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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
300 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.
Im 31 and have had small floaters that come and go since my late teens. A couple of years ago I started getting multiple large floaters that made it hard to see my hand in front of my face, along with the facial and finger numbness that someone else noted in their post. After normal CT scans, I was diagnosed with ocular migraines. Frustrated, I decided to stop all medications and see what my body did left on its own. The one medication that seemed to undo it all was birth control. Since stopping birth control (pill, patch, shot - anything hormonal), the ocular migraines have ceased. Even the little hairy floaters that Id grown so used to are rare.
Im not touting a cure, just making a note, in the rare event that it might help you too!
Best of luck...
Wow i had no idea that so many people have floaters, I just assumed that those things in my eyes were just a part of my eye or a got something in my eyes. I've had floaters for as long as i can remember, they don't even bother me i just got used to them. I'm 35
I was told years ago that your eyes were like snow globe and if things got shaken up...that is where floaters came from...and that most of the time in younger people they settle down and it does take longer as you get older. I personally notice that anxiety and being tired make mine worse. Now if only I could relax and get more sleep. :-)
I've had floaters several times in my life ... most of them small and not too anoying. Haven't had one for several years. Lately I've developed one in my right eye ... it covers my entire field of vision (everything blured). Doctor said it could go away in a couple months to two years. She said it would eventually "settle" in the bottom of my eye and not be a bother ... so ... every chance I get, I jump up and down to help make it "settle". Don't know if it's working but it takes my mind off of it. I don't like it but it could be something a lot worse.
I am 58 years old. In September 2007, I was taking a nap and upon waking I saw these strand-like floating strips in my left field of vision. I also noticed the momentary flashing light in the corner of my left eye when moved side to side. Naturally, I became alarmed and ran to the bathroom to wash out my left eye. Since nothing changed, I immediately saw my eye doctor who examined me and advised that she saw nothing wrong, i.e; detached retina, etc. She told me that I had a floater in my left eye and it was fairly common and it may disappear on its own. However, some people live with this condition throughout life. I had never heard of floaters before. I am already using eye drops nightly to maintain acceptable pressure-levels in both eyes so I won't develop glaucoma. This floater thing took me by complete surprise. Right now, I just try to ignore it as best as possible. It is most annoying when I am using a computer. Especially when I have to read, glance and type on a keyboard turning my head left to right. The flashes of light in the corner of my left eye have stopped occuring. With sheduled eye exams and a little luck, maybe this condition will disappear some day.
I never realized til now that most people DON'T have floaters. I always have... liked it when I was a kid, used to lay back and look at the sky and imagine what all the different shapes were- kinda like looking at clouds. My floaters come and go, never really being a problem. I am going to see a doc now because my vision is getting worse... can't see street signs til I'm on top of them and driving at night is a pain as oncoming headlights are a big glare, I'm always thinking they have their high beams on.
I am 34yo male and have them in my left eye, I was really worried until checking out this website. Floaters don't seam so scary now, just something to roll with.
I'm 19 and I have had a floater in my left eye. At least now I know that there are others my age.
I am 43 and I have endured floaters for the last 15 years. They appear in both eyes but most are in the left. My floaters are all very small hair like objects. Most of the objects look like twisted strands of hair or a hazy smoke effect. One looks like a virus unders a microscope. Most of the time I don't notice them but they are more apparent fisrt thin in the morning or when my eyes are tired.
TM in NJ
I am a female, 43 years old. I have had wigglers as I like to call them, for about a year. Like many of you, I just knew I had a brain tumor, but after an MRI, ultrasound and every other test I could convince my MD to do, what I have is floaters.
I also have light prisms sometimes, with a headache. Someone else on this forum mentioned the same thing.
Well, turns out it is not from floaters, but migraines.
I was told by 3 Opthamologists there is NOTHING that can help with floaters but TIME. No drops, no pills, and not even LASIK will make them go away.
While I drew comfort from reading all of your posts, I am upset that some of you have had this for many years and some have had the condition get worse over time.
But, if this is the cross I must bear in life, let's just say, I am ok with it. And, as a side benefit, I almost never have to drive anywhere, because people think I cannot see well. So, my cute car that is several years old--has less than 20,000 miles on it! And, I save in gas too.
So, even though my wigglers are much much worse in the daylight, I am trying to find the bright side to the problem.
Peace,
Shawn
I get flashers and floaters in my eyes always in the a.m. hours. They usually don't last that long maybe 5 minutes or less and tend to come once or twice a month.I notice upon seeing these flashers/floaters, they are always accompanied by a terrible headache (a migrain maybe?) and my eyes become very sensative to any light.
I have had floaters since 1971 after being treated for Coccidioidomycosis that became systemic. Ater the eye tx, The floaters stqrted. I'm now 68yowm and all of a sudden, about four weeks ago, I had an odd feeling in my left eye. I put my hand over it and held it there for a few seconds and when I took my hand down, there was a huge floater there. Nor it is effecting my vision and is giving me headaches. What can I do for the headaches? I know they are caused by me trying to constantly correct my focus. Thank you. My name is MIKE
people who have floaters due to red blood cells need not to worry it will go away as blood absorption takes place
Not everyone has floaters that are easy to ignore. The real shame is that the ophthalmic profession has no other answer other than "learn to live with it". That's right, learn to live with giant blobs passing back and forth in your degraded vision. If you have trouble driving or your profession is in jeapordy, then too bad, we have nothing. Not only that but nothing is in the works. No research at all on a safe way to remove them. Since floaters are "benign" then there is no reason to look for treatment of something that is a non-problem. They have real diseases to conquer, despite the fact that your vision is seriously compromised and quality of life ruined. To all those out there who have serious problems with floaters you need to make an appointment with a retinal specialist. Discuss with him or her having a "floater only vitrectomy". If the doctor is dismissive then go to another then another until you find someone who is sympathetic to your concerns. Yes, there are serious risks with having this surgery, but the likelihood is that it will be successful and you can resume your life floater free. Be aware though that even if successful you will likely have cataracts at a much earlier age. The only good thing about that is if you are nearsighted, the IOL can correct your distance vision and you will only need reading glasses. Hey, if ophthalmologists don't like vitrectomy for floaters, then they need to start looking for other solutions because many people are desperate.
I've had floaters for almost 10 years. This is due to a diagnosed disease called Pars Planitis. Luckily I have no other symptoms other than the gloppy crap i have to see through. Some research shows Pars Planitis is related to a degenerate disease, like Lupus, AIDS, etc. Again, luckily I missed that bullet. If interested http://www.parsplanitis.org/ is the website that explains this rare disease.
Hi, I have had floaters in my eyes from ever since I was young. I am 19 at the moment and I've never had my eyes tested but have asked the doctor about them and he told me they are nothing to be concerned about. I go through fazes where I worry about them and sometimes I simply forget they are even there but I'm going to get my eyes tested next year to see if my eyes are alright.
I'm surprised by the amount of people who have these, I know how tough it can be but it's not the worst thing in the world at least. I'm very grateful that I am not blind.
I have had floaters for as long as I can remember (I'm now 37) but they were not something I noticed on a day to day basis. For the last few months I've had significant problems reading on my computer but no real issue outside of that. It is however very bad when at a computer monitor. I have 20/20 vision and I can't read a computer without real effort. One Optometrist recommended reading glasses and another recommended standard eye-drops. Neither seem to make much difference. I tried wearing sun glasses while using the computer this morning and it seems to help considerably.
I noticed a thin blurry line, like I was looking through a strand of hair in my right a week ago. It just appeared in the middle of a day as I sitting at my desk working. My eye Dr. told me I had floater, caused by old age. I told him I'm 47 years old not 80. But, he also reasured me that they may go away in time or I may not notice them as much.
