Anyone else suffer from floaters in eyes?
Discussion
Hey guys
I have recently in the last few weeks started to notice floaters in both my eyes. I am 34.
Oddly enough I work with eyes on a day to day basis as a retinal screener so I know what they are and where they are in my eye but this also means I know very little can be done about them that it not extremely invasive and risky.
It really got me down about a week or so ago as until then I prided myself on having unaided excellent vision (bar being colourblind).
They move around with my vision and are fixed where they are which is a bit annoying, I find bright lights and computer screens the worst thing for showing them up. Sunlight and bright days are also good at highlighting them.
I have found sunglasses really help, I am thinking about getting some mildly tinted glasses made up to wear in the office to get round them.
Anyone else is a sufferer of them?
I have recently in the last few weeks started to notice floaters in both my eyes. I am 34.
Oddly enough I work with eyes on a day to day basis as a retinal screener so I know what they are and where they are in my eye but this also means I know very little can be done about them that it not extremely invasive and risky.
It really got me down about a week or so ago as until then I prided myself on having unaided excellent vision (bar being colourblind).
They move around with my vision and are fixed where they are which is a bit annoying, I find bright lights and computer screens the worst thing for showing them up. Sunlight and bright days are also good at highlighting them.
I have found sunglasses really help, I am thinking about getting some mildly tinted glasses made up to wear in the office to get round them.
Anyone else is a sufferer of them?
Hi
I suffer from these and a couple of years ago my left eye went altogether, it was like looking through a lace curtain !
I went to hospital and got the eye lining Lasered up, this stopped any further deterioration and my eye settled down but i still have a few floaters, i just got used to them.
I've heard a fix for this is to drain the fluid and pressurise the eye with some sort of gas, this sticks the lining back, fluid returns and all's well, but don't quote me on that, might be b******s
I suffer from these and a couple of years ago my left eye went altogether, it was like looking through a lace curtain !
I went to hospital and got the eye lining Lasered up, this stopped any further deterioration and my eye settled down but i still have a few floaters, i just got used to them.
I've heard a fix for this is to drain the fluid and pressurise the eye with some sort of gas, this sticks the lining back, fluid returns and all's well, but don't quote me on that, might be b******s
Get them checked out, often nothing to worry about but as other posts have said can be a sign of a retinal detachment and the sooner that is picked up the better the outcome and less invasive the treatment.
Many areas now have schemes such as WECS in Wales, PEARS or MECS in many English counties which will allow an optician to carry out a free examination to check you out(will involve drops which may make things blurred for an hour or so afterwards).
Many areas now have schemes such as WECS in Wales, PEARS or MECS in many English counties which will allow an optician to carry out a free examination to check you out(will involve drops which may make things blurred for an hour or so afterwards).
This is quite interesting as I didn't have a feckin clue what the OP was on about and had to look it up. It appears I've had these pretty much all my life! I never thought it was a "thing" but I've always had what seemed like dust particles stuck to my eyes, as I can see them moving about when I move my eyeballs. If I jerk my eyeball in one direction I can see the "dust" slide across my eyeball. It's never caused me any problems and eventually they "slide" away out of sight but I also get odd patterns like rings and jagged lines in darkness. The ring patterns moving about are like my own personal fireworks display when in complete darkness. I also really struggle to focus on anything in the daylight for the first 2 hours after waking up - that is the worst time of the day for it for me. On my last eye check just over a year ago the optician said my eyes were in fine fettle with no issues, despite mentioning all this to him. 
Is this a problem then? Should I see a specialist or ignore it?
Is this a problem then? Should I see a specialist or ignore it?
bungz said:
It really got me down about a week or so ago as until then I prided myself on having unaided excellent vision (bar being colourblind).
I have found sunglasses really help, I am thinking about getting some mildly tinted glasses made up to wear in the office to get round them.
Have you seen the enchroma glasses? kill 2 birds with one stone if they will correct your colourblindness as well.I have found sunglasses really help, I am thinking about getting some mildly tinted glasses made up to wear in the office to get round them.
Ive got this and like you, been brought about by looking at screens/more noticeable and white walls.
Went to the opticians on Tuesday as thought it might have been something linked to laser eye surgery i had - apparently the jelly in the eye over time starts to deteriorate and become liquid which then floats around the rest of the eye - hence the shapes.
What i never knew was that if you are short sighted, then your eyeball is bigger than normal.
