Make My Floaters Disappear
Newly-acquired floaters are pretty worrisome. All of a sudden there's this blob floating past your field of vision, changing directions with your own gaze. Other floaters can look like dark meteors.
Anyone familiar with our WebMD Vision & Eye Disorder member board appreciates what folks endure when they have floaters. Floater behavior can be very unpredictable: clear as a bell in the morning, sitting behind a boulder in the afternoon.
Naturally, those fighting floaters want a cure. Does such a thing exist?
Other than time the answer is a polite "No!"
There are plenty of websites touting laser evaporation of floaters, even intraocular surgery (vitrectomy) to physically remove the troublemakers. Scrutinize those websites carefully and you will discover there are no guarantees of:
The litmus test: Insurers do not reimburse for such treatments. You'll need to bring your checkbook.
What about eyedrops to dissolve the floaters? Same story, different verse.
I'm gearing-up for some enthusiastic responses to this post. I'm not intimidated. Floaters are a natural (physiologic) consequence of aging. Most folks tolerate them and eventually ignore their presence. No, I'm not against innovative therapies, nor am I against common sense!
Related Topics: First Aid for Eye Injuries, What's Wrong with Your Eyes?
Technorati tags: floaters, eyedrops
Anyone familiar with our WebMD Vision & Eye Disorder member board appreciates what folks endure when they have floaters. Floater behavior can be very unpredictable: clear as a bell in the morning, sitting behind a boulder in the afternoon.
Naturally, those fighting floaters want a cure. Does such a thing exist?
Other than time the answer is a polite "No!"
There are plenty of websites touting laser evaporation of floaters, even intraocular surgery (vitrectomy) to physically remove the troublemakers. Scrutinize those websites carefully and you will discover there are no guarantees of:
- EFFICACY: The floater will completely, permanently disappear... it won't
- EFFICIENCY: The treatment will not create new floaters... it might
- SAFETY: The treatment is free of potential complications... it ain't!
The litmus test: Insurers do not reimburse for such treatments. You'll need to bring your checkbook.
What about eyedrops to dissolve the floaters? Same story, different verse.
I'm gearing-up for some enthusiastic responses to this post. I'm not intimidated. Floaters are a natural (physiologic) consequence of aging. Most folks tolerate them and eventually ignore their presence. No, I'm not against innovative therapies, nor am I against common sense!
Related Topics: First Aid for Eye Injuries, What's Wrong with Your Eyes?
Technorati tags: floaters, eyedrops
182 Comments:
I cannot believe it. I have had a floater in my left eye for as long as I can remember it but after reading this post can no longer see it. I had gotten so used to ignoring it, I didn't even notice it was gone!! Isn't that wonderful!? I have another smaller one that is less noticeable so I can only wait for that one to leave also. I did not know they could just disappear one day. I would never have even considered any type of treatment to get rid of them. After a while it was really easy to ignore them and you don't even notice them anymore. My dry eyes are more of a problem than my floaters. But, I think that has alot to do with the medications I take for my OA. Anyway thanks for the info about floaters. I don't think I would even have noticed that my more prominent floater was gone if I hadn't read this blog. Well done, Doc. Linda
I have an anxietydisorder and am completely parronoid that the trouble with my vision (floaters and things like that ... spots dots eye tricks and all that fun stuff)that they are not caused by my anxiety and are a result of some horrible disease.
My doctor frustrates me as she is confident that its all anxiety related.. but I am still so scared. Im young, 22 and have had floaters (to some dagree) since I was in my early teens.. isnt that to young to have floaters...
Oh lordy... Im so worried!!
I have had a floter in my right eye for over a year that looks like the ebola virus!!! Now I discover that it has gotten some new parts to it. How long should it take to go away before I think I have a fungus (it kinda looks like aspergillus as well ) in my eye. Not to mention that I used the contact solution that was recalled!!!
I moved some heavy furniture, which my opthomologist said caused my floaters. I am 63 years old, and I have had them for over a year. They are very annoying, and I have not gotten used to them. The interesting thing is that while they are most annoying in my right eye the doctor said the one in my left eye is worse. Compounding the problem is the cataracts I seem to be getting. So, I don't know if my sometimes foggy vision is from a cataract or if it is from the floater! I hate getting older!
I don't recall ever having floaters that lasted any significant amount of time before my surgery for breast cancer, followed by chemotherapy and radiation, which was concluded around the end of May 2005. Since my treatment(s), I sometimes get distorted vision in one or both eyes for one day or less, then it disappears. For the past couple days however, I have a somewhat small blue-dot floater distorting the vision in my right eye. This is very similar to the effects of the flashbulb on a camera. Sometimes I get what looks like a flash of light, off to the side of my vision but when I purposely try to see it, I can't. These are also frequently accompanied by a mild headache.
floaters are not necessarily ageing related. i noticed that first in my late teens. now im close to 40. no major change in numbers or intensity, neither more, nor less. its a mild nuisance at times. but a far more well behaved one than my tinnitus, that beeps almost always in the background.
i have floaters for nearly 3years now.. I am very worried about my condition ans so scare that one day my eyes will be fill with floaters. I am only 24.Too young to develop this kind of condition. I dread to wake up every morning to see those little cobwebs ans foggy(Hazy effect,like a smoke from fire) things swirling around my vision and it has affect the quality of my life. Had tried to take eye supplements like bilberry or milk thistle, but to no avail.. Feeling like giving up hope. Why has it got to me me. I really hope these things will disappear miracously since i have read so much that there is no cure. I tried to live with it but i can't..I see it everytime.Wat i can do now is to only pray that it wun get any worser. God bless those ppl out there having the same condition as me.
