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What
are floaters?
Floaters are dark specks in the form of dots, circles,
lines or cobwebs that seem to move across your field
of vision.
They are most noticeable when you are looking at a light-coloured
background, such as a clear sky or a white wall.
Floaters come in many sizes and numbers, and they seem
to move when you look in different directions.
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What
causes floaters?
Floaters
are small clumps of visible material within the vitreous.
(Gel-like substance that gives the eye it's shape.)
Although floaters seem to be in front of you, they are
actually floating within the vitreous and the retina
sees them as shadows. Sometimes floaters occur because
your eye is irritated, or because there are crystal-like
deposits in the vitreous.
As we get older, the vitreous shrinks and separates
from the retina. As this separation occurs, floaters
may appear.
In about half of all people, the vitreous has separated
from the retina by age 50, although many people are
not aware that this process has occurred in their eye(s).
At first, floaters can be annoying, but your brain slowly
learns to ignore them. After several months you may
hardly notice them. Most of the time, the vitreous separates
from the retina without any problem. However, in some
people, the vitreous remains attached to parts of the
retina, causing the retina to tear as the vitreous separates
from it. There may be some bleeding into the vitreous
associated with a retinal tear, which results in a new
"shower" of floaters. Tears in the retina
should be repaired right away. A retinal tear can develop
into a retinal detachment,
which is a serious threat to vision. Retinal tears can
usually be repaired without a hospital stay, but it
may take a major operation to fix a retinal detachment.
Certain people, such as those who are nearsighted and
those who ave had a cataract operation or an eye injury,
have a higher risk of retinal tears and retinal detachment.
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How
do I know if the floaters are signs of a problem?
In order for the doctor to tell whether there is a more
serious problem, you must have dilating drops put in
your eye so that the pupils dilate and the doctor can
examine the back of the eye. He will then look at the
retina and see if the floaters are due to a retinal
tear that needs to be repaired. If you notice the appearance
of new floaters, you should see you ophthalmologist.
What can I do about floaters?
Floaters may sometimes interfere with your vision, especially
when you are reading. If a floater appears right in
your line of vision, move your eye around. This makes
the vitreous swirl around and moves the floater out
of the way.
Looking up and down rather than from side to side causes
different currents inside the eye and may help to get
the floater out of the way. Surgery is almost never
needed for floaters.
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What
are flashing lights?
When flashing lights occur, you may think that you see
lights going on and off, especially to one side. These
tend to happen in only one eye at a time, even when your
eye is closed.
What causes flashing lights?
The vitreous sometimes pulls on the retina. This may cause
you to see flashing lights or lightning streaks, even
though there aren't any such lights present. This is the
same thing that occurs when you get hit in the eye and
"see stars" or when you rub your eye. When the
vitreous separates from the retina, you may see flashing
lights once in a while, for a few weeks.
If you see jagged lines of light that last 10 to 20 minutes
and happen in one or both eyes, that is probably a migraine
caused by the spasm of blood vessels in the brain. If
you develop a headache after, it is called a "migraine
headache."
If you don't develop a headache after, the light flashes
are called "ophthalmic migraine" or "migraine
without headache."
How do I know if the flashing lights are signs of a
problem?
Most of the time the vitreous separates from the retina
with out causing any symptoms. Sometimes, however, there
is a
sudden occurrence of flashing or even with a blackening
out of part of the field of vision. If this happens, you
should see your ophthalmologist right away to find out
if you have a retinal tear or retinal
detachment.
If there is a problem what treatment will I need?
Retinal tears require treatment to prevent the retina
from detaching. Retinal detachment is a serious problem
that often requires surgery.
Canadian Ophthalmological Society
1525 Carling Ave, Suite 610
Ottawa, ON Canada K1Z 8R9 |
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Interior Retina, Kamloops, B.C.,
Canada, Dr. Peter Hopp, argon laser treatments for diabetic retinopathy,
branch retinal vein occlusions, clinically significant macular edema,
central serous retinopathy, lattice degeneration, macular edema
and retinal tears, retinal detachments, vitreous hemorrhages, dropped
nucleuses, macular holes
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laser treatment of the retina,
laser treatment for glaucoma, laser treatment for diabetic eye disease,
laser treatment for certain types of macular degeneration,surgery
for cataracts, retinal detachment, macular hole, epiretinal membrane,
diabetic retinal disease,vitreous hemorrhages, chalazion excision,
entropion, other miscellaneous retinal and vitreous disorders
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Interior Retina, Kamloops, B.C.,
Canada, Dr. Peter Hopp, argon laser treatments for diabetic retinopathy,
branch retinal vein occlusions, clinically significant macular edema,
central serous retinopathy, lattice degeneration, macular edema
and retinal tears, retinal detachments, vitreous hemorrhages, dropped
nucleuses, macular holes
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Interior Retina provides treatment
and management of glaucoma, iritis, scleritis, vein/artery occlusions,
diabetic eye diseases, corneal abrasions, double vision, floaters,
optic neuritis, uveitis and after-cataracts.
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