Reading the comments on this site has really answered alot of questions, made me realize that alot younger people are affected with this problem too, and that there is hope that in the future it may disappear. Thanks
Hi, I am a proofreader for a living and have had a huge floater centered in my vision for eight months now, making it virtually impossible to work. I went to my regular eye doctor for glasses to help, and she rushed me to a retina specialist after seeing the huge number of "strands" in my vitreous. I have been seeing the retina specialist for eight months now, and just three weeks ago underwent a procedure that entails getting an injection in the eye with a product called "Vitrase." It is supposed to have a 50/50 chance of dissolving my collagen strands that are causing the huge blob. My doctor says that her results have been around 40%, but I hope and pray that I am one of the ones it works for. As a side note, when I woke up the next day after the injection, the blobs WERE GONE. I was So excited, I almost called the doctor to say I was cured. But now since they have returned to the center of my eye, I can only assume it was the actual introduction of extra fluid and perhaps swelling that had pushed the blob to the side. After about four days, I was completely depressed. But I still have some time to hope that this procedure worked, and that I don't have to go in for a vitrectomy and cataract surgery. I am only 44.
This is really depressing. I'm 24 and struggling to make a living. I have anxiety and also serious ear problems. I have no health insurance. My floaters are really bad. For doctors to tell me that there us no cure is absurd. It seems like it should be simple to cure. It's just build up of the vitreous. Shouldn't you just be able to break up the build up? They say it's not serious. It is serious. This is a disability. I should be able to qualify for disability until there is a cure that is discovered. There is no reason we should be considered perfectly healthy just because it isn't deadly. Blind people don't have to go out there and struggle and suffer and work. Neither should we!
At age 50 I have had worsening floaters for a few years. Few of the posts here offer the explanation given by my eye doctors. As we age, the vitreous jelly inside the eye becomes more of a liquid and shrinks somewhat. Initially attached across the whole retina, the shrinkage leads to two effects: (1) pulling and deattachment from the retina of the jelly leaving a floating strand, and (2) a little flash of light when the strand pulls away from the retina due to the local stimulation. After several years (typically) the whole of the jelly has pulled away, the flashes stop, and we are left with all the annoying strands. The good news, if there is any, is that for many people the strands "settle" out of the field of view. I'm waiting and hoping for that to happen. One other factoid: very near-sighted people are more prone to this syndrome because for them the eyeball to egg-shaped, making it more likely that the strands pull away from the retina.
I am 19 and have tons of floaters. When just doing normal stuff I see maybe 5-15, but when I look up into the sky holy crap its raining spaghetti. I am very nearsighted and diabetic, so its like I'm predisposed to this crap. Reading all your comments at least temporarily relaxes me to know I am not alone. Once I am done with college I am seriously considering having a vitrectomy to remove them. Until then good look and lets hope for a cure in the near future.
I believe the medical community is beginning to take this problem seriously. Look at this video from the Helen Keller Foundation: http://www.helenkellerfoundation.org/research-buckler.asp
http://pasargad.cse.shirazu.ac.ir/~moaddeli/floater.pdf
Cant you guys make the connection,,everyone is in their early 20's and have floaters..o u guys also have twitches around ur face?? i have floaters that come and dissipear for the past 5 years.no docter have the answer...this generation is too sensitive...next generation gonna have it harder.... it is related to psychosis and anixity
i totally agree it has to do with anxiety. i was really nervous to get into the college of my choice. i was literally paranoid day in day out for at least 3 months - a year. luckily i got into the college i wanted but there seemed to be a tradeoff- i recieved what seems like 40 floaters in my vision. For everyone who's doctor said there is nothing you can do, dont but that crap for a second. You can have a vitrectomy to remove all of them. Yes it is quite expensive at about 7k per eye but it is not as risky as doctors say. If my floaters dont clear up in a few years i will find the best surgeon on the planet who can do this and i am getting my perfect vision back - DONT GIVE UP PEOPLE!
Hello all….well I’m 26 years old and have had floaters all my life…but the funny thing is that I never noticed that I had them until I got a sort of bigger one that looked like a black dot a few months back….and even that one I’m not sure if I’ve had for longer because the way I noticed it is that I was taking a CPR course and the instructor was telling us about how her husband got hit on the head with something and he was ok except that he will now see a “black dot that darts around” for the rest of his life…and then I thought to myself “hey I have a black dot that darts around!”…
I got scared and got it checked out and the doc said my eyes were ok except that I had floaters.
Anyhow I’ve been reading through all your posts and it seems like we all want a solution, so here are a few things to think about…hopefully writing them will make me and the rest of you feel better:
1) Once I realized that I had floaters I started asking people around me about whether or not they saw them too…to my surprise a lot of people actually see floaters. The thing is not all of them let floaters bother them or run their life. My mom, my boyfriend, and one of my friends all see them (each to a certain extent) but none of them are the least bit upset about this. What all three of them have in common is that they all have very calm personalities…they take things slow and don’t worry about every single thing. I’m completely the opposite and I’m willing to bet that a lot of you here have a similar personality to mine…one where you worry about things and tend to get bummed out easily if things don’t go your way. My bf says that most of the time he doesn’t even see the floaters unless I ask him about it…this is when he starts seeing them. What’s happening is that by ignoring them he stops seeing them. I’ve also read an advertisement on how to stop floaters from some guy who wrote a book on how to learn to ignore them – in the advertisement he mentions something that I found interesting: he said that most people don’t pay attention to the little specks and smudges on their windshield and they see perfectly fine past these, and that most people are not aware of the humming of the heater or airconditioner until someone brings their attention to them like I did now It’s the same with floaters…I think we can all do this we just can’t think about them so much! They’re just little dots and strings that don’t deserve this much of our attention!
2) What a lot of people don’t realize is that 100% of people on this Earth have floaters in their eyes…some to greater extent than others. Some have larger chunks and strings while others have smaller chunks and strings. So let’s say that 30% to 40% of people can actually see their floaters. This means that you’re definitely not alone…this means that 4 out of every 10 people that you know have them too….it means that 4 out of every 10 people you work with can see them….it also means that 4 out of every 10 celebrities, writers, and people that we admire and look up to have them too. You know that this works out to be that 1 out of every 2.5 people on this planet can see them. You just have to put it in perspective for yourself and don’t worry so much about it. It also goes to show that when we see celebrities looking good and posing for magazines and they look so perfect…it doesn’t mean that they can’t see floaters ;)
It’s all a matter of how we position ourselves and how we think about the floaters.
3) I have heard from 2 people from their personal experiences that they do in fact disappear from your line of vision…however it takes a few years…my dad saw them for about 2 years and then they disappeared and my grandma had them in her 30’s and had them for quite a few years and then they disappeared and she didn’t notice them anymore. As the gel in your eyes becomes more liquid they tend to fall to the bottom of your eyes where you can’t see them. Just hold on to this thought and hope that it happens to you too.
4) For me anyway floaters have been a sort of blessing in disguise…we often think “oh my life was sooooo much better before I had these damn floaters” and maybe in our minds it was…but what’s stopping you from appreciating your life now? Your life is exactly as it was before, except we refuse to see it because we are so focused on these stupid little dots. I’m the kind of person who always worries about my health and I was always sort of unhappy with something or other….and if I had nothing to worry about I’d find something, and now I think if only it wasn’t for the floaters my life would be great! Floaters made me realize that I don’t really have any other problems…sure I have some floaters now but besides that there’s nothing really wrong…I’ve stopped obsessing over health issues and have stopped trying to find something wrong with me. So just try to see your life as it would be without floaters…it’s pretty great isn’t it? Now try to ignore the floaters…once you do that, once you learn to ignore them to the point of not seeing them anymore all that will be left is to enjoy your life.
5) OK, so right now there is “no cure” but think about it….30 years ago there was no cure for nearsightedness either except for glasses and contacts…and even 10 years ago lasik eye surgery was not as perfected as it is now. Technology is so advanced that it is only a matter of time before there are better treatment options for these…and technological finds develop much more rapidly than they did in the past, therefore in about 5 to 10 years I think we should see an easy way to get rid of these…
But who knows…by that time you might not even need it…your floaters might float to the bottom of your eye or maybe you’ll have learned to ignore them to the point where you just don’t feel like you need surgery anymore. Fingers crossed :)
Hello all….well I’m 26 years old and have had floaters all my life…but the funny thing is that I never noticed that I had them until I got a sort of bigger one that looked like a black dot a few months back….and even that one I’m not sure if I’ve had for longer because the way I noticed it is that I was taking a CPR course and the instructor was telling us about how her husband got hit on the head with something and he was ok except that he will now see a “black dot that darts around” for the rest of his life…and then I thought to myself “hey I have a black dot that darts around!”…
I got scared and got it checked out and the doc said my eyes were ok except that I had floaters.
