, OK.
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