Also, its not affected my vision either as im still able to see the 2nd line up on the chart
Went to the opticians on Tuesday as thought it might have been something linked to laser eye surgery i had - apparently the jelly in the eye over time starts to deteriorate and become liquid which then floats around the rest of the eye - hence the shapes.
What i never knew was that if you are short sighted, then your eyeball is bigger than normal.
Also, its not affected my vision either as im still able to see the 2nd line up on the chart
It certainly helps. Lotemax is a weaker solution of Maxidex .
I've had Uveitis for over 20 years and it's held in check by a drop of Lotemax ( or Maxidex) 2 or 3 times a week. Sometimes I forget when I've last put the drops in, when I see floaters it's a reminder to put a drop in - the next day the floaters have mostly gone.
I've had Uveitis for over 20 years and it's held in check by a drop of Lotemax ( or Maxidex) 2 or 3 times a week. Sometimes I forget when I've last put the drops in, when I see floaters it's a reminder to put a drop in - the next day the floaters have mostly gone.
NoIP said:
This is quite interesting as I didn't have a feckin clue what the OP was on about and had to look it up. It appears I've had these pretty much all my life! I never thought it was a "thing" but I've always had what seemed like dust particles stuck to my eyes, as I can see them moving about when I move my eyeballs. If I jerk my eyeball in one direction I can see the "dust" slide across my eyeball. It's never caused me any problems and eventually they "slide" away out of sight but I also get odd patterns like rings and jagged lines in darkness. The ring patterns moving about are like my own personal fireworks display when in complete darkness. I also really struggle to focus on anything in the daylight for the first 2 hours after waking up - that is the worst time of the day for it for me. On my last eye check just over a year ago the optician said my eyes were in fine fettle with no issues, despite mentioning all this to him.
Is this a problem then? Should I see a specialist or ignore it?
Same! I also went to the optician and said my vision was perfect???Is this a problem then? Should I see a specialist or ignore it?
Seems to get worse if I'm stressed!
I spoke to a Ophthalmologist at my place of work and has said pretty much what I knew, common only really a issue if they are extreme / could be a retinal detachment.
Advised getting a sight test and just giving myself a once over.
Vision is still 20-20 just bugs me when sitting at a screen all day
Advised getting a sight test and just giving myself a once over.
Vision is still 20-20 just bugs me when sitting at a screen all day
Lutein is an anti-oxidant and along with zeaxanthin may provide benefits in the prevention of age related macula degeneration. Their is a supplement called Vitrocap which claims to improve the collagen structure of the vitreous gel (the jelly which fills the eye ball), however I've not seen any clinical evidence to support it and certainly not heard of any Ophthalmologists advising it. I suppose if floaters really bothered it wouldn't do any harm to try it except the £40 for 90 tablets is quite pricey.
If we are talking about the same thing i have always found them interesting.
They look like bacteria or viruses caught in some sort of magnifying/microscopy aberration.
I try really hard to focus in on them and you can often see what appear to be strings of cells in them.
They last for a few minutes at most and might only occur once every six months.
They look like bacteria or viruses caught in some sort of magnifying/microscopy aberration.
I try really hard to focus in on them and you can often see what appear to be strings of cells in them.
They last for a few minutes at most and might only occur once every six months.
HelenT said:
Lutein is an anti-oxidant and along with zeaxanthin may provide benefits in the prevention of age related macula degeneration. Their is a supplement called Vitrocap which claims to improve the collagen structure of the vitreous gel (the jelly which fills the eye ball), however I've not seen any clinical evidence to support it and certainly not heard of any Ophthalmologists advising it. I suppose if floaters really bothered it wouldn't do any harm to try it except the £40 for 90 tablets is quite pricey.
Don't know where you're looking- I got 240 50mg tablets for £8.40. Recommended intake is 6mg a day so I don't even take them every day.Monty Python said:
Don't know where you're looking- I got 240 50mg tablets for £8.40. Recommended intake is 6mg a day so I don't even take them every day.
Vitrocap (which doesn't contain lutein) has an RRP of £39.99 for 90, if I you can get that for £8.40 I would like to know where fromMr2Mike said:
Ste1987 said:
I've always had "floaters" as well. My understanding was just the fluid in your eyeballs and nothing to worry about?
Same, I thought pretty much everybody had them to some extent? They aren't noticeable unless I stare at a white surface in strong light.Because of a weak left eye I have always had to wear glasses and have regular eye checks.
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