Floaters

[ripper1]

Does anybody get floaters in their eyes. My wife was diagnosed with them in one eye and now starting to get them in here other eye. She said it sometimes is like she is underwater. The opthamologist told us there is nothing that can be done and you just have to get used to them. He said you just have to watch for flashes and like a curtain that comes down. In that case you need immediate medical attention because you could get a detached retina. It is a little scary but I guess we are not getting any younger.

 

[W2R]

I have always had floaters, on and off, since I was just a little kid. My father was a physician and as I recall, he told me that is what they were and he never seemed worried about them. So, I have never worried about them much, either.

Interesting that your wife's doctor seems to associate them with retinal detachment. Quite a few men in my family have had retinal detachments. No women, though, oddly enough. Yes, the curtain dropping down is usually how they describe the experience, plus the flashing sometimes too.

 

[easysurfer]

I've noticed more floaters the last couple of years. At the moment, none. But every so often I'd notice them. When I mentioned this to my optometrist, he didn't seem concerned. Said it's normal with age, as long as I don't start getting lots of them all at once.

 

[Alan]

Does anybody get floaters in their eyes. My wife was diagnosed with them in one eye and now starting to get them in here other eye. She said it sometimes is like she is underwater. The opthamologist told us there is nothing that can be done and you just have to get used to them. He said you just have to watch for flashes and like a curtain that comes down. In that case you need immediate medical attention because you could get a detached retina. It is a little scary but I guess we are not getting any younger.

DW has had them for over 10 years. They worried her at first, but got the same info as you described from her opthalmologist. She doesn't even mention them these days, as she is quite used to them.

 

[Lakewood90712]

Started to get them around 40. It's kind of disturbing at first , but as the doc says, not harmful and ya get used to them

 

[JPatrick]

I've noticed more floaters the last couple of years. At the moment, none. But every so often I'd notice them. When I mentioned this to my optometrist, he didn't seem concerned. Said it's normal with age, as long as I don't start getting lots of them all at once.

Same story here...

 

[Lisa99]

I've had them all my life. More so in the left eye than the right.

 

[bssc]

Here also, for the last 20 years or so in my right eye. My eye doc keeps an eye on them (sorry).

 

[Bestwifeever]

Some floaters disappear but mine have been around so long I've named them. They drive me crazy.

 

[Nords]

Does anybody get floaters in their eyes.

For as long as I can remember.

These days I'll see something moving in my peripheral vision, but eight times out of ten it's a floater... not a centipede.

 

[flyfishnevada]

Ya, for years. I was concerned, but by eye doctor happens to be the same age within a year or two as I am has them too and said no big deal. They are normal and nothing can be done. I got used to them. Now, we're currently seeing who can hold off the longest before we get bifocals.

 

[Nords]

Now, we're currently seeing who can hold off the longest before we get bifocals.

No winners in that competition!

 

[Ronstar]

I've had floaters for years and it seems like I'm getting more as time goes by.

 

[Rambler]

I've had a couple in my right eye, from a year or two after my cataract surgery in 2005. One is a dark one and I often swat at it, thinking it is a gnat. Seem to be getting more, but only tiny little specks. Left eye is clear.

R

 

[LOL!]

I have posterior vitreous detachment in one eye due to an injury. It causes more than just normal floaters. It is also caused by aging. Read up about it: Facts About Vitreous Detachment [NEI Health Information]

 

[eytonxav]

I have posterior vitreous detachment in one eye due to an injury. It causes more than just normal floaters. It is also caused by aging. Read up about it: Facts About Vitreous Detachment [NEI Health Information]

Me too. Just watch out for flashes of light, as that may be a sign of an impending detachment.

 

[happy2bretired]

I've had small floaters for as long as I can remember. A year or two ago I had flashes of light and found out I had a torn retina. After my retina was repaired, my floaters became larger. Some days, they behave themselves and other days they can drive me partially insane. I too have tried to swat that bug...darn bug.

 

[grumpy]

Every time a new doctor has looked at my eyes they have said "don't all those large floaters bother you?" The fact is, that unless I consciously try to see them, I just don't notice them. I have also had a vitreous detachment, which was a bit scary and definitely annoying but it went away in a couple of weeks. I've also been told by a retina specialist that I have something called astrohylosis (?) which makes it difficult for him to view my retinas. There is also macular degeneration in my family so I am pretty disciplined about seeing my opthamologist regularly.

 

[TromboneAl]

IIRC From my schooling, EVERYONE has floaters. It's just that some people don't notice them. Often, someone will start noticing them after some optic procedure. If you don't think you have them, lie on your back and look up at the sky.

IIRC, they are remnants if the hyaloid membrane -- packing tape used during shipping (development) to keep you lens in place.

For me they've gotten more prominent with age. With practice you can sometimes get one to float right over your line of sight so that you look at it directly without it jumping away.

 

[MichaelB]

For me they've gotten more prominent with age. With practice you can sometimes get one to float right over your line of sight so that you look at it directly without it jumping away.

Just one more thing to add to the list of "what do you do all day?

 

[frayne]

Silly me, I thought this thread was going to be about bowel movements !

 

[ksr]

I've had them since I was a teenager, and have just gotten used to them. Normally I don't even think about them. They do tend to move around a bit, so occasionally one will end up in my line of sight and that's when I usually remember that they're there.

 

[ripper1]

Thanks for all the input, Folks.

 

[eytonxav]

Silly me, I thought this thread was going to be about bowel movements !

That type of floater may also be a problem

 

[Ed_The_Gypsy]

Wait! Wait!

I have had them forever, too.

I am majorly near-sighted. A short while ago I had my left lens replaced. The doc could not correct with glasses anymore, and a water cleft to boot (double images in one eye).

The floaters had an algae bloom or something--in the now-good eye. Ya can't win.