Do you get floaters in your eyes?

[Twiglett]

When I was pregnant with DS I had a retinal hemmorhage which knocked out the sight in my right eye for about 8 months .. I've been left with an infinitesimal small blind spot (eg if I read a book with just that eye I would lose sight of the 4th word along the line from where I'm looking .. but have peripheral vision past there ... see .. that's kind of small)

anyhow since the hemorrhage I've had a floater in the other eye .. but I'm still conscious of it .. about 6 years later .. I've started getting some visual disturbances too .. but don't know if that's just cos I'm super-conscious of my eyes .. almost like I'm looking at my eyeball rather than through it

oh gawd does that make any sense at all?

I get alot of floaters, i have no idea why

I've had floaters all my life - they're annoying sometimes but I'm used to them and generally they don't bother me.

If you're starting to get other visual disturbances as well, though, you should really get it checked out.

yeah I'm going tomorrow for an eye test .. thanks WWB

just wondering in advance

feel more comfortable with sunglasses on atm

PS does DD still like her shirt?

It would be normal to have a residual floater with your history but I always advise patients to let us know if they have any unusual changes in vision. Sounds like you need to go in for a dilation just to be on the safe side.

ooo .. an expert

its in the other eye though .. does that make a difference (ie the floater is in my left .. the hemmorhage was my right)

by dilation do you mean go back to Moorfields Eye Hospital .. or would a D&A eye test be sufficient at this stage?

thanks jabberwocky

I only noticed when I moved to the coast in all honesty, as the light is so different down here!

Twigs, she loves her shirt - it's a devil to get her into anything else at the moment!

Can I ask... what's an eye floater?

it's when they put some drops on your eyeball to make your pupils dilate isn't it? I would have thought that's a Moorfields job.

I went there for a couple of floaters and they dilated my pupils and checked it out and it was fine (hated the dilation though - everything looked far too bright). Does take a couple of hours of hanging around though.

I don't know what they're made of flamey, but they are things floating inside your eyeball which show up as black specks in your field of vision.

a floater is like a black speck in your vision .. but it gently floats down your field of vision with gravity so doesn't hang around long on each blink .. I assume its a tiny of speck of blood that hasn't been absorbed

they are extremely common but normally not noticeable ... unless you've had visual problems which can make you super-sensitive

Oooh - learn something new everyday. Thank you

I've always had loads of floaters too, but agree with others that with your history it wouldn't hurt to get it checked out. Surely D&A will be able to advise as to whether you need to get an appt at Moorfields to check in more detail?

Had to step away for a minute, twig. Okay, so it's the other eye. Still, having had a detachment in the one eye you are, unfortunately, at higher risk for problems in the other eye. Not sure how the system works in the UK. Here we can do a dilatin during a standard eye exam, no problem, and then refer to a retina specialist if we find something wrong.

btw, yes, I know patients hate to be dilated. Just a necessary evil sometimes

eek, "dilation"

thanks jabberwocky .. much obliged

Jabberwocky, I have loads of floaters, and they bother me a bit Some are quite big. Are they a cause for concern?

I think it's always worth getting a baseline evaluation on your floaters to make sure that they are just benign floaters. I generally explain them as when the "jelly part" i.e. vitreous gets clumpy. But, as in twiglett's case, sometimes they can be due to other factors. Once they have been diagnosed, then as long as they stay the same there's no problem. They are really annoying, but again, a vitreous floater does not harm the eye, you just want to make sure it has been properly diagnosed.

HTH

Hi everyone
I tend to have a few problems with my eyes. I am short sighted for a start. Anyway after dd2 during the pnd phase i had hallucinations. I went to my GP who recommended a trip to the opticians. While I was there I asked about the floaters in my eyes - I have them quite badly - and the optician told me that they were just clumps of dead cells from the back of the eye. She gave my eyes a thorough exam and a visual field test and although she said there was nothing she could do about the floaters it made me feel better that I was taken seriously. I have noticed that they are more prominent in natural light and if I am dehydrated though no link between floaters and dehydration has been found. Go to opticians first and if you are not satisfied then go for a private hospital exam or get gp to refer you.

Does anyone get the spakly silver floaters when they stand up to quick?

waterfalls - I think those are to do with changes in blood pressure. They can be a sign of high blood pressure as well - one of the things to look out for with pre-eclampsia I think.

I get them sometimes - they go away after a few seconds.

I have floaters all the time, am very short-sighted! Waterfalls, I get those sparkly stars when I get up too quick as well or sometimes everything goes black for a second then vision returns. Had them for as long as I can remember.

how did the visit go, twiglett?

oh thanks for asking .. all fine and totally reassured that its normal

also nice to know I still have better than 20:20 vision .. .smug

That's nice to know.

On both accounts. Just think, you could still visually qualify to fly fighter planes