Anyhow I’ve been reading through all your posts and it seems like we all want a solution, so here are a few things to think about…hopefully writing them will make me and the rest of you feel better:
1) Once I realized that I had floaters I started asking people around me about whether or not they saw them too…to my surprise a lot of people actually see floaters. The thing is not all of them let floaters bother them or run their life. My mom, my boyfriend, and one of my friends all see them (each to a certain extent) but none of them are the least bit upset about this. What all three of them have in common is that they all have very calm personalities…they take things slow and don’t worry about every single thing. I’m completely the opposite and I’m willing to bet that a lot of you here have a similar personality to mine…one where you worry about things and tend to get bummed out easily if things don’t go your way. My bf says that most of the time he doesn’t even see the floaters unless I ask him about it…this is when he starts seeing them. What’s happening is that by ignoring them he stops seeing them. I’ve also read an advertisement on how to stop floaters from some guy who wrote a book on how to learn to ignore them – in the advertisement he mentions something that I found interesting: he said that most people don’t pay attention to the little specks and smudges on their windshield and they see perfectly fine past these, and that most people are not aware of the humming of the heater or airconditioner until someone brings their attention to them like I did now It’s the same with floaters…I think we can all do this we just can’t think about them so much! They’re just little dots and strings that don’t deserve this much of our attention!
2) What a lot of people don’t realize is that 100% of people on this Earth have floaters in their eyes…some to greater extent than others. Some have larger chunks and strings while others have smaller chunks and strings. So let’s say that 30% to 40% of people can actually see their floaters. This means that you’re definitely not alone…this means that 4 out of every 10 people that you know have them too….it means that 4 out of every 10 people you work with can see them….it also means that 4 out of every 10 celebrities, writers, and people that we admire and look up to have them too. You know that this works out to be that 1 out of every 2.5 people on this planet can see them. You just have to put it in perspective for yourself and don’t worry so much about it. It also goes to show that when we see celebrities looking good and posing for magazines and they look so perfect…it doesn’t mean that they can’t see floaters ;)
It’s all a matter of how we position ourselves and how we think about the floaters.
3) I have heard from 2 people from their personal experiences that they do in fact disappear from your line of vision…however it takes a few years…my dad saw them for about 2 years and then they disappeared and my grandma had them in her 30’s and had them for quite a few years and then they disappeared and she didn’t notice them anymore. As the gel in your eyes becomes more liquid they tend to fall to the bottom of your eyes where you can’t see them. Just hold on to this thought and hope that it happens to you too.
4) For me anyway floaters have been a sort of blessing in disguise…we often think “oh my life was sooooo much better before I had these damn floaters” and maybe in our minds it was…but what’s stopping you from appreciating your life now? Your life is exactly as it was before, except we refuse to see it because we are so focused on these stupid little dots. I’m the kind of person who always worries about my health and I was always sort of unhappy with something or other….and if I had nothing to worry about I’d find something, and now I think if only it wasn’t for the floaters my life would be great! Floaters made me realize that I don’t really have any other problems…sure I have some floaters now but besides that there’s nothing really wrong…I’ve stopped obsessing over health issues and have stopped trying to find something wrong with me. So just try to see your life as it would be without floaters…it’s pretty great isn’t it? Now try to ignore the floaters…once you do that, once you learn to ignore them to the point of not seeing them anymore all that will be left is to enjoy your life.
5) OK, so right now there is “no cure” but think about it….30 years ago there was no cure for nearsightedness either except for glasses and contacts…and even 10 years ago lasik eye surgery was not as perfected as it is now. Technology is so advanced that it is only a matter of time before there are better treatment options for these…and technological finds develop much more rapidly than they did in the past, therefore in about 5 to 10 years I think we should see an easy way to get rid of these…
But who knows…by that time you might not even need it…your floaters might float to the bottom of your eye or maybe you’ll have learned to ignore them to the point where you just don’t feel like you need surgery anymore. Fingers crossed
6) One more thing to point out is that since so many people have them, so many people also have the potential to get them. So it’s pointless to worry about whether you will get more of them in 5 or 10 years time. You might get more or you might not get any. The next person may also get them but you don’t see them worrying about it. So think of it that way…you will cross that bridge when and if you get there.
i dont know if i have a floater or not in my left eye it feels like there is sumthing on it i look and i see a clear oblong bubble thing it just came about today never felt itbefore so im not sure if its waht you call a floater or not it hasnt moved so im wondering what it is?
candy
i was at the bus stop one morning when i saw for the first time ever at age 47 these little tiny lights hubbering around my eyes. I thought that I was about to black out although i didn't feel any different. My floaters looked like distant stars small and bright. To tell you the truth they were scary but knida pertty. I went to my doctor and asked him about them and thats when it was confirmed. it wasn't so much that i found out that I had floaters , but that my friends her me tell them about it and they sdaid in homorney "floaters" i looked in amazement that they knew what I didn't. meanwhile time when on after a day or so and I never saw them again. Hum! I wonder if they come back? i am fifty now and have yet to see any. Another thing is after reading everyone else experience with floaters I never knew until now that they get big, or could obstruct vision.
I suddenly discovered a floater in my left eye...my left is farsighted and my right eye is nearsighted; so much for the theory of near-sigtedness as being more prone...my doctor says it's old age...i am 57. It appeared soon afer someone at work was stressing me out. I also have elbow psoriasis so maybe it's auto-immune. i am healthy otherwise. I cannot believe there is no cure. give me a break..this is certainly a disability and should be treated as such; especially people like myself who need their eyes to do their job. there are enough of us to storm those who should devote some time to medical research...but where do we start?
I am 46. I remember having floaters from time to time as a child and teen...mostly the impression of small bits of dustsuspended in a clear film moving across my field of vision. About the time I turned 40, and seemingly overnight, my very sharp vision was changed so that I needed reading glasses for close-up viewing. My distance vision is still quite sharp. I've noticed in recent months a return and increase in the floaters. I do spend a good deal of time on the computer, and also in reading. Wearing my 1.25 reading glasses noticeably decreases the aggravation of the floaters!
Ten days after my 45th birthday, I was fine one minute and the next had a sudden mass of dots and lines in my right eye. I'd never experienced floaters, so called my optometrist and was seen by him the next day. He was concerned that I may have a retinal tear or detachment. After an exam, he said he didn't seen anything wrong so I should wait a couple weeks to see if it got better - if not, he'd refer me to a local retinal specialist. That just didn't "feel" right - this change was too sudden and drastic. I called the retinal specialists myself the next day and they suggested I see an opthmologist. Four days later, I saw him. He immediately diagnosed a retinal tear in that eye and sent me for surgery to repair the tear that same day. By this time, I had tons of black dots and now black ribbons blocking my central vision (4 days after it first happen). The retinal specialist did laser surgery to repair and seal the tear. He told me that when it tore, it also happened to tear a retinal vein caused the bleeding in my eye (dots & ribbons) and should disappear in time. Well, it's been 4 months and the dots are fewer, the ribbons are lighter but still blocking and distorting my central vision. Vitrectomy surgery was proposed as an option, but he wants me to give it more time yet. If you have a sudden burst of dots, floaters or flashes of light - get in to see someone right away! I'll always wonder if the misdiagnosis by my optomistrist and resulting delay to correct the tear is the cause of this frustration I now deal with every day!
ok, i'm SIXTEEN and i have floaters! they are soooo annoying, and i've had them for almost a year now! ppl are starting to think i'm crazy as i stare off into space and flash my eyes back and forth for no apparent reason.... I'm way too young for these! Does anyone know what causes them?