I have floaters and had the laser eye surgery from a place in Florida. The doc is right on the money regarding the treatment. I had one eye done and all it seemed to do was rearrange the floaters. The laser doctor wanted to do the other eye but I opted out. The eye that got the treatment is probably worse than the other eye now. With time, I have been able to ignore them most of the time. Try to relax, it does get better.
I am 42 and have had floaters since I was in my 20's. They have gotten worse over time and are ever present in my field of view in both my eyes. Some days they are worse than others but overall, I see them all the time.
My personal issue is that I used to have 20/15 vision (better than "normal") and, since college, my eyesight has just gotten worse (mostly due to too much close activity - I am an engineer and computing professional) so any change for the worse is noticed right away. It's a curse because I can't simply ignore the problems like some people.
Add to that developing cataracts in BOTH eyes and I can see myself going basically blind by the time I am 60.
For me, floaters never go away and are mostly evident when reading as the motion back and forth seems to center them right in middle of my view instead of moving them aside.
The sad reality is there's nothing you can do about them. Well, you can work successfully with cataracts but not floaters.
Grrrrr!
GOT MINE DIAGNOSED TWO DAYS AGO. BLAH, BLAH. DR. SAID I WOULD GET USED TO IT. MINE IS THE SIZE OF A MARBLE , HOLLOW IN THE MIDDLE WITH A DARK GREY THICK RING AROUND IT. I HAD CATARAC SURGERY ONE YEAR AGO. WHEN I STAY ON THE COMPUTER I CAN TOLERATE IT,BUT WHEN I'M NOT IT JUST FOLLOWS WHEREEVER MY EYE LOOKS. WE ARE BLESSED, THOSE WHO ARE BLIND WOULD LOVE TO SEE OUR FLOATERS. I UNDERSTAND. LAVERNE age 61
amen, laverne.. well said.
http://www.alistairlaidlaw.co.uk/float10.htm
http://swiatmetow.fm.interia.pl/files/Faqs_floaters%20from%20Stalmans.pdf
Having had itty-bitty floaters for years, I wasn't bothered until yesterday when I had a sudden fit of hard coughing. I now have a BIG floater that interferes with my vision in one eye and a slim streak of light that flashes in my peripheral vision with side to side movement of the eye. Cause for worry?
I have a floater, well at least I think I have one, in my right eye. I'm only 16.
I'm 31. I've had floaters for as long as I can remember. Started off as just 1 as a kid, but they have gotten progressively worse over the years. At about 25, I was updating my lenses Rx, and the doctor looked in my eyes and immediately asked if I'd had a recent head injury. He said I (at age 25) had the floaters of a 65 year old. Walking outside when it's bright, or any bright room makes me feel like I'm surrounded by swarming bees. it sucks.
I am a 62 year old male. I do a lot of PC work. Yesterday it seemed like I had a piece of fuzz in my right eye. Tried to wash it out at work and at home. No luck! It appears like a piece of lint similar to what some may have seen while watching a 16mm movie -- a piece of fuzz on the lens of the projector. I was hoping to find a cure for this, as it really blurs my vision. Thank you for the other posts in this forum.
As a teen I had two small floaters which I found interesting but not all that bothersome. After my husband died a lot of strange things happened to me, one of them being floaters so thick and dangly that it was much like looking through a thick black veil. It did take some time to clear up, over a month, but when it left, the two small ones I had indured all my life left as well. I am 67.
I'm 29 and I've had a floater in my left eye for about 5 years now. Doc said it would eventually go away but it hasn't. He said they're common among hockey and football players because a hard knock to the head can set them loose, so if you have any questions as to why you're so young and have them, think back. It doesn't explain my symptoms, last time I took a hard knock to the head I was 17. I've just learned to live with it, but it's only one in one eye.
wowww...this article was somewhat depressing because now I know that I am going to be stuck with my floaters for the rest of my life and I have one correction for the "doctor" floaters aren't a concequence of age because how can it happen to me? I am only fifteen years old and I am going to turn sixteen on April 3, 2007 maybe the doctors can take them out maybe not because I cannot drive to the supermarket for some milk without my eyes hurting from the shining floaters I don't mean to sound like I'm blaming you its just that I'm upset.
One of my eye's usually white part is grey. It has been like this since birth. Is there a treatment available to fix this? There is not medical issue due to this.
