Anyone else suffer from eye 'floaters'?

[SpokeyDokey]

Late on Friday night I spotted what looks like a small cobwed that slowly morphs in shape drifting around in the upper right section of my right eye.

Initially thought it was something on my right eye and gave it a saline rinse that had no effect.

Went to bed thinking it would be gone by morning but it hadn't

Mid-morning yesterday I decided to contact my optician who asked me to come straight in for an examination as this sort of thing can be an early sign of a retinal tear or even retinal detachment.

Fortunately neither was apparent.

News to me but 'floaters' are pretty common as we age and are pretty irritating. I'm sure he said it would be permanent but I queried this after a bit of research last night by email and he has replied today (great service) to say he said there is a possibility of it being so but what he said was that it would probably be there for some time. I was a bit stressed and I think I must've misheard him! Internet research suggests that they can diminish in size and shape although others may appear. It also suggests that the brain can adapt to filter out the visual disturbance and not notice it over time.

So today arrived and I have had to start learning to live with the irritating bugger - it's more apparent when looking at eg a neutral coloured wall, a bright clear sky or when I'm simply not actually looking at anything in particular in my field of vision.

I have 'switched on' all the learnings from my CBT therapy that I had following my mis-diagnosis of a serious illness the year before last and I'm 100% confident I'll cope ok. Basically I'm going down the focus on the positive route (I'm not blind and there are plenty of blind people out there who would love to have only my problem to deal with), not trying to dwell on it by trying to keep looking at it on purpose and hence de-focussing my attention span as well is refusing to worry about something that I cannot affect by worrying. Stuff like that. Day 1 seems to be going ok.

Anyone else on here dealing with this problem? Apparently my optician sees one older person (I'm 61) on average every 2 days with the condition and that most people have some 'floaters' by the time they are 75-80. He said he has a couple himself and he's 5 years younger than me!

Just wondering how other people are coping tbh?

 

[annedonnelly]

I've had them for years - since I was a child I suppose. I don't notice them most of the time - they're usually on the edge of my field of vision. I can't say that they've ever caused me any problems.

I think I probably thought that everyone had them and hence never worried about it. I think you'll notice them less if you're not thinking about them.

 

[Dayvo]

I've had them occasionally throughout my life.

One takes the form of a mini electricity pylon, another like a very small cloud, and one like a lost ant walking around.

There's no discomfort and I've learnt to live with the annoyance when they appear.

 

[slowmotion]

I've had floaters since I was a child. They don't bother me and don't compromise my vision much so I just live with them. I was told that they have something to do with impurities in the gunk inside your eyeballs. I've no idea if that's true, BTW.

 

[BSOh]

Yes I've had them forever too, and thought everyone had them. 99% of the time I don't notice them, but there are rare occasions where they annoy a little.

 

[SpokeyDokey]

Apparently aging (from about 40 onwards) can cause some of the vitreous jelly in the eyeball to become watery and as the collagen in the jelly breaks down it's the resultant debris in the eyeball that causes silhouettes (in all my life I can't recall having ever typed or written that word ) on the retina.

Some people are born with this too.

 

[Racing roadkill]

The worst it usually could be, is the start of a retina detachment. It’s usually just bits of slightly solidified vitreous humour making their way through, and nothing to worry about. There are lots of other things that can cause it, some serious, some nothing at all. If your worried about it at all, go and see a qualified medical practitioner.

https://www.rnib.org.uk/eye-health/...achment-pvd/posterior-vitreous-detachment-PVD

 

[potsy]

I have lots of them, not worried, regular eye examinations have never flagged up any issues.

 

[DaveReading]

I've had floaters since I was young.

When I was at uni all the young ladies in the opthalmic department used to love looking into my eyes.

 

[Drago]

I too suffer from the odd one, and have also done since I was young. Apparently, they're dead cells or some such floating on the surface of the eye. I am but a mere, youthful 49.

My optician would also call me in quickly in such circumstances, because its an early sign that I'm going to have to give them money

On a sort of related note, Mrs D has the worst case of optic neuritis the In Northampton General Hospital have even seen. When she goes to the opticians all the young trainees queue up to have a look into her knacked eye as they've never seen one like it outside of a textbook.

Glad you're OK Mr Dokey, and I like your attitude to stuff beyond your control.

 

[keithmac]

I've had them for years too, quite relaxing watching them float around sometimes!.

 

[Spinney]

I've had them forever - only really notice them when gazing at a bright sky or similar. Sometimes they appear to be in focus and look like a long filament or cell. I thought everyone had them!

 

[Ming the Merciless]

All my life.

 

[gbb]

I had floaters maybe 10 to 20 years ago, quite noticeable then, never seem to get them...or notice them now. It's possible a transient thing for some.

 

[Bazzer]

Ever since I was a kid. Opticians comment on them every time I have an eye examination.
It depends upon the light conditions, but I can relax my eyes to deliberately see them. But occasionally they are a nuisance.