I don't have floaters when my eyes are open, but what the heck are those bright kidney shaped lights I see when my eyes are closed? They move around in my field of vision (if you can call it that when your eyes are closed) and change shape from a kidney bean to a closed circle. The shape is a bright light, usually white, and the surrounding area is pitch black.
I no the only cure for floaters! But in order to get rid of them you need drastic surgury. I had an amazing amount of floaters in my left eye. They are now gone but only because I had a detached retina and after the sugury they have all vanished. I think when the doctor drained the fluid from my eye and inserted a gas bubble thats when they left. But now my right eye has them, and I will live with them until that retina goes.
I got diagnosed with vitreous floaters today, 1-24-08. The doctor said there is nothing to do about them. He also suffers from these due to a head injury. He also told me if I ever saw "lighting" strikes, to call him immediately, that might mean that the vitrous is trying to separate from the retinal nerve. There is something that can be done about that. So if anyone sees these "lighting" strikes might want to call your doctor. Dee
As I was looking through this, I wanted to remind people . . .
If you see floaters and flashes, go see your eye doctor. Those flashes are because the vitreous is tugging at the retina which causes a retinal detachment! This is important to get looked at since it will not always get better with time and you can lose vision.
I have had post vitreous detachment in both eyes, the right did cause a retinal detachment (7 tears). I am only 34 years old. While you do not get rid of the floaters, they do get better. You learn to see around them and ignore them. I also am developing cataracts, so I normally have hazy vision with spots. It is very distracting and upsetting, but it is something I deal with.
Remember to take good care of your eyes, see a doctor if you are concerned, and use eye drops! Dry eyes can cause haziness. The eye drops can help your vision be a little better, and keep your eyes healthy!
I HAVE A SOMETHING THAT LOOKS LIKE A WHITE BALL WITH A TAIL GOING DOWN THE LEFT EYE. IT APPEARS AT ODD MOMENTS. I CAN SEE IT CLEARLY. IT IS SCARY. IT JUST FLOATS DOWN THE SIDE OF MY EYE.
MY EYE SIGHT ALSO CLOUDS UP AND I HAVE TO BLINK TO CLEAR IT. THE DOCTOR SAID IT WAS DRY EYES.I SOMETIMES USE DROPS. BUT IT REALLY IS STRANGE.
Hi, ive always had floaters but they were never bothersome. (they never moved where my eye looked) until last summer when i got one in my rights eye it was like a shadow and this one has made all the others seem bothersome aswell. I suppose i have gotten use to them as time has gone on, but i was wondering if they will ever dissapear? im only 17, its depressing becos i feel like i cant go outside, like when i went to the beach it made me upset. So has anyone had floaters and then they have gone?
I am 15 years old and i will be sitting in class and all of a sudden i see a little black dot like fly up and down my eye real slow it will dissappear and come back later, is that a floater real small and sometimes dont notice i dont know for sure but it sure worries me.
please get back i am 13 years old i had this since i was i think 11 & it isnt going away can u goblind from this ?
I left a comment on here about two weeks ago about floaters and retinal detachment. I have had new floaters in my right eye and lightning strikes and sure enough I had a tear in my retina again and my doctor just treated it with laser yesterday so don't delay if you have these symptoms, if it was not for my constant complaining to my doctor it would have gone to long.
hello to every one i do have floaters every where. they are like Grey circle stuck together, transparent little circles, lines , transparent huge cobwebs, and cloud looking ones.but do not feel sorry about me because even though i go through tough days, every day i go running with my sun glasses and my hat and i hit the gym just to remind my self that life goes on.time heals everything. eat healthy and do stuff that you would not do because of the floaters.get out there and expose your self because after pain better moments will come in your life and then you will look bad and laugh. love you all.
Im 16 and I got floaters out of no where. I sometimes see tiny specs of light flash but nothing crazy like lightning. But today after i flipped a 700 pound tire in weight training it looked like a ton of little dots shooting everywhere. Is this just from the rise in blood pressure ? Or could that mean there is a tear or detachment
Does anyone know what causes floaters to become bright red? I've had them a long time, but they have now become red! Please respond to yamnan@aol.com. Thx.
I have had floaters since i was 14 and at first i didnt know what was happening all of a sudden these black spots were infront of my eyes. Im now 41 and i still loath them, they put me off my appetite, they appear when im trying to sleep, they even sometimes even appear in my sleep. I would do anything to get rid of them all together. Sometimes they do dissapear and i think oh looks like they might be getting better, then they are back with a vengence. Its got to the point now that i dont wanna go out incase i see them as they always upset me big time when they show. No one understands and no one seems to get them like me. I feel scared of them, what makes it worst, is if i go on holiday i cant get away from them, feel trapped, scared, and vunerable, cos there is no cure. Wish i was 13 again. Its makes me feel slightly better knowing im not the only one wish we could all get shut of them.
6 years ago i had my first bout of uvitis.At first i thought it was pink eye and went to my reg doc but they sent me to an eye doc because it turned out to be the uvitis(iritis).I had redness, pain in the temple and above the eye ,light sensitvity and FLOATERS.I thought there was someting wrong but eye doc told me that it is nothing harmful.Was on steriod eye drops for it for 2 weeks .It went away but then the next year i had another bout.I knew because i got the floaters again and all the other symtoms.After the 3rd bout(i have had about 6 to this day) i now have permanent floaters and i just ignore them.I get a little black dot that i see once in awhile and my right is worse then my left.But i sometimes forget i have them until i see the little dot or step outside and look in the sky.I get some that are black dots some that i think look like little worms ones that are clear with a grey dot in the middle and ones i call shooting stars because they are bright white and move very quickly.I get uvitis in my right eye but just recently 2 weeks ago got a bout in my left.My eye doc said not to worry to much about them and i can ignore them pretty well.I am 37 years old.I just think of them as my own entrtainment sometimes that noone else can see(lol).i just had two pass in my vision writing this.Was told they wont go away but you will get used to them and will hardly notice them.
I agree for the most part because they do come and go usually. However, I had the unfortunate experience of a rather large floater that dominated the central part of my vision. In the early 1990s I visited a retinal surgeon who advised me that the risk to my vision was greater then waiting for it to go away. Well, after around ten years it was still there and when I visited the same surgeon he had changed his mind saying that the procedure to remove the vitreous fluid had improved significantly and he didn't understand how I could read with the floater blocking my central vision. Two years later I had the surgery after being assured that it was very low risk. In particular with relation to the possibility of developing a cataract over a short period of time (months). Well, now I am visiting cataract doctors. The floater is gone and I am happy about that. If everything goes well with the cataract surgery and the multi focal IOL that I am considering I should be even better. However, now I'm reading that the IOL being clear may allow too much UV light to my retina and cause macular degeneration. Maybe I'll be lucky and get to EOL without that happening.
Don't let this floaters ruin your everyday life just consider this as your everyday blessings rather than no vision at all..cheer up!!! your not alone we are here..just keep on praying and surely one of this days your floaters will suspend and disappear and your crystal clear vision will be yours again.Just be patient and believe in HIM..
My 9 year old son started complaining about floaters and blurred vision. I took him to a local retina center and after extensive blood tests, they have determined that he had an inflammation of the middle layer in his eye (the one between retina and the white outside layer) that was caused by auto-immune attack (HLA-B27 blood cell marker).
The floaters were white blood cell clusters and there were so many of them in different shapes and sizes, that it caused blurriness. The doctor performed steroid injection into the eye which is helping. Floaters are disappearing and my son's vision is returning to normal.
The moral of the story is - you never know what is causing your floaters and it is always a good idea to have it checked out and treated, if possible.
I hope our experience will help some of you with your vision problems. God Bless!
For those of you reading these comments, who have gotten this far, PLEASE go see a SPECIALIST if you or a family member are under 30 and see a large number of floaters, particularly if they cause blurred vision.
Pars planitis is a rarely diagnosed disease, with far too little attention paid to it. As with any "rare" disease, very few doctors other than uveitis specialists recognize the symptoms, and your vision may get progressively worse.