I will be 65 in a few days. I had perfect vision until two weeks ago when I was driving and suddenly a bunch of hair came into my eye. I thought it was my poodle's hair since she was sitting on my lap. I drove with difficulty to the office and I tried to remove it by rinsing with medium hot water with no success. My visit to doctor the next day resulted in my floater diagnosis. Never heard of floaters. Consulted 3 more doctors and diagnosis was the same. Basically by reading various websites, I realized the floaters are here to stay. Only people who have floaters will understand the sadness its brings in the mind and soul knowing you would be like this for the rest of your life after having 20/20 vision. The smile on my face has disappeared since I received this floater diagnosis. However, today while driving with difficulty and trying to adjust myself to my new reality and being very careful not to cause any problems to others. With serious concentration on my driving, suddenly from nowhere a car appeared from a side street and although he was supposed to stop he continued driving into my lane like nothing happened although I blew the horn several times. I finally realized that this guy must be in a worse position that I and said to myself, this guy must have floaters in both eyes and deaf in both ears. So I smiled and thanked God because I only have floaters in one eye
I'm 27 - like many of the others that have posted on this topic, I became concerned about a significant onset of floaters in my vision about three years ago. I was 24 years old at the time and I couldn't help but fear the worst – I “knew” the condition would progress and I would become blind within a few years.
Up until the age of 24 I had not experienced any issues with my vision – so naturally I was concerned when I suddenly starting seeing two large black circular masses floating around in my left eye and a large string shaped object in my right eye – I could also notice faint black shadows that would sweep across my vision if I was viewing something with a light background and looked rapidly from side-to-side. Like any concerned individual I went to see an ophthalmologist and of course I was told the frustrating news that I had floaters and there was nothing I could do about it.
I will certainly admit that these floaters can be incredibly frustrating at times – I often find myself blinking repeatedly and rubbing my eyes to the point where occasionally other people will notice and ask if I’m alright. I usually just smile and tell them I’m fine. I also find that they are more noticeable when I’m tired, bored, or when I’m staring at a computer.
So if any of this sounds familiar, take comfort in the fact that there are others of us who live our lives day-to-day with the same condition. If you can do it then I can do it, and if I can do it then you can do it. There is nothing medically wrong with us – so instead of focusing on how awful the condition is try to think about how insignificant it is compared to other much more serious or deadly diseases. I found that the sooner I accepted it for what it was, the sooner I was able to move on with my life and enjoy everything life has to offer.
i've had floaters for as long as i can remember in both eyes. they seem to be getting worse, there are more of them, its getting to the point where i cant ignore it, im having trouble reading and driving during the day, i wear contacts could that have anything to do with it? is there really no way to fix the problem? what if they get even worse?
I have been relieved tonight to read all of your blogs. I now know after doing some research that i do not have some horrible disease that was terminal. I am 21 y/o and a paramedic in michigan i have extensive training in medical condictions and eye conditions. I have never heard of this disease i thought it was something wrong with my occipital lobe maybe a tumor? but after having an magnetic resonance image taken i learned there was no abnormalities.So i was lost! What could this be i have had the same ones for 6 years with no changes and being a stubborn medic i will not see a doc,other than to give him a report on a pt. So for some reason it took me til tonight to finally get the courage to look it up. It truly does effect your quality of life i think the things i have done in the past were related to my impending doom. So the only thing i can offer to all of you out there living with the most annoying, uncurable disease is to get sleep it seems to help, when i am not on the job those are the days that i dont see them as much also sunglasses seem to make them go away so i pretty much wear sunglasses everywhere, cloudy, sunny, indoors and @ nighttime sometimes. I will not go out without a pair of sunglasses.
So good luck!
I had never heard of a friggin floater until going to web md, I went to web md cause just tonight there was what looked like a frayed thin string in my right eye's field of vision. but that wasn't the freakiest thing. I kept seeing a moving flash of light in the corner of my eye like a laser pointer, blueish-white, I was working out in public and I thought people were taking pictures at first.
What next.
After a visit to my eye doctor today, I discovered I have a floater in my right eye. It started yesterday, and has been on and off today. It was really awful as I kept thinking I had a spider in my hair. After reading everyones' blogs' I realize that I must accept this and hope it doesn't worsen.
wow after reading all these comments I feel like I'm in a very large group here I'm 43 and seen a floater or two since I was little ( like 5 or 10 ) occasionally but last summer I started noticing them a lot more , mine seem to "settle" down and I don't recognize the same one twice , plus they must be mild compared to alot of others , I'm nearsighted since third grade and wore contacts for years until my 30's when vanity starts to give way to time you have left , I'm going to ask my opthomologist about it next visit but looks like I already have my answer, God bless & keep you all
I just discovered this post and feel a little better knowing others have floaters that are asrritating as mine. I'm 72 and have several eye problems b ut the floaters are the worse. I was going to have a victrecomy but I think now that would not be wise. Is there anything that can help. They are really like a curtain and will move but I get eye strain when I keep that up so my reading is limited. How can I make this a liveable condition?
