Eye Floaters

[sablebrush52]

Very interesting thread… I’ve got some floaters and my left eye is hazy up at the farthest corner, like something is slightly obstructing my vision, almost teary. Cobwebs seems apt. I had an optometrist appointment that revealed nothing but I probably need to see an ophthalmologist.

Ophthalmologist for sure. And if they can't find the cause, get another opinion. My condition started with what appeared to be a blurry slightly dark circle with blurry crossed lines inside, just outside my central vision, about two months after completing work on a insanely messed up high stress production. Went to 3 different ophthalmologists, none of whom could find the cause,
The third ophthalmologist told me, "You need a god to possibly figure this out and you can find one at either Jules Stein or Doheny." He gave me the name to book with, both of them the directors of those institutions, and to take the first one who calls you back.
Turned out that a small portion of my macula had died as a result of stress. No way to undo that, but ways to manage it, like avoiding stress.

 

[woodsroad]

The source of the problem is a change of consistency on some points of the vitreous. If it is not something serious, it just comes and go depending if your eyes are tired and the surface you are looking. Not to worry about if that. Just take a rest of your eyes for some time and it may improve. If you feel you have a serious problem , then go to an ophtalmologist wich may give you a more complicated and invasive solution on the vitreous often ending up with the same results or worse. That was the suggestion i used to give to my patients when i was practing optometry several years ago.

That’s some really bad advice.
Go see an ophthalmologist when you have a medical issue. Go see the optometrist when you need glasses. Two different professions.

 

[lraisch]

I've had floaters since middle school years, but they were never a problem. When I started getting arc shaped flashes and a dark spot in one eye, I went immediately to an ophthalmologist. She told me it was a vitreous detachment and also recommended against laser removal of the dark spot.

 

[camaguey]

I think many of you are confusing a mild case of floaters with serious retinal or systemic conditions.

 

[johnnyflake]

I have developed a case of floaters about 15 years ago. I ended up seeing several types of doctors at that time. I was told that they will never go away and to simply try and get use to them. At that time, I was surprised when after some months I hardly ever noticed them anymore, but they are still there. When I am reminded of them, or something brings the issue to my attention, I pick up on them again but after a few hours or by the next day I do not have any issues with them! Surprisingly the issue has never been a big problem for me.

 

[woodsroad]

I think many of you are confusing a mild case of floaters with serious retinal or systemic conditions.

The average person can’t judge the seriousness of their condition. I earn a living with my eyeballs, so I don’t ask strangers for medical advice, I go see an MD.

 

[Lumbridge]

Ive had them since childhood, but they've gotten more prevalent since. The best thing you can do is learn to ignore them. Yes, they are annoying and distracting, but obsessing over floaters will only cause you to fixate on them even more and stress about it.

One thing my Dr. told me is that, if you are a side sleeper, to make sure you aren't sleeping with the pillow pressing into your eyeball. It increases intraocular pressure and can cause all sorts of problems.

And yeah, see an ophthalmologist if you're still concerned. Optometrists receive very limited education and training on eye medical conditions.

 

[woodsroad]

Ive had them since childhood, but they've gotten more prevalent since. The best thing you can do is learn to ignore them. Yes, they are annoying and distracting, but obsessing over floaters will only cause you to fixate on them even more and stress about it.

One thing my Dr. told me is that, if you are a side sleeper, to make sure you aren't sleeping with the pillow pressing into your eyeball. It increases intraocular pressure and can cause all sorts of problems.

And yeah, see an ophthalmologist if you're still concerned. Optometrists receive very limited education and training on eye medical conditions.

Having done work for schools of optometry and for med school ophthalmology programs, I can say that the optometrists are learning more about medical conditions now, and I wouldn't go to an ophthalmologist for glasses.

 

[BingBong]

I think we're in danger of blinding ourselves to a greater mystery - how to deal with floaters that won't flush.

 

[woodsroad]

Let me just conclude here by saying just how damned proud I am that nobody misspelled "ophthalmologist".

 

[Snook]

Ophthalmologist for sure. And if they can't find the cause, get another opinion. My condition started with what appeared to be a blurry slightly dark circle with blurry crossed lines inside, just outside my central vision, about two months after completing work on a insanely messed up high stress production. Went to 3 different ophthalmologists, none of whom could find the cause,
The third ophthalmologist told me, "You need a god to possibly figure this out and you can find one at either Jules Stein or Doheny." He gave me the name to book with, both of them the directors of those institutions, and to take the first one who calls you back.
Turned out that a small portion of my macula had died as a result of stress. No way to undo that, but ways to manage it, like avoiding stress.

I'm pretty sure that a year-long period of high stress was one of the main culprits for my floaters. Thankfully that has subsided.

I have developed a case of floaters about 15 years ago. I ended up seeing several types of doctors at that time. I was told that they will never go away and to simply try and get use to them. At that time, I was surprised when after some months I hardly ever noticed them anymore, but they are still there. When I am reminded of them, or something brings the issue to my attention, I pick up on them again but after a few hours or by the next day I do not have any issues with them! Surprisingly the issue has never been a big problem for me.

That's good it's not too much of an issue for you. I have good days and bad days; yesterday I only noticed them on my morning walk. The rest of the day I didn't even think about them, which is great progress vs. a couple of months ago.

I think we're in danger of blinding ourselves to a greater mystery - how to deal with floaters that won't flush.

Haha, I was waiting for this joke!

 

[pappymac]

Definitely see an ophthalmologist for an issue like this. I started seeing floaters and my GP recommended an ophthalmologist when I mentioned it to him. Turns out I had developed retinopathy in my left eye. In my case, I have a blood vessel that is closed off.

The treatment I get is an injection in the eye every two or three months. It is NOT as painful as it sounds.

 

[FurCoat]

You need to see an ophthalmologist (MD), not an optometrist.

This is sound advice.

 

[rakovsky]

Does anyone else suffer from these? I started noticing some in February and they have progressed to the point that it now feels like I'm looking through a "film" of cobwebs and dark spots. Very distracting and upsetting. I've been to two optometrists and both said that my eyes are fine and the floaters are normal. I asked if lifestyle choices like smoking could cause them, but they said no.

Just curious what everyone else's experience is with these and if they got better or if your brain adjusted to seeing them.

I also had them, especially growing up. I found out that I had Lyme disease. They have a spiral and disk ball shape a little like spirochetes and Lyme germs do under the microscope. After lengthy antibiotic treatment they basically cleared up. Other say however that the floaters are protein from the eye rather than actually being the germs, but in any case can be a symptom of the illness.
reddit.com/r/Lyme/comments/sro3h4/does_anyone_else_have_floaters_in_their_vision/