There ARE effective treatments, but there are risks, side effects, and no guarantees. There is also no cure for PP at present. That said, there is definitely hope, and there are over 100 specialists in the US that can properly diagnose and/or monitor the disease process.
Large numbers of floaters are not normal in young people, though there are certainly reasons why young people can wind up with them. Only a trained medical professional can tell you if you should be worrying, but if you have PP, it's an autoimmune disorder, which means that stress can make it worse and there have also been studies suggesting that active autoimmune processes can lead to depression.
If your vision seems different or significantly worrisome, PLEASE seek appropriate medical advice...it could change your life.
i only get a floater when im lookin at the computer monitor. it always makes me think someone else is coming into the room.
then i feel like an idiot.
i only noticed them after i had this lengthy gig doin data entry - workin overtime. i also developed minor carpal tunnel but at least that went away... mostly.
I'm 22 and have had floaters for over a year. It's my belief that floaters are caused by a NEGATION OF THE MIND. I've lived my life as a POSITIVE person up until I felt I met my soul mate. Our relationship did not work out and I was completely devistated. I felt my life was ruined. I became severly depressed and LOST FOCUS of all positive aspects of my personality and felt completely LOST and HOPELESS with NO DIRECTION and FLOATING threw life. I continued living lost living in the past and rehashing all the mistakes I made. I trudged threw life miserable and sad and DISCONNECTED. I felt worthless and my attitude took a toll on my life. I also experienced extremely low self esteem, high anxiety, a negative outlook, poor attitude, hair breakage, loss and thinning, and had a hard time recognizing my reflection. I've even noticed eye color change from brown to greenish yellow and dark spots within my eye color. I also have a problem focusing and experience double vision, headaches, and a troubled view of my nose within my vision which i believe is a result of my lack of focus. I believe LOVE and BELIEF in yourself can lead to a cure along with a positive attitude and medical treatment. I plan on ordering vitamens for the eyes along with healthy foods and daily exercise. I also have a eating disorder and an extreme lazyness problem. I am also extremely BLESSED and know I can correct my vision. GOD BLESS YOU ALL and take care. xoxo Kasie
beautikase@aol.com
I am going to be 51 in april this year, 2008, and this weekend I was leaning over my potted aloe plants, re-potting them and the wind started blowing and all of a sudden, I saw something out of my periferral vision in my right eye. It wouldn't go away, and I had my husband look at it and he couldn't see anything. Then, I put a couple medicated eye drops in it to see if that would help, it didn't and then I tried flushing it with tap water in an eye cup, that didn't help. So, I thought of hearing about floaters from other medical books I had seen at the eye doctors a few year ago. So, I asked some friends and co workers if they had any, and of course, I asked my mother she is 79 going to be 80 this year, May, '08 She said she used to have them, and eventually they cleared up. So, I guess, I will have to be patient and live with it until it goes away on its own. It has been 3 years since I had an eye exam, if it is still there when I get to an eye doctor, I plan to have him look real good inside my eyes. I am glad I read this section of this web site, it has helped me, to know that in time it will go away, all I have to do is forget it is there. I am having a minor small ache in that eye from trying to avoid looking at it. Take care to everyone that is experiencing this health issue. sincerely, anonymous
I am 21 years old, and when i was 18(freshman in college) a close friend died, and after that I developed an anxiety disorder. Soon after that I developed floaters that were the most annoying thing, and furthering my anxiety disorder. As soon as I got control of my anxiety disorder the floaters quickly became less and less to the point where now I can't notice them anymore. If you feel anxiety attacks were the onset of this horrible floater problem, just go get checked out by your doctor and when he says nothing is wrong with believe him! Don't worry anymore! Anxiety and floaters robbed me of 3 years of my life that were supposed to be some of my best years, don't let it happen to you! Also it helps to be on a good sleep schedule and limit time on your computer. I had insomnia during this same time but fixed that with a healthy diet and working out.
I STARTED GETTING FLOATERS WHEN I WAS ABOUT 15 BUT THEY WERE JUST TINY BLACK STRAND LIKE PEICES. THEY DIDN'T BOTHER ME AT ALL CAUSE THEY WERE HARDLY NOTICABLE. I AM 46NOW AND THE FLOATERS HAVE MULTIPLIED TO THE POINT WHERE THEY ARE INCREDIBLY ANNOYING. THERE ARE SO MANY OF THEM THAT IT IS VERY DIFFICULT TO READ OR USE THE COMPUTER. GOING TO THE BEACH IS THE WORST. IT APPEARS LIKE THE SKY IS FULL OF WEBS. I HAVE A NEW ONE THAT APPEARED A COUPLE OF MONTHS AGO THAT IS SO LARGE IT LOOKS LIKE A BIG BLURR RIGHT IN MY LINE OF VISION. AND JUST LIKE ALL OF YOU, MY EYE DR. SAYS, "YEP ITS FLOATERS, SORRY YOU'LL HAVE TO LIVE WITH IT". I CAN'T BELIEVE THERE IS NOTHING THAT CAN BE DONE! IT IS SO DIFFICULT TO GET THROUGH JUST A LITTLE READING. SO FRUSTRATING.
How long should it take to go away? I am 19 and it is just bothersome, especially when driving.
my floaters are in both eyes some time it looks like waves of water . It does not bother me know that I know it is floaters.
I am 52 yrs. old and have had floaters most of my life. My eye Dr. told me that they were composed of proteins. I just ignore them. They never go away. They are the least of my health problems, if I could get rid of my other problems, I would gladly welcome this small nuisance. they are in my field of vision in both eyes. I also have another v isual problem occassionaly that really dirupts my vision that starts out as a small cresent shape way out in the distance and comes all the way to both eyes and past. It is neon colored tan and blue matrix that pulsates. This happens about twice a year. My Dr. told me this
There are a lot of brave people out there, dealing with these floaters since they were children! Wow - I had no idea that many people had them so young. I am 61 and got my first bad one 3 years ago in right eye, and now the left eye is following.
But I also have permanent tinnitus in one ear, 24/7/365 and I have, after struggling with that for a long time, finally come to a point where I don't "rage" against it anymore.
Now both my vision and my hearing are corrupted, with does certainly add to my frustration.
I think having dealt with the tinnitus has given me patience to deal with the floaters. The way to deal with BOTH of these issues is NOT TO DWELL ON THEM. Don't rage against them, just keep your mind focused on other things.
Just be glad you are not totally blind and/or deaf. Neither condition is painful or life-threatening. Life can still be fun.
im so relieved to see that theres other people that deal with floaters! i didnt realize it was common, and was worried sick when mine started following my every glance. ive had one since i was little, and very rarely i would see it. all of the sudden it showed up, and didnt go away like it used to. its been keeping me company for about a week and a half, and didnt know what to think of it. it stands out when looking at a solid color or the sky. reading all of these really relieves me though. how blessed we are though, because blind people would trade anyday.
I am 22 yrs old and have had at least one floater for as long as I can remeber. In the past few years it seems like I have gotten alot more. They drive me crazy! I try to ignore them but it is hard. Especially when I am in class and surrounded by white walls and white dry erase boards. I sadly don't have time to read through this whole bored. Anyone have any good advice to share?
To: Anonymous with the anxiety problems
You sound just like me! I am 22 also and worry about my floaters constantly. I am a self-diagnosed hypochondriac and have anxiety. Its weird, you sound just like me. It seems like I am too young to have this many floaters!
I'm 17 and I've had floaters for a year or 2 now. I had no clue what they were until today but I knew it wasn't normal.
Those stringy floaters looked like things you see under a microscope so I was like whoa, I can see stuff like that without any technology. Basically I was amazed at myself. They sort of amuse me when I'm doing nothing and just staring off into the sky.
Anyways, unless they completely block your vision I'd say don't worry too much. I've almost come to embrace them. You don't know what you have until you lose it so be grateful for your vision. Have a nice day everyone.=)
I've had floaters for about 44 years. I noticed them when I was very young. my doc said yes there is something you can do for them ...you can ignore them. embrace them name them follow them or just get over them. Life is too short to waste your time worring about anything much less floaters.