I'm 22 years old and I was freaking out about the tiny black dot that was in my eye for months now, I thought I was going blind!! I tried to look at it to figure out what it was and everytime I moved my eye to look at it it moved too!! It made me so frustrated! I have been getting really bad headaches because of it. I can notice it especially when I am driving or looking at something with a white backround it drives me NUTS!!!!!! I havn't gone to the doctor yet I thought I would try to look it up first, I guess I got my answer. It would also probably be a waste of time to go to the doctor since there is nothing they can do anyway. That makes me even more worried however because right now I only have one black dot in my right eye and two stringy looking things in that same eye, but what if it gets worse????? I really don't know if I could deal with it. I am glad to know however, that I'm not the only one in the world with weird stringy things and black dots floating around in my vision. So to all of you out there that are suffering along with me -may God Bless you and find us all a cure for this awfull disorder.
http://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct/show/NCT00333060
I've had floaters since I can remember from early childhood. They got worse in my teens and now have stayed about the same to my current age 22. The doctor said to just wait and see if they got better. I guess there is no treatment.
i most have gotten these floaters about a year ago and they are so annoying its like a eyelash that i want to pull out. I tried using clear eyes and that didnt work, so i finally made my self go to the Eye Dr and she to said "sorry nothing can be done they will go away eventually" but i feel like someone is behind me or something is in my way. I think there has to be way to fight these little things if anyone has any other ideas please let me know....thanks
I have had Floaters for 4 years now, i statred getting them when I was 23. I see many of them when Im outside, looking at a computer, looking at white walls or anything else bright. They really suck, its depressing me, I knwo that I dont have Cancer or some other terrible disease, so I feel bad about complaining about it, but at least some cancer can be treated and cured. I hate these things they are ruining my quality of life. Some eye doctor will be the ritchest man or woman in the world if they could find a simple soultion to a problem like floaters. If they can put a man on the moon they can figure out how to get little clumps fo crap out of my eye. think about it.
http://p198.ezboard.com/bfloatertalk
I was a professional person , until this flood of floaters happened to me. I lost my right eye, forever . After 13 visits in13 weeks, crying, telling them something is" really wrong here". to "specialists". I was told this was normal for my age. "Happy Birthday" ...were his exact words.. I was only 43. They have no idea how this has affected my life. Better adjective "detroyed". I lost my right eye forever, they said due to PVD, which led total retinal detatchment . Don't let this happen to any of you. We need to "WAKE UP' the opthamalogical and medical professionals to our despair. Sorry but can't find another deserving adjective. because life like this is hell....God Bless...But I do have a great admiration for the Dr.s and residents of Doheny Eye institute at USC. My family praised them for their efforts. God bless you all.
I got floaters just a few weeks after my 27th birthday. I always used to be someone that enjoyed going out on Sunny days and looking at things. But now, well, I try and hide from sunlight and anything bright. The floaters have really screwed my life up. It's very hard to get anything done when you have issues with daylight.
And the worst part is, the opticians don't understand how traumatic floaters can be. Right, they're not physically harmful to you. But they totally mess with your mind. Imagine if someone told you, everything you see, for the rest of your life, will be from behind a film of shooting strands, spinning cobwebs and gliding bubbles? It's a horrific reality to be faced with.
Wow... now I know I am not alone. :-) These things have bugged me since being a teen. Worst one day... better the next... bad the next... tilt your head this way... tilt it that way... rub your eyes... look up... look down... and our life goes on....
I started seeing floaters 2 weeks ago. I don't know if they were there the whole time, or I just developed them but I HATE them. I feel like I cannot experience life the way I did before the floaters. I'm always seeing them and they seem to be getting worse than better. I've seen an optometrist and ophthalmologist who both said my eyes look fine, and of course, I have to learn to live with these. Well, I don't want to learn to live with them! I want them gone! I'm only in my 30's, if I were 60 I still wouldn't want my vision screwy. I was hoping to at least have somewhat normal vision until then. I feel for everyone that has these, especially the kind that disrupt vision constantly. Aside from not being able to see, the emotional distress is enough to really make you go nuts. I'm new to these and I'm already sick of the distress that I'm experiencing after just 2 weeks. The prospect of having these for 40 more years and even worse than they are is unacceptable. More research should be done in hopes of finding a way to ease the physical and emotional effects of these floaters. Why shouldn't floater sufferers be allowed to live happy, clear visioned lives? All the advancements in technology over the last decade, and still no safe, sure answer to these pests? Just live with it? No thanks.
The most frustrating thing is - i am pretty sure, that if the medical community working in the appropriate field got their heads down, they could probably find a safe cure within a couple of years (i think re an injectable or similar). They are not even trying ... I think we should give up on pleading with Dr's etc and try and appeal to the drugs companies instead...after all - how much money is there to be made...how many genuine floater suffers wouldn't take out a loan, remortgage their houses etc to find a cure. I think we should appeal to greedy nature of drugs co's its the only way anything will get done.
There is a world of difference between having one or two annoying floaters and having grey clouds and clumps of junk diffused throughout the eye so that going near a window or leaving the house is depressing and tiring, making you feel like you constantly need to wash and leading to isolation and depression. When you wake up you hope that the sun isn't shining.
A natural part of aging they may be, but what of those who get them in their twenties and thirties with no accompanying PVDs?
What about when they seem to have come about through medical intervention - in my case MRI scans?
This is no trivial problem. On the message board I post on, people talk about ruined education and careers, isolation and suicidal desperation.
