Increase in floaters in one eye?

[Arraminta]

Over the last few days have noticed an increase in floaters/squiggles in my left eye. No pain or soreness but it's really annoying me.

I vaguely remember my optician mentioning something about my left eye at my last exam, but cannot for the life of me remember what it was?

Is there anything I can do to get rid of them?

Oh and lay off the alcohol, being sick will exacerbate any issue with a retinal tear.

I have had 2 detached Retinas. 1st one was operated on the next day , a Saturday ! The 2nd , same eye , different area, was operated on the same day. Please don’t leave it , it really is urgent and your sight is at risk.
oh and Opticians will send you to the Eye Clinic of your local hospital. They can’t treat the problem. Good luck.

You came asking for advice and you’re just going to ignore several people telling you not to delay?
Opticians should be relatively quiet today. Many are probably just open this morning. If it’s just a PVD you can then relax over Xmas. If it’s an RD things could be much worse in 3 days time.

OP, not meaning to harass you, of course you can do what you want but important to know the risks as sight is so precious. Getting seen early could prevent things getting worse if there is a problem.
Or you may be told everything is OK and can relax and enjoy Christmas.

From RNIB site

"...If someone does develop a retinal tear from a PVD, it tends to occur when the PVD symptoms first begin or if the symptoms noticeably increase. Having your eyes examined on the same day or within 24 hours of the start of new or worsening symptoms means that your ophthalmologist or optometrist can look for any signs of retinal tear or detachment..."

An increase in floaters means that something has gone into the vitreous, usually from the retina and possibly through a hole or tear in the retina.
If you can see clearly and aren't getting any flashing lights or cobwebs across your vision and it's been a few days, you're probably fine to wait until the 27th.

However, it's possible that you have a slow detachment, which may only become apparent on Christmas Day for example.

If you can, it's definitely worth getting it checked by your optician this morning.

Op why would anyone gamble with their sight for the sake of Christmas.
Get an appointment today. Opticians normally have some emergency appointment available.

Not to mention if it's nothing then you'll be worrying for 2 days about nothing.

You would rather risk blindness than a trip to an optician because it's Christmas eve?

Re A&E. Rather than go to your usual A&E it is better to ring 111 and get a referral to your nearest eye A&E.
normal a and D would need to refer you to an eye A&E anyway and getting a 111 referral will avoid you having to wait around for hours probably in a totally different hospital in order to get the referral.
Also, if it does develop into something more serious in the meantime, if you live remotely near to London, then go to Moorfields City Road. This is the only 24 hour Eye A&E and I think you can just turn up..

As the veteran of several posterior vitreous detachments (in my early 30s), I would strongly encourage you to be seen today. PVDs can probably wait, but retina detachments can't and the symptoms are the same.

DB lost the sight in one eye earlier this year (through a completely different set of circumstances). It's not a great situation to be in.

The thing is, OP could wait hours at A&E only to be told it’s a PVD. Better to see an optician and then a direct referral to eye casualty if it is necessary. Much easier for them to triage the referral if they know what the issue is

I lost central sight in one eye with a retinal bleed, many years ago before laser treatment. It's not worth waiting.

Right up there is pointless threads where OP asks for advice then ignores it . 🙄

Not A&E, opticians is your best bet. And today.

Assuming you didn't go before, how was your appointment today?

Hi, thank you for asking. Apparently, I have Posterior Vitreous Detachment and even though it's incredibly annoying, there's nothing my optician can do about it.

You will eventually stop being aware of them as your brain learns to ignore them but that will take a few months. The analogy I use is the break up of a relationship. At first it's all you can think about, then you have days when you don't and eventually you realise it's been weeks since you thought about them.

I'm glad it's nothing more serious.

As per pp you will notice it less as your brain adjusts to it, I don't see the flashes of light in my my left eye at all now and those in my right much less than when it began

Thank you. At the moment it's really distracting, but hopefully it will fade a lot.

This is a form of health anxiety and I suspect you're probably the poster who posts about this a lot

The only advice is to ignore them. Then they go away - although you can always conjure them up by looking at a white wall and 'summoning them!'

It's highly unlikely to be anything sinister and you're not about to lose your eyeballs or anything

Any optician will tell you a sudden increase in floaters needs checking out though

Nope, this is the only time I have ever posted about floaters. I only noticed them about a week ago.