Floaters are like anything else. When they reach a stage of intense numbers, it is time to consider treatment (vitrectomy). It's one thing to have 5. It's another to have so many you can't count them.
http://www.helenkellerfoundation.org/research-buckler.asp
I notice the Dr. on this blog has a nice smile on his face. If he had what I have, he would rarely smile.
I've had one floater now for about six years - I bumped my head one day (when I was 25) and it suddenly appeared.
I have noticed though that if I exercise a bit, the floater disappears. It also moves down my vision if I keep focus on one point until it is no longer visible. It is more prominent on white pages (such as this form!)
My optometrist said that it isn't anything to worry about other then the annoyance of having something in your vision all of the time. I was panicing a bit thinking it was a symptom of diabetes or similar! She mentioned there is a mesh of material around the inside of the eye which breaks away from the lining of the eye as you get older. Sometimes these pieces dissolve (causing a momentary bright flash) other times they sit there :-(
I'm happy I found this page - trying to explain to other what this is like gets very unusual responses :-)
I am almost 28 years old and have had floaters since I was 19. Not just a few, it is like a swarm of gnats flying around my eyes. In fact, I sometimes still swat at the air where I think I see them. Recently I started seeing bright flashes of light as well. I haven't been able to get medical insurance in a long time, so going to a doctor is out. When I ask an optomotrist about it during visits they just look at me like i'm putting them out by not just letting them rush through the typical tests and get me out the door after taking my money thanks a bunch. It disturbs me how the medical community just shrugs this condition off, yet billions have been spent on helping the elderly get erections...
I think I have floaters in my right eye. I am 20 years old and a bit worried. Should I consult an eye doctor? Is it true that there is no treatment for floaters?
my son is six years old,he is short sighted and wears glasses.he fell and scratched his eye and after a few days felt blurry,now doctors think he has retinal detatchment.he can see nothing from his left eye,i would like to know will he be able to see again from his left eye?and what treatment will he have to have for that?
WOW - I cannot believe all the postings here! I remember as a small child having a few floaters, especially in my right eye (at 16 years old I developed a Vitreous Detachment in that eye- the flashing light swirly thingy in the perif of my vision that is permenant) But, now, I have several HUGE floaters, different sizes, shapes, tangles and KNOTS of them. I feel most of you on the waking up to them in the morning. And reading sometimes - you have to wait for them to go away, or move your eyes all crazy to get them to move!
When I was diagnosed with the Vistreous Detachment, I was advised not to drive. With these floaters, I feel it would be almost impossible at times to even try to drive. Going outside when its bright is about unbearable without my scrip sunglasses.
I think maybe this detachment, which is like a tear in my eye, is letting in debris.
I am 17 years old, and my friend recently hit me in the eye. I developed a floater. I dont know if it is very big or small because I havent compared it to anything. I went for months almost forgetting I had it. I have recently begun noticing it because I started to think about it again. The eye doctor told me that she had floaters, but I am old enough to realize that she was just trying to make me feel better. She was full of bull. Whatever... I suggest to everyone to just get used to them. "Out of mind, out of sight".
I am 46 and have "floaters" in my right eye for the past four years. After reading all of these posts, I am grateful to report that all but one have mine have faded. Become addicted to sunglasses-the sudden adjustment to your eyes causes the floaters to worsen (according to my opthamologist)and I never leave the house without a pair
I am seeing floaters like a small butterfly shape like fake yellow right infront of my vision. I have to blink several times to let it disappear. It is anuisance when i try to use the computer Today it is not there. Isee it in the white blank wall. Another thing that worries me is a spark like fireworks when I blink with a dot in the middle Dr.says a hole in macula but it will not make me blind. Going back in 8weeks to make sure it is not retinal detachment. Annonymous.
i am 55 years old and just found out about floaters. It seems the doctors can only tell you, " you will be fine, you'll get use to it"
It is annoying and i think the medical profession is selling us down the river, so to speak. Lets see, we have cures for cancers, can take the fat out of people, take care of acne, extend the life of an aids patient, give life to babies born months premature, but we cant get rid of the floaters. I think the answer must lie in those of us suffering arent crying loud enough. Dont get me wrong i thank God it isnt worse then it might be, but it does interfere
I am so glad I came to "WEBMD". This is my first time to this site. I was amazed at all the comments. I have had a floater for nearly a month. I had all sorts of thoughts on what had caused this. I am so glad that it was not as severe as I thought. I fully understand exactly what I have to do and that's make an eye appointment. Thx
I first noticed my floaters 2 days ago - alot of them-I just happened to have a Doc appointment yesterday - this is what he told me - the only way to get rid of them is surgery, there is nothing wrong with my retna (right eye-he did a extensive examination) - and just don't focus on them after a while you won't notice them. I'll probably go to another Doc just to be sure, because I have the lightning flashes too sometimes.
I've had a floater in my eye for about six months now and they haven't faded even a bit. I'm only 15 and yet they say it's a sign of aging? No matter what teh cause, it really bothers me. Still, I tend to try and ignore it. I only see the floaters when I'm bright light hits my eye at a certain angle. I guess it could be worse.
I am 66 years of age. I have had small floaters for several years. About two years ago, a spider like floater appeared in the right eye just to the right of the center of vision and appx. six months later one matching the first appeared in the left eye. The spiders legs are pointing to the center of vision. The VA Vision clinic in Fayetteville have tested my eyes several times for retinal detachment and other eye disease. None noted.
However last saturday, I was washing my fishing boat and my wife came out on the front porch with a glass of tea. As I was standing with her on the porch, it seemed as if a river of black streaks flowed from the top to the bottom of the left eye. This has since turned into an irregular circle around the vision which changes in shape. At times it appears like the image we used to see of Alfred Hitchcock, at others it appears as a demonic face. Went back to the VA yesterday and had my eyes again checked. They even did a sonogram. No detachment nor tears in the eye. Is there anyone doing research on floaters, the cause, Oh I know the usual "You are getting older and that is the price you pay" however wouldn't it be more feasible to find out just why this occurs. When the floaters are off to the sides of center of vision, they are not too much to endure, however when they are in the center of vision, they suck.
Jim Hise
It seems the medical field does not
know alot about this condition. I believe its connected to some action that happened to the head area. For instance 2 weeks before my floaters appeared, i had surgery on my neck. If anyone reading this with floaters, was there any trauma or surgery to your head area? There are too many young people with this to say it is age related only.
My concern is that my 8 year old daughter sees them and it has only come up in the past week. SHe also says her eyes feel "funny" whne she sees these floaters.
Any thoughts?
THE EIGHT YEAR OLD WHO IS TALKING ABOUT THE FLOATERS, THE FACT THAT THE CHILD IS SAYING THEY FEEL FUNNY, SEEMS TO SUGGUEST THIS IS SOMETHING DIFFERENT. i KNOW WITH MINE THERE IS NO FEELINGS WITH THEM. mY EYES SOMETIMES GET STRAINED BUT THATS IT.
JACKIE
Well let's see. I noticed my first few floaters when I was 23 during my second year of medical school. It is making life difficult because I have to read so much and the dang floaters are so distracting. I find myself trying to follow them around as they keep moving. So I'm about to start my 3rd year; I've been taught about many ocular conditions but not about floaters. But I'm assuming in my case, high blood pressure due to stress and some poor habits during a couple months of my second year probably caused some bleeding or leakage into the eye and a permanent floater was born. I am disappointed with the medical fields assessment of this condition and I'm now considering a specialty where I can actually find a way to treat these things. Anyways, that's my two cents. Oh, good luck trying to look at bacteria/any histology through a microscope. You can't even tell difference between the floaters and bacteria.
Hi: I wish they had a cure too! I have one in my left eye after having eye surgery and had it since November. I do see a clear bubble and dots and some strings. I am starting to get used to it. Hope everyone gets better; i am so glad for the forum; because we are not alone going through this. Mine are like bubbles though; do they go away? I talked to my retinal surgeon and they said i am still seeing that bubble breaking up and it will go away? They say i have an air bubble in my eye. Thanks for any suggestions!
