Gransnet forums

Health

Floaters in eyes

(44 Posts)
Babs03 Wed 31-Jul-24 21:58:01

For the past few years have suffered from floaters in both eyes, went to the eye clinic at the onset and was told the viscous at the back of my eye had pulled away causing a blood vessel to bleed and cause more floaters but that this is just due to my age, tbh the other eye is just as bad. Nothing untoward was detected though. Was told that my Brain would adjust and I would get used to seeing the world through the floaters.
Years later am still waiting for my brain to adjust. Can impair my vision and is so frustrating because is nothing I can do about it. Eye drops don’t touch it.
Does anyone else have this?

Daffonanna Sat 03-Aug-24 12:42:08

Optician gave me this with instructions to test each eye individually and go back if the lines disappear or become blurred after ( it seems ) a similar diagnosis to OP . She had a pad of them so must affect quite a few .

elliemaeUK7 Sat 03-Aug-24 12:49:21

Yes me too. It’s usually bright sunshine when I’m aware of them.

missdeke Sat 03-Aug-24 12:52:16

Alison333

biglouis

Eyes are certainly wonderful things. I dont use glasses at all except for very close work and am 80 in a few days. Even then I only use reading glasses when I need to concentrate,

One thing I do get from time to time is called kalaidescope vision. It like a series of moving zigzag lights floating in my field of vision. It gradually passes away to the left and is sometimes accompanied by a headache. Usually gone within 15 minutes.

I first noticed it about 10 years ago and it happenes every few months.

That sounds like a form of migraine. I used to have horrible migraines but after the menopause, I started to have exactly what you have described.

However if it gets worse please go to an optician (just in case) where they have those extra scanners - you need eyedrops first but the optometrist can see a lot more. Or, your GP if you can get an appointment!

I have the zigzag in an electric blue and luminous yellow, starts in the middle and gradually expands to the outside until it disappears, diagnosed as visual migraine. Occasionally it leads to a full blown migraine but mostly not thank goodness.

I was also diagnosed some years ago with PVD that the OP mentioned. It hasn't caused me real problems though as I'm so used to the miriad floaters now, just don't like it when one drops downwards because I always think that is a spider dropping from the ceiling.

Missiseff Sat 03-Aug-24 14:12:01

Yes. In one eye. I try not to notice it

knspol Sat 03-Aug-24 14:15:29

Around 10yrs ago I had a sudden vitreous detachment. Terrible headache, flashing lights and then the floaters. Thought I had a detached retina, rang the optician who told me to go to the eye hospital and they diagnosed the vitreous detachment, said it usually happens slowly with age but for some reason mine happened at once. The number of floaters has increased over the years and often think there's a spider or something next to me or in my hair which makes me jump but by all accounts not dangerous in any way.

knspol Sat 03-Aug-24 14:20:13

biglouis

Eyes are certainly wonderful things. I dont use glasses at all except for very close work and am 80 in a few days. Even then I only use reading glasses when I need to concentrate,

One thing I do get from time to time is called kalaidescope vision. It like a series of moving zigzag lights floating in my field of vision. It gradually passes away to the left and is sometimes accompanied by a headache. Usually gone within 15 minutes.

I first noticed it about 10 years ago and it happenes every few months.

I have had exactly the same thing for years. Always starts with zigzags in left eye followed by blurring and then this goes away and I get a bad headache in the right eye which can last for a few hours. Used to suffer from migraines and just assume it's a milder form of that.

3nanny6 Sat 03-Aug-24 14:27:21

Like reading this thread as I just thought my eyesight was slowly deteriorating (due to age) but it seems these floaters are fairly common. My eyes feel a bit blurry in the morning but then start to focus better when properly awake. I have found that bright glary sun makes the eyes worse and this week with the fan on a lot my eyes felt they had dust in. My eye test is due soon so will ask them what new tests they have I just accept my sight is different now but often my eyes do get really tired.