Vitrectomy becomes the only light at the end of the tunnel and the prospect of cataracts and retinal detachment a risk worth taking.
I can't believe there is so little work being done to deal with them non-surgically or to prevent them. And I am getting increasingly angry that the connection with MRIs has not been noted despite other people reporting the same thing. I think it's a scandal.
I agree. More research. We need some suitable, low risk treatments. I have "some" floaters now, thankfully none are suspended in my direct line of vision - yet. I'm not looking forward to 15-20 years from now (or sooner) when I cannot see out of my clouded, speckled eyes. I fear that a positive mental attitude will ONLY get you through your first years with these, but I worry about the future of my vision. The least that the medical community concerning eye health can do is come up with definitive information about floaters. Seems as if everyone always gets a different story from a different doctor. Haven't they figured out ways to deal with other eye disorders sufficiently enough to make room for some floater research? It's 2007, not 1907. Pink eye is under control, let's get some reasonable relief from vitreous opacities.
Has anyone out there learned to cope with floaters? I would like to hear of a case where someone began to ignore them, or got over worrying about them.
Thanks
I had a floater appear the other day. Other people I talk to seem to get them and then they seem to disappear. Hope so, because I can empathize with the folks here who have expressed their opinion that it can truly mess with your life. I know I would not want to have to look through, around,etc just to see. I am curious, why i see these flashes of light when I look to the right (doesn't seem to happen when I look to the left) and I only see them in a dark room or outside at night. Can anyone explain why that is? Are they happening in the daytime and I'm just not noticing them? I had a full eye exam and there was no retinal detachment or tears at the time - if that is true - what is causing the streaks ?
The flashes of light could be eye flashers "streaking" when you move your eyes. I see small points of light in my peripheral vision, so if I move my eyes as I see one it will blur and make one long streak of light. When the vitreous in your eye begins to turn from a jelly to a liquid as you get older, it will pull on the retina causing small sparks of light in your vision. In most cases I'm told that the retina will not tear, but the tugging by the vitreous will create your own personal light show inside your eye, but should settle down over time.
I have had floaters forever. My eye doctor once told me that as our bodies develop in the womb our eyes are connected to a type of small "umbilical cord" that feeds and develops the eyes. Eventually, that cord disapates as the eyes become fully developed. Sometimes pieces of that "cord" stay in the eye and float around. Nothing to be concerned about. He is the only one who has ever presented that explaination but it has helped me live with my floaters which do look like little microscopic link chains.
I'm new to this forum but yeh.. I feel welcomed b/c I've had floaters for about 3 years now.. AND GEEEEEEZ I'm ONLY 23y/o! ;-( Being as young as 20 with this is something i used to worry about but i guess not anymore.. I just pray there will be a miracle to rid eyes of this.. BECAUSE I SURE AS HELL AM not gettin used to it..
Having had floaters for years, I recently got the flashing light too. My doctor is EXCELLENT, said it is a vetrious tear, not a retinal one, and will clear up. I have worried about my health forever and relate to all of you who are so worried! This is how I learned to deal with it: Find a doctor you TRUST, get regular check-ups, know the symptoms of retinal tears(an explosion of floaters, flashing lights and loss of vision; which can be treated if you get right to the doctor.) Then... be thankful this is a benign condition that is not going to make you go blind. I am just so glad that I can see that I got busy enjoying life and soon I was rarely noticing my floaters.
HI, I AM 25 YEARS OLD, I'VE HAD A FLOATER FOR THREE DAYS NOW AND IT IS DRIVING ME CRAZY...I WAS VERY WORRIED BUT AFTER READING ALL THESE COMMENTS I FEEL BETTER AND I AM GOING TO PRAY SO THAT IT DOESN'T GET WORST, I WILL SEE MY EYE DOCTOR AS WELL NEXT WEEK. :(
One floater? Boy I'm envious. :D
I have some good news for you all. A retinal specialist recently told me that the FDA is doing tests on a new drug that will disolve floaters. It could be out in a couple of years.
Guys they can just be harmless foaters no doubt, but anyone who hasnt yet seen a doctor should do as it can be the first signs of detached retinas.
My floaters started when I got a sinus infection, why, I have no ideal, maybe it has something to do with that, maybe not, just turn 40 to, could be age. My eye doctor found nothing wrong with my eye, thank god for that, they say when you reach 40 your body start to age I see that is true. I only see my floaters when I look at a clear blue sky, I am just happy I can see, try to ignor your floaters
and go to a real eye doctor that can run lots of test not d.o.c ect.
At 71, I can remember having floaters for nearly 60 years. My ophthalmologist said that my strong near-sightedness predisposes me. During the last 5 years the floaters have gone from bad to severe--when reading, looking at a VDU or a "white" scene, I feel I am looking through a bird's nest twisting and turning before my eyes. It makes reading very uncomfortable. I did have cataract surgery 10 years ago, but attribute the increase to aging. My doctor said only a vitrectomy would address the problem, and that procedure might well cause a loss of vision. Any success stories out there?