It's terrible when professionals say that "most people learn to adjust to their floaters." They completely forget about the small majority of people who have very significant and visually disabling floaters. We're the minority, but our vision is just as important as anyone else's!
I am 36yrs old,I have had floaters now for about 2yrs..just one day,they were there..a couple of dots with it..does it bug me?very much so..I wear sunglasses as much as possible..and sure sometimes I can ignore them,but I find myself when not busy,taking note of them..pain in the arss!!..and I check to see if they have gotten worse..
I am happy to know that I am not alone..It does depress me,not so much the floaters but the not knowing as to what else can happen,and not having answers,or control..However,all I can suggest to anyone who is just now noticing them,is to definitly go see an eye doctor..get that cleared up,and research..they say if you have flashes of light,to get checked right away..
Has anyone else heard if birth control can cause this??I just read above,and was kind of shocked to hear that..as much as I would love for that to be the cause..I dont want to get my hopes up..but does anyone have anything that has helped them..or is it a tough it out situation...thanks..
When I blow my nose air shoots out my tear duct. I'm told not to worry it's all the same system. However, it seems to be getting worse.
What is happening and is it a concern.
Thank you.
I've had floaters in both eyes for about 5 years now. Just woke up one day and there they were. I tried all types of eye drops..nothing worked. My fear was that the Lasik surgery I had two years before the floaters actually caused them to appear. Almost every doctor I talked to said it had nothing to do with it. But I still wonder. I have great vision and I'm very happy with the surgery. I'm starting to feel alot better about it since I saw the comment from the women who said that blind people would love to see with floaters and all. I'll shut up abput it now.
I have a newly aquired floater, but I wouldn't consider myself "aging". I've had it for a while now, but I can't seem to ignore it, especially when I am looking at the sky. It is so annoying, but I guess I have to learn to deal with it. The only problem is, my floater is ALWAYS dark. I can't see through it! I'm hopeing that I can get used to it, though.
I know someone who in her 50s has both the floaters and the flashes. It sounds like the flashes are something to really be concern about. The problem is that in her family--there is a person (ag. 60s) who went blind in one eye due to some whole part of the eye detached. I will be sure she follows up on her eye check-up.
Hi can you help me pls? i was on a pc for about 15 min (I wear reading glasses) when suddenly I could not see properly with my left eye. I turned to look at my daughter and could only see her face half clear, the lower half was all blurry. This happened on and off for 3 times in around 3 mins. Then I suddenly got a strong pain in my right eye. I had a mild headache before this happened. Could it be connected bcos I have headaches frequently anyway and this hasn't happened before. I am panicing, as this happened to me in 98 - had lots of headaches, and what happened then was as if someone had pulled a shutter down on my eye. It happened 3-4 times at different times.
I am so scared in case something serious. can you help?
lisa.
The internet is not the place to go when you have an immediate health concern. Your eyesight is precious. If you have:
# Sudden change in vision
# Loss of visual field (grey or black curtain)
# Eye pain
Please contact your doctor immediately.
most of you are very lucky that you have not had these things since you were little. For those of you who are 16 and 17 you should get it checked out.. you are not too young to get them some people are born with them.. i got mine when i was 10 or so my mom and her mom both have them so i believe that i got them from them. I do not really notice mine unless i am reading or it is really bright and i have quite a few in each eye. they havent bothered me for a while until i read this page so i suggest that if you stop thinking about it and try to just live your life and be thankful that you arent blind then you might not notice them as much......
48 now and I've had floaters most of my life. Usually when you look up into the clear blue sky. Talked to my 70 year old father today, fathers day 2008, and he said the same thing. Float on your back in the pool and there they are in the sky. But the subject came up because the other day another one appeared in my right eye. Black as sin, looking like the little black flies that plague me out here on the ranch. NOT!!! like the others that are only noticable sometimes. This little f%$#er is there ALL the time. I hope it's a floater anyway. guyfxr@yahoo.com
I had great vision except for a cluster of 'bubbles' in my left eye since I was about 10. Suddenly one day about 7 years ago my vision seemed 'foggy' and as night approached and streetlights came on I noticed halo's and 'starbursts' coming from the lamps and headlights. It was terrifying. The following day I was aware of a few floaters in each eye. Lots of tests and scans later they found I had sluggish pupils but not much else - they couldn't find anything wrong. I struggled with these symptoms and worsening floaters with little assistance. I somehow dealt with it eventually and stopped worrying so much. However about a week ago I noticed the main floater in my right eye has doubled in size. I am seeing another specialist soon to see if i have ureitus or something else. That was all worrying enough until this morning i found overnight i have developed a fairly large one in my left eye. I wouldnt be able to count how many I have in each eye, there are so many - central and periphiral.
It is of comfort to hear of others who are afraid of the future like me. I am 30 now and live on my own. I am struggling at work because of the computer screen. I am feeling nervous, anxious and getting very depressed and frightened of what each new day will throw up with regards my vision.
I appreciate how lucky I am to have vision atall but so many people, doctors etc do not realise or appreciate the massive fear and worry these things cause people and what a devastating effect they can have on your quality of life.
It is high time someone helped people like us because the effect on my life and others on this post and others i have read has been tremendous.
i hope every day someone will help us.
I have had floaters in my vision my entire life. As a child I mentioned it to my Dad, but didn't understand what I was seeing and told him I could see germs. I've been ignoring them ever since, until my wife saw an episode of House, where a kid has worms and sees them floating in his vision. This got me wondering about my eyes, and lead me here. I have to say it's a relief to read it's a natural thing..LOL (although I'm disappointed that nothing can be done, as they have gotten rather worse and much bigger! What used to be single floaters are now long strands, and the only time I don't see them now is in dim light.
I've had them my whole life, but they are getting worse and hard to ignore. It's disappointing to know nothing can be done about them, because I would gladly pay to have them removed! My floaters used to be single, almost bubble like objects, but now they are strands, and one in my right eye has a dark spot with (for want of a better description) little tentacles growing out of it!
I've had Floaters since I was a kid. I fell backwards off a fence and hit my head, had a concussion and was out for 3 days. The floaters showed up shortly afterward. They were small and easily ignored. This past December I was t-boned in my car, driver's side and whacked my head on the door divider where the selt belts attach. They rushed me to the ER for tests. Next day I had a huge floater in my left eye that has since decreased in size but never leaves my field of vision. The Doc said they are an accumulation of dead cells and other bodily debris in the eye gel, and that the body will remove some of them, others will be absorbed, or decrease in size. They only worry me when I drive, I fear one will obsure a car or person and I won't be able to see them in time...
Wow, I must say that I thought I was going crazy and that I was the only one who had this. I asked my eye doctor when I first got glasses in my early teens about my eyes and when I said I see floating things he laughed and said, " Like what ghosts?". I wish I could go back and punch him.
On a serious note, can they make your eyes tired faster or cause bad vision? Please send the answer to my e mail.