rowyn Sat 03-Aug-24 14:30:36

That's weird. I've been going to my eye clinic for most of my life ( glaucoma suspect) but after being seen in January 2023 they forgot about me.
In November I went into hospital with a pulmomary embolism and came out not long before Christmas. I'd noticed that I was finding it more and more difficult to read , and no longer trusted myself to drive at night, so made an appointment at the opticians in January 2024, thinking I needed new glasses. I had some test done on a screen - same as the eye clinic use sometimes, and she immediately said that she couldn't prescribe glasses and she was going to refer me back to the eye clinic as the eye which had had a cataract op done a few years earlier had haemorrhaging in the blood vessels behind my eye, and the other eye now needed a cataract op.
To cut a long story short, the eye with the haemorrhaging was given laser treatment , after which I sat at the computer seeing clearly but saw all these black insects crawling round the ceiling! It's a good job that I had read that I might see floaters after laser surgeryas They really did look like insects - and they had gone by the next

I had to wait a few months for the cataract op, and since then have just t his week had more laser surgery on the same eye , but this time no floaters.
So it seems that you were told the opposite - bleeding blood cells caused the floaters. whereas I was given laser treatment for a similar thing , and got (temporary ) floaters as a result.
So, Babs03 I really think that you must insist on a referral to an eye specialist.

rowyn Sat 03-Aug-24 14:40:07

Haven't cracked how to put the message I'm referring to above this, so please take note if you sometimes see .FLASHING Zig Zag lights. I would describe them as rather like sebra crossings - stripy black and white

I had them for years and learned to just be patient and they would go away - until the next time, but they didn't happen that often.

THEN wonder of wonders, one day I idly searched through some of the old posts to see if anyone else had mentioned something similar and eventually found a really Helpful post which informed me that I was experiencing OCULAR MIGRAINE. I was advised to take paracetamol. AND IT WORKS.

gulligranny Sat 03-Aug-24 14:42:44

I also used to get the flashing zigzag lights, put it down to ocular migraines. Then my GP put me on medication for raised blood pressure and I haven't had the flashing lights since, so might be helpful to get blood pressure checked too.

dotpocka Sat 03-Aug-24 14:48:10

there is cure but will have to find i live usa
ebay and amazon
Natural Ophthalmics Floater Eye Pellets/Oral Homeopathic
takes about a week week or to
after operations on my eyes used them

Candelle Sun 04-Aug-24 00:04:11

Due to my past history (a macular hole requiring surgery) when I saw black and white triangles in a linear pattern, I shot off to the eye clinic.

I was advised that these were occular migraines and were of no of concern.

If anyone should see anything abnormal in their vision, please have it checked. Some conditions, such as occular migraine are nothing to worry about however, others are, so please be checked.

nanna8 Sun 04-Aug-24 00:24:05

The macular hole surgery was fine but laying facedown for 2 weeks afterwards was awful. I only lasted 10 days! Drove me round the twist.

Rosiebee Sun 04-Aug-24 08:54:47

Another shout out for the flashing lights. My optician called it a silent migraine as I don't fortunately get a headache. I've had them exactly as described, like a small arc of lights that moves to the left, getting bigger then after about 15 minutes disappears from view. I usually lie down and close my eyes until they've gone. My Sparkles, I call them. First had them nearly 50 years ago but this is the first time I've heard someone else describe them. I can go a year or more without them, then like last week they pop up again for no apparent reason. First couple of times I linked them to stressful situations but now they just seem random. Thanks big louis for bringing this up.

welbeck Sun 04-Aug-24 10:29:45

recently i've noticed slight golden flashes out of the corner of one eye, when i blink sometimes.
i thought it was reflections from my glasses, but it happens without them on also.
should i be worried.
had regular eye test in feb as glasses got broken when i fell; (not related, rushing, tripped on uneven paving).

Cyclone Sun 04-Aug-24 13:15:15

I had a horrendous first cataract due to wrong
measurements, went back for second cataract and doctor said he could only level my eyes up. So disappointed after working at the Manchester Eye hospital for 24 years. I am still wearing glasses. Got lots of floaters at the moment

oodles Sun 04-Aug-24 20:15:47

I've had PVD, first on one eyez as well as floaters, flashes of light, I was referred to the eye hospital and all was well apart from that. aThe flashes stopped, once the gelly detached fully. Same thing happened with my second eye. I know to seek help if anything untoward happens
The optician picked up a bleed behind my eye on a routine inspection, that was blood pressure and prediabetes, pleased to say that has healed now my general health is better
Never ignore problems with your eyes or a routine eye test

loopyloo Mon 05-Aug-24 07:19:53

So agree. I have always had the occasional ocular migraine but since I started on Ramipril for slightly raised blood pressure they've stopped
So if you have these cut glass episodes watch your blood pressure.