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=16175483&dopt=Abstract
I have lots of floaters they look like tiny little circles w/ a dark spot ine center. I have had them since I was about 15 yrs. old. they don't really bother me because I'm so used to them It's like they're not even there. It's really nice to know that I'm not the only one w/ them. They are more noticeable in bright light. They move around alot.
What is this all about:? I will be 61 in August and I was diagnosed with an eye floater this past week. One day my vision is as good as it was when I was twenty and now overnight I have this cobweb, piece of fuzz, etc. floating around in my right eye. After reading the other comments mine must be quite unusual because mine only affects me when I drive. I can read, watch TV, mow the grass and everything seems normal. Get in the car and within seconds I have this cobweb over my right eye. It moves from left to right seemingly from my nose to a position centered in my right eye. How do I tell my opthamologist that my floater only comes around when I decide to get in my car and go to McDonalds. I am getting scared!
I have a floater in my left eye for about 6 months. Around that time I had banged my head hard. Could this have been the cause of it?
I was diagnosed with PCOS in 2001, and was not told that it could affect my vision. Found that out on my own, the hard way. This compounded with multiple concussions I've had over the years give me either the lovely 'floaters' in my eyes, or a cloudy film like looking through a glass that had milk in it. They usually go away, but I can't see squat while they are there. What fun while driving!
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=11913884
I have a small problem no Doctor can put his fingure on. I have floaters. But this is not my problem. I get a white bubble that circumvents the out side of my vision every once in a while. It is like a tiny pin pong ball that starts just below my vision field on the outer surface of the eye and travels up to the top and then disappears. This may not happen again for another day. My retina has been checked and no problem was found. There is no pain and I can not relate it to any other incident in my day. I have High blood pressure under control and am 68 year years old. Said problem occurs in both eyes.
I have a small problem no Doctor can put his fingure on. I have floaters. But this is not my problem. I get a white bubble that circumvents the out side of my vision every once in a while. It is like a tiny pin pong ball that starts just below my vision field on the outer surface of the eye and travels up to the top and then disappears. This may not happen again for another day. My retina has been checked and no problem was found. There is no pain and I can not relate it to any other incident in my day. I have High blood pressure under control and am 68 year years old. Said problem occurs in both eyes.
i never realized this was a "problem", mine are relatively little, and i just thought everyone had them.
well, you know what they say about assumptions...
I've had floaters for as long as I can remember. I know I had them when I was six years old, and I would try to catch them with my vision only to be disappointed as they skirted away as my eyes moved. I thought everyone had them. Could having floaters so young be a bad sign?
I have also had floaters for as long as I remember. When I was little I had just a black dot I used to follow around. Now the older I get the more I seem to get. I still have the black dot but now it is surrounded by lots of "squiggly" lines. I am so used to them that most days I don't even think about them. I hate bright lights, white backgrounds, and computer screens. I just discovered this website and it has given me great comfort to hear about all these other people with this same problem. Even though I had a doctor tell me years ago that they were "probably" floaters, I still assumed I had some life threatening brain malformation or something. With all the people in this world suffering with life threatening disease I feel blessed to only have floaters.
I'm 61. Several years ago, I couldn't sleep because I was really stressed. All of a sudden, I noticed streaks of light in the outer corner of my right eye. I finally fell asleep and that was it. Then, a couple of weeks ago, the flashing streaks of light returned - mostly late at night when I'm tired and when the room is dark so I wonder whether or not I have them during the day too and just don't notice. I had an eye exam and a complete physical just a few months ago but I'm going for another eye exam to confirm what I've read from some of you about a vitreous tear. I went on webmd tonight to try to find out what this could be and then happened to land on these blogs. What a relief to know I'm not alone and that these streaks of light aren't a series of little strokes. Did any of you see "The Mothman Prophecy"? The streaks of light remind me of that movie - yes, it does freak you out, but I feel much better now, thanks to all of you other flashing, streaking bloggers!!
I had just read through the comments and realised there are so many people as young as 6 years old who have floaters. Many are able to live with the floaters for many years. Wonders! Hats off to all of you out there.
Sad to say that I have streaks of light at the corner of my left eye, and floaters just since last Friday afternoon, a week ago. Had my eyes checked on Monday. Doctor said it is due to age (am 57). Have been feeling very worried, helpless and depressed. Was looking for information on my condition and landed on this blog. Well, after reading the comments here, feel better now. Thanks for all the comments.
I'm a 66 year old female and have had occasional floaters for years, especially noticeable when driving and then seemingly disappearing. A week ago Friday while at work I experienced a much larger one than before in my left eye and was also seeing flashes of light at the left edge of that eye. My opthamologist, after an extensive eye exam, diagnosed a vitreous tear (he had difficulty seeing around the floaters). The light flashes he explained were caused by the floaters bumping into the retina and are more noticeable in the dark or when you move your head; you just don't notice the flash in bright light as much. He said the vitreous is attached to the retina in three places and one had torn lose, but he did not see a tear in the retina (wants me to come back on June 27th to make sure). He also said in time floaters can move out of your line of vision and seem to disappear for a period of time but will eventually come back around, maybe months later. He also said if a bunch of floaters (pepper shaker effect) suddenly appear a retinal tear has occurred but can be fixed by laser if you seek treatment asap.