I have had floaters in both eyes since i was about 15, and have many of webs and objects in both eyes and I am now 19. I was told by the eye doctor that it was from playing hockey and taking blows to the head. They only bother me in certain room with different lighting or looking at a snowcovered field. For those who asked you do learn to just cope with them and there is nothing that can be done, so i have been told anyway. I just take better care of my eyes now like wearing sunglasses in sunlight as much as possible.
ai have woken up several times now and have a spot in the line of vision in my right eye . It is black and shaped like a pie with a slice cut out of it. It lasts for approx 10 min and then clears or I experience some double vision for a short time. I am alway aware that my eye is there somewhat of a dull ache. The last time this occurred it lasted 3 hrs. I also experience swelling under my eye and my cheek on that side is tingly or sometimes slightly numb.I have had mri mra mrc, eeg dopler caroid artery testing blood work etc all came back normal. I have seen nurologists opthomologists retina specialists etc. I now have 3 possible diagnosis, tia retina problem and a third doctor said cluster migraines. He also said honestly he really doesn't know what it is but we have ruled out the big ones. Somewhat comforting but I still feel as though I want some answers and at the moment I am being treated for tia and am on blood thinner . I am to check back with this dr in two weeks. I was in the hospital for 3 days for all of this testing etc. Frustration but since I have been home no spots but still have swelling and dull aching.Is there anyone with similar symtoms? I appreciate all the comments as It is helpful to know that this problem is a real one and does cause anx. I too am blessed that I still have my vision but I am concerned not knowing what or if I need to follow up when I get these . I do not wish to ignore the train coming down the track so to speak because I am starting to feel as though I am just being foolish going to the doctor when they do not find anything wrong.
birth control caused my eye floaters!
iv never really had any problems with my vision up untill 1 1/2 yr ago when i went on the depo-provera contraceptive injection. i only had 2 shots of this stuff and suffered lots of side effects one of which was my vision. Started having blurred fuzzy vision, and seeing floaters in my right eye, and when looking at white walls or the sky could see lots of little dots everywhere!very annoying!i have since tried other hormonal b/c which has made it worse so now i'm hormone free and using the coppor iud, and hopefully will see an improvement the next few months.
any one whos had a similar experience please leave a comment, because according to doctors i have seen you can only get vision problems from estrogen in the combined pill?OBVIOUSLY NOT!
I have had floaters ever since I can remember. It is quite annoying since these catch light and travel through my eye. Not only that I can see them almost all the time. I am only 21! I try to ignore them but sometimes it is difficult. I went to a Dr. about a year ago and he explained them to me. Very annoying little things...
Dr. Lloyd's original post generated quite a few responses from individuals who were distraught at the idea of having to tolerate their floaters because there's no guarantee of the outcome of either laser surgery or vitrectomy. Here's my experience.
I am a 56 year old woman who had cataract surgery in my right eye in Oct. of 2006. The lens replacement resulted in the restoration of vision in that eye to 20/20. This was not my ophthalmologist's intent; it just worked out that way. After being free from vision impediments in the right eye for about six months, I experienced a "flash" and some aftereffects in the same eye. I went back to my doctor as soon as possible. He relieved me when he said that it was "just a floater", and would likely resolve itself in several weeks to a couple of months. In the meantime, I should try to avoid getting too upset about it.
Six months later, when the floater had taken on its (apparent) final shape, the thing appeared in the center of my field of vision as a "spider" with a trailing streamer that rather was like looking through Vaseline. This critter moved back and forth across the vision field whenever I moved my head or my eyes. It never settled to the bottom of the eyeball and was ALWAYS in the way. I couldn't read comfortably, computer use became difficult (I'm a technical writer), and I even began to sense that driving was becoming dangerous, both for me and for others.
Back to the doctor I went, and he referred me to a retina-vitreous specialist.
At the new doctor's office, all kinds of images were taken, tests performed, etc. The doctor gave me the risks involved with a vitrectomy, including those mentioned in the original post. He also told me that there was a 1 in 10,000 chance that the retina could be damaged during surgery, and that if this happened, there was no favorable resolution. With that in mind, I left his office with some literature and a follow-up appointment.
After almost another whole year trying to cope with this beast detracting from everything I did, I went back to both doctors, and ended up scheduling a vitrectomy for this past August.
Two months later, my right eye vision is back to 20/20, the pressure both eyes is a nice, safe 18, and, best of all, there is no MONSTER in my right eye making life a living hell!
My post is intended to offer others a possible solution to their own suffering, particularly if they are younger people who may have a difficult future if they believe that there's NO option but to try to ignore floaters.
I never once considered going to some laser-correction place advertised on a Web site, nor do I recommend that anyone do that. Instead, if the floaters are really making your life miserable, find a reputable ophthalmologist, get a full examination, and talk to him or her about your concerns. Ask whether vitrectomy is a viable option, and do NOT see anyone not recommended by your doctor!
Thank -You all for sharing your lifes ,living with Floaters. There are definitely some shared Traits here,The anxiety and Stress..Ocular Migraines since an adolescent . I have suffered with a small amount of Floaters since I was young.
I was living a HUGELY stressed life when "BAM" I awoke one day during this and I had an "OUTBREAK" of Floaters.
Long Story Short ,all we can do is live a healthy life,take whatever antioxidant Vitamins that may benefit us and hope that one day The Floaters will Fade,dissolve o r decrease.
It just feels so Damn unfair !! were good people and why do we have to now live with this handicap!??
The key may be "Mind over Matter" to live a normal life and try to see through the Floaters the best you can.
I spend more time outside now during the evening and dark hours because i dont see them then. Kinda feeling like an alley Cat. My Sunglasses always accompany me.
The biggest hurdle of my day is getting up knowing i have to face another "Floater" filled day!!
my 2 cents
O M G! IF FLOATERS WERE THE ONLY THING I'VE HAD TO DEAL WITH, I'D BE THRILLED, EVEN AS BAD AS MINE ARE. BUT WHEN YOU HAVE A STRESSFUL JOB, THE ILLNESS AND DEATH OF THE PERSON YOU LOVE MOST IN THE WORLD, ONE HURRICANE AFTER ANOTHER ON TOP OF TURNING 60, WELL, HELL! I DON'T KNOW HOW MUCH MORE I CAN TAKE! THANK GOD FOR ANTI-DEPRESSANTS AND ATIVAN!
I am a 54 y/o old ROCKER...as long as there has been dirt I have had floaters. There is no cure...it does get worse...and time only developes more with how you use your eyes. Avoid laser lights, reading in sunlight, strobelights, and welding flashes. No one can truely say they go away...but there is nothing you can do but avoid trauma to them. You will always have them...they just become a part of your everyday life. Driving at night will be a bummer later on. Believe me...blindness comes next.
I'm not seeing floaters, but had a weird experience the other night.After using the bathroom, I sat on the edge of the bed with my eyes closed. There were bright lights of different colors flashing in the top of my head, within my brain. I'm on numerous medications for arthritis pain, lipitor, blood pressure, synthroid, anti-inflammatories. All taken every day. This was a one time thing, but scared me. I'm 59. Anyone ever hear of such a thing?
I went to optometrist yesterday because the floaters were really bothering me for a couple days. She found nothing but urged I make an appointment with an opthamologist which I did for tomorrow. The big concern is retinal tears and I am told to watch for any flashing light to my peripheral vision area. So anyone with flashing lights should be seen to rule out tears or risk blindness.
I had what I believe was a large floater appear yesterday. Just a few minutes ago it "broke up" and I have what looks like black cobwebs floating in my right eye.
Is this a common occurance?
Janene in Fresno
The first time I ever saw a floater was when I was 12, it was just a small dark circle, at the time i wasn't really worried about it, but as the years went on it really started to depress me. I told myself I would never be able to live a normal life because of this spot on my eye. The doctors said that it would eventually become less noticable, but to this day, it hasn't got worse or better. I think they should really do some reasearch and find a cure for this problem, even if they don't usually have any medical significance it can make you depressed like I was, and that can't be healthy. I'm still a teenager and Evveryday I wake up and go outside and see it. I just try not to think about it, I'm just glad I don't have a more severe case. Its so frustrating to everyday see this spot on your eye that distracts you. Sometimes I even find myself reading with one hand over my right eye, which has the floater in it. I hope that someday there will be a cure so that others don't have to go through this. And even in light of the depressing news that the doctors give "You just have to live with it." I try to keep a positive attitude, hopefully someday they will just go away.
I to suffer from anxiety, and have floaters in both eyes, my left eye more then my right, i think i've had them since my teen yrs?? And only now since i'm older (25) do i worry about them more then ever, guess it's because the older you get you find things to worry about, Can i ask if anyone also feels along with floaters if there vision looks kinda pixalated?? I dunno maybe it's just me and my worrying, but it would be nice to know that i'm not the only one who thinks there crazy!! I hope with time that i to can not noticed them!!
I have floaters around 4 months,i`m only 21...but I think I`m stronger than these microscopic fibres and I don`t let these tiny imperfections bring down my entire body, wasting all that's right with me!
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