New eye floaters

[esgill]

I'm 32. I had vitrectomies in both eyes 7 years ago for terrible floaters that covered my vision. I'm 5 weeks postpartum and recently developed a chalazion for which I used an optase heat compression pad. Suddenly I have new floaters, as of yesterday, I think in my right eye. They are nowhere near as bad as the ones I had before but I still find them really upsetting.

Not sure if caused by hormones, breastfeeding, the heat pad, but I wondered, how common are floaters? The non-debilitating ones that people get used to? I have a long collagen-like strand that looks more like a shadowy cobweb in some lights. These are not the type that look likes flies covering my vision and don't appear in low light, mainly where it's sunny. They also seem to go to the bottom of my vision and disappear from view for a bit unlike my old ones.

Any personal experiences of developing floaters and did you get used to it/how long did it take?

I have floaters and did have a lot of flashes but these have lessened. I am a lot older than you though at 56. They started 18 months ago and I had pupil size changes in one eye on waking which would then subside.
I was terrified it was Horner’s Syndrome (am a retired nurse) and had lots of investigations but the pupil changes stopped after a couple of months.
The floaters are annoying but the hospital told me nothing to worry about and just to let them know if things suddenly got worse.

@Blackcats7 thanks for your answer, do they bother you? Mine bothered me terribly but these seem less severe. Just trying to figure out what is normal and what you neuroadapt to as my previous experience was so awful and these new ones are bringing back bad memories...

They are more noticeable depending on what I am looking at. If I look at something on a white background or pale sky I can see them more but mostly I have got used to it as a low level irritation.
I was more bothered by the very frequent flashes (20 a day, now more like 2) plus as long as I know it isn’t linked to anything scary then I can live with it.
I am disabled and have cancer anyway so for me this is small potatoes in my hierarchy of worries but the pupil size changes were very frightening.
I would hope you will find it becomes your new normal and you think about the floaters less and less as the weeks/ months go on.

I think you should get them checked out, to be on the safe side.

When my floaters appear, I close my eyes, look slowly up to the ceiling and then down to the floor, keeping my head very still. Repeat a dozen times and they've usually gone. The opthalmology nurse said that this lodges the debris out of sight - side to side doesn't work for some reason! Hope this helps.

what TiredArse said. A batch of new floaters should be checked, as should flashing lights.

My optician told me they are a legacy from being born.
Ive learned to live with them but in poor light I can’t see people’s features across a room because they occlude my vision.
You will get used to them, just as you did before.
Sending a handhold and hoping some of the good advice on here will help yo calm you.

What do your floaters look like?

I never got used to them before. I had very severe ones that made me unable to read and see faces well so I had surgery.

@Blackcats7 so sorry to hear you have cancer and other issues to deal with. Life does often seem to be about accumulating problems — and hopefully getting rid of some of them. Wishing you well.

I have been noticing these too in the last few weeks. Mine are like floating dust particles and a cobweb. This morning I thought I could see a fly flying around but there wasn't one.

Before I realised what they were I actually tried to clean them off my glasses but, of course, that doesn't work. 🙄

My optometrist has told me that mine are not harmful and that almost everyone actually gets floaters, whether they notice them or not. They would be unlikely to be considered harmful unless there was evidence of tearing to the retina, if I understood her correctly. I don't have that, and apparently the majority of cases don't. That's reassuring, but doesn't stop the floaters from being a nuisance though.

I'm no expert and I think it is something you should get checked out as you seem to have new ones appearing? Just for peace of mind.

I am being investigated for possible glaucoma, but it isn't related to the floaters, I am assured. It is a separate condition affecting the optic nerve.

You need to make an urgent appointment to have your eyes checked either by an optician who can do a dilating exam or by an eye department in A and E. Any new floaters like this can indicate a retinal detachment or retinal tear - I’m sure you’re aware of this, so it needs checking.

(I have severe myopia -9.50 both eyes and retinal issues).

I'll get them checked out but it's not many compared with what I had so I'm not overly concerned, Mainly annoyed. Hope I'll get used to them or that they'll disappear...

@esgill you definitely need to contact the surgeon who carried out the vitrectomy. It's not a usual procedure to have been done in this country for floaters.

Other people's experiences aren't really relevant as your vitreous is no longer the same as theirs and neither is the link between your retina and vitreous.

I suspect the heat from the eye pack has congealed the replaced fluid - but there are other methods of replacing the vitreous gel. It may be that they only replaced the anterior vitreous and the posterior part is pulling causing the floaters.

Anyway you need to contact your surgeon tomorrow - and don't use the heat bag.

@Station11 vitrectomy for debilitating floaters is performed everywhere — it was life changing for me in both eyes. The new floaters are no way near as bad. They replace the vitreous gel with saline solution that cannot congeal and cause floaters. The new floaters must have come from the tiny bit of vitreous my surgeon left on the lens to avoid instant cataract, so my floaters will probably be like other people’s. The only benefit is they are not lingering constantly in the centre of my vision, not trapped by the gel.

I’m speaking with my doctor today.

This is cut and pasted from the association of vitreo-retinal surgeons website.
"Since floaters do not harm the eye, and in the vast majority of people, they do not cause a significant problem, we generally do not recommend any form of treatment for them. It is possible to carry out an operation to the eye to remove the vitreous gel (vitrectomy), which will also remove the floaters. Very occasionally, this course of treatment is useful in people with very severe floaters or in those who are cannot adapt to them."

It's a rare procedure to have in this country, that is a fact rather than my opinion - there were fewer than 200 vitrectomies carried out for primary floaters in 2021. Most surgeons won't do it as the procedure carries significant risks and you're operating on a heathy eye.

But you've had it done and it's been successful which is great, but my point was that your eye no longer has the same relationship between the structures in the posterior chamber.

It's not always a saline solution which is used either, it varies and depends on how long ago you had it done.

Anyway, hope you get it sorted.

@Station11 yep, I'm from the small subset of people for whom surgery was essential... Healthy only in theory. It sure as hell didn't feel or look healthy.

My new floater isn't unlike my old ones, just less in my central vision (and it sometimes disappears from view altogether) and less prominent at night. I am wondering if having a longish worm-like floater is normal and whether this is the type you can neuroadapt to, or whether I'm going to see this for life. With my old floaters, I saw them all the time, even at night. Some were trapped in limited movements so I had constant big gnat-like floaters dashing back and forth and the most giant tapeworm like floater right close to my retina. I have another like this now unfortunately but it's less defined and feels further away from my retina.

It's early days (I only noticed this on Wednesday) so hope I can adapt. Otherwise, I guess I can have another vitrectomy rinse when I eventually have to get cataract surgery.

Meant to say, I saw an optician today. All looking good. She said maybe I have very early signs of cataract but can't tell. She couldn't see the floaters that are bothering me. Retina looks healthy.