Sure home someone comes up with a better fix than removing the floaters and vitreous fluid from your eyeball (that's what keeps the eyeball from collapsing). He did not recommend that avenue because of the possibility of infection or vision loss from the procedure.
I am surprised that so many people had never heard of floaters. Almost everyone I know has them. I've had them for years and my optometrist says, Yeah, you've got floaters. Mine seem to be worse after smoking cigarettes which I only do occasionally (and why don't I stop). I came to this page after searching for "flash peripheral vision" because this is a new occurrence. But I'm 53. At this age, it's always something. LOL
Out of the 70 comments, there are about 3 people that can spell. It shows the quality of education in this country anymore, and people want teachers to be paid more. Forget about it. Most of you cannot spell OPHTHALMOLOGIST correctly, plus any number of simple words in the comments. I used to chase the floaters around when I was a kid, but never could catch up with them, as they kept moving to the right or left, but it was fun trying.
Now, at age 73, I have some serious ones that look grey or otherwise milky, as they come and go, and interfere with my reading. If I turn the light up more, it works a lot better. They also get in the way of my baseball playing, so it is hard to pick up the pitches sometimes, and I don't hit the line drives the way I did when I was in my early 60's. I just hang in there, and that is all that you can do.
I had steriod induced cataracts..from the cortisone I had to take with my severe spinal problems, well one night all of a sudden, I could see nothing, went to a Dr. talked to him, decided to have the ReStor lens put in, I mean if I can have distance vision, why not close up as well, the thing is I now have FLOATERS. I have never had them, and they are not something I get everyday, its so strange, if I get really stressed or tire my eyes, then I see sooooooo man floaters, if I had only gotten the cataract surgery and not the implants!!
I've had several floaters in each eye for over 5 years. I CANT STAND IT ANYMORE!!! any suggestions?
I am 50 and have had floaters for several years, but they seem to get worse with age. Some days they seem to be worse than others. It is helpful to read the other blogs and know that others understand what you are going through. They are annoying and I wish they were gone, but I am thankful that I still have the ability to read, drive, etc.
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Hi, floaters here. They come and then go, at least smaller, and not so noticable. BUT, yesterday, while playing online games, Internation conflict, noticed a very big floater. Talking huge here. Placed a folded cool paper towel held in place by the old pirate eye patch..arrrrr. Next morning still the same. Went to doc, and it worsened. He sent me promptly to another doc, as eye was bleeding more inside now, had to get lazered to stop the bleeding.. found out just pressure againt your eye will stop the bleeding as you would hold pressure against most wounds to stop the bleeding. So the lazering is like spot welding your eye around the tear. hoping it will hold..Eye site is blury and red tinged, with a worm like now floatie, which Iam now deaming a full sized macies parade float! Doc says it should start clearing as a bruse will. Until then Im feeling a strange beginning oneness with a spot welded eye bringing me closer to being absorbed in the Star Trek Borg...Kurt...57 (never wore glasses, just reading ones for inside)
I had PRK done..and ever since I have noticed floaters. It is horrible. I am 35 and the retina specialist said it was because I was getting old and to deal with it and they will never go away and there are no cures. I found that hard to believe..did I age from the PRK surgery.?? It was a disaster and I never recommend lasik surgery for anyone after what happpened to me.!!!!!!!!!
Hi:
Since February of this year, I have noticed a change in my vision. I have always had those pesky floaters that appear when you look at a blue sky, but I had a bad case of pneumonia in February (with severe coughing fits) and since then, I have noticed a change in my vision. The Opthalmologist says I have 20/15 vision with congenital optic disk elevation,but otherwise normal. Floaters were visible on the exam. I have a terrible time outdoors, driving etc...and in flourescent lighting. About 2 months ago I started waking up to a blob of lines formed into one big ball when I looked at my white wall. These blobby lines would disappear as I moved my eyes around and blinked several times. Is this normal with floaters? I was seeing flashes of light in my right eye, but that has seemed to dissipate. Some days my eyes just feel so tired and vision gets blurry outdoors. God bless all of you who are also having problems with these floaters. You will all be in my prayers.
In March of this year I suddenly had blurry vision in the center of my left eye. Turned out that a hemmorrhage in a blood vessel left me with fluid under my retina. After giving it time to start healing on its own my retina specialist suggested an "off label" treatment called Avastin. I received an injection of Avastin and the spot cleared up but I still couldn't read with my left eye (upsetting because I am a voracious reader). I was warned that floaters were one of the possible side effects of Avastin--I got them but they weren't too bad--almost entertaining and pretty much went away after awhile. After about 3 weeks the vision started to blur again.
Just received another injection of Avastin 5 days ago(about 10 weeks after the first one) and I developed a major black, ragged floater a couple of days ago. It is very annoying and I'm hoping this one eventually goes away on its own but I don't know what happens with this and a second Avastin injection.
In 3 weeks I go for some laser surgery to try to smooth things out by stimulating the pigment under the retina. Of course I'm praying this will work but grateful for the vision I do have.
The main thing I wanted to say is that my eye problem was brought on by intense stress. I'm trying to learn to lighten up and stop worrying and stressing myself so much. It's not easy to do after a lifetime of being a Type A personality but I'm learning (while trying not to make a Type A project out of learning not to be a Type A stress freak!)
So many on this blog are SO young and obviously stressing themselves big time. Please try to relax before you really damage yourself. I know believe the experts who say that most of our illness can be traced to stress.
Let's all lighten up--being anxious and worried obviously isn't fixing anything.
God bless you all.
I have had floaters since I was 26. I am now 68 and still have them. I don't know if they have gotten worse as I have always seen a lot of them. I only wear glasses to read small print so my vision has never worsened. I did see the flashing light in my peripheral vision of my right eye when I moved it in the dark about 5 years ago and eventually it disappeared. I now have one in my left eye and am waiting to see if that one goes away also.
I was born with a floater or two witch is the one everyone has sometimes, but then about three weeks ago i noticed a huge shadow sphear go from the top right of my right eye to the bottom left and BOOM i was infested with 5 or 7 extra floaters
i had head pains b4 so i tought that it might have been assosiated with by brain they took blood test and i went to the eye doctor both said i was 100% healthy however i was so concerned with the floaters that they might have been something related to the brain that i developed anxiety and insomnia (cause of worrying so much) to the point where i am twitching in different parts of my body specially my right eye (the one with the most floaters)the floaters are annoying and they piss me off but as long as i don't have brain cancer or a brain tumor i don't care and can cope with them i wont be satisfied till i get a damn MRI done. ill up date on that BTW
hang in there all floater people
I am 15, saw images on a site that tried to give an impression of what floaters look like, mine arnt hallow, if thats what other see, but just notice 1 main and maybe 2-3 on really bright days, Omg will i get used to these or not? Really upset cos of this...
Has anyone ever tried any of the ocular vitamins that are supposed to help with floaters? I'm 54...about 6 years ago I had a vitrectomy in one eye (my worst). My floaters had started to "stick together" so that when looking forward, they were right in my field of vision where I could not read a road sign due to the "dark area" right in my central viewing area. I waited for close to 5 years of this problem, and finally had the risky procedure on one of my eyes...and the result was perfect. Now, my other eye, almost 6 years later is starting to have the flaoters start to "stick together " again. My eye surgeon reluctantly did the first procedure and said that as long as I had one good eye, which is actaully perfect now, he said he would never risk my second eye. So, now that the issue is creeping up quickly on my bad eye, I'm wondering if anyone has ever tried some of the ocular health vitamins I believe Paul Harvey advertizes for. I know the surgeon will not even thnk of a second surgery on my second eye, so I'm looking for some advice about the viatmins.
Do I have "Floaters"? I noticed several days ago a kind of black dust in my left eye that I took for dirt or some detritus perhaps from some sort of small infection, but it was kind of erie because it was a pretty even. Today while I was heavily stressed and wrestling with office bindery equipment, I had some sort of a flareup of material that came out like strings and then kind of disbursed. It seemed to move around inside my eye like smoke in fluid and disburse into dust. As of now my left eye cannot read the computer screen because of a veil of whatever this is. The best visual result is to cover the eye entirely since it is nothing more than a distraction. Any ideas?
Vitamins will not solve this problem. Go to this website for a list of Doctors who can help you.Paul Harvey is just trying to make money.
http://www.eye-floaters.com/links-surgeons.php
Floaters drug induced.
I just recently got floaters in my eyes(August 2007), and I am 25 so you don't necessarily have to be old to get them. Mine suddenly appeared after a bad very bad incident which led to me going to the emergency room twice. I never knew your tongue could turn black after taking Pepto-Bismo, meaning your stomach has a reaction to the magneseum and other stuff in the medicine. So, I go to the emergency room, because the only tongue that should be black is a giraffs, and they tell me I have gasritis and to take Zantac(which has magneseum and more crap in it). So I take the drug,tongues not black but I'm getting worse stomach pains than I did taking Pepto and now my face is losing a sence of feeling and my right leg lost feeling for 5 minutes while I'm at work(walking). So I go to the emergency room again,where they take my blood pressure twice like they did before doing nothing else, send me home after I tell them that my face still is going in and out with my loss of sensation. What a help,so for a few days I eat nothing but rice and high starch bland food, peanutbutter, and drank water and cranberry juice excessively. Than the floaters suddenly appeared with severe dry eyes. Now I use eye drops everyday and put Johnson&Johnson's baby shampoo on my eyelashes to make sure my tear ducts aren't clogged(upon Eye Doctor's recommendation). From several doctor's statements Floaters are natrual and the body natrually gets rid of them(overtime), so the helpless slowly going parinoid people that have to see strand-like and odd-like things that look like a worm, meator, or virus have to wait until their bodies say 'hey this thing is not suppose to be here'. Oh yeah, my eye doctor says vitamins and laser correction do not work.
Ive always had floaters since i was small. Now i see this long black shadow which comes and goes when i blink my eye. Its annoying i dont know if im tripping out or if im really loosing my mind. I also see things flash like a light at the corner of my vision. I dunno if ill be able to distinguish between a real shadow and the ones that appear in my vision if this continues. What do u guys think it is.