Floaters

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Posted: Fri Feb 29, 2008 12:30 pm

Nothing to do with my bathroom blog, I suddenly have a big floater in my right eye. The other night I kept getting flashes in the corner of my eye, since then a giant blurg keeps swimming past.

A quick Google tells me that these are normal with age, as the jelly stuff in my eyes contract, and the floater will sink or I'll get used to it. Worrying though.

Anyone else got these? Any advice?

Posted: Fri Feb 29, 2008 12:34 pm

I've had them in one form or another for quite a while now. You pretty much just get used to them. I wish I had better news for you. Mine seem worse later in the day, but some days I don't notice it at all.

Posted: Fri Feb 29, 2008 12:36 pm

i have had floaters all my life. there nthing you can do about them. sometimes they get so bad its like looking though a wad of balled up used dental floss. it defects in the fluid in your eye

Posted: Fri Feb 29, 2008 12:39 pm

Having been scared by some of the stuff I've read about retinal detachment (The flashes were a possible symptom of this) I'm off to see my optician (I'm short sighted and a contact lens wearer) next week.

Posted: Fri Feb 29, 2008 12:50 pm

if your getting "flashes" in your eyes or a "watery" looking circle that starts in the center and slowly grows outwards like a growing O check your bloodpressure, if its up it can be putting pressure on your optic nerve.

Baiting Guru Joined: 04 Jan 2006 Posts: 3193

I had that after an eye exam (I blame the blast of air they hit my eyeball with). I talked to the optician and he told me to go to the Eye A&E at the local hospital. They give you some eye drops to dilate the pupil, then stick a big machine to it and examine the whole retina. Dead easy, no pain, just a little scary. Take some mp3s because it will take ages to get seen and once the drops are in you can't see to read. For the same reason, don't drive there.

It's almost certainly nothing to worry about.

Posted: Fri Feb 29, 2008 1:29 pm

so thats what they are called. I have had "floaters" in my eyes for as long as I can remember. I only see them when looking against a monochromic surface though.

Posted: Fri Feb 29, 2008 2:06 pm

Roy, I get them occasionally. I'm very short sighted and worn glasses virtually all my life.

I don't know how old you are but get yourself to your GP for a check up and some reassurance. Obviously, explain any other symptoms you may have.

Maybe you have some dust in your eye from your recent bathroom exertions?

Posted: Fri Feb 29, 2008 2:52 pm

I had a floater in one eye because of a bar room brawl and the black eye I ended up with. It eventually went away. Glad you are going to the docs best to check these things out. Cool

Posted: Fri Feb 29, 2008 3:12 pm

Quote:

I had a floater in one eye because of a bar room brawl and the black eye I ended up with.

Is this a person you want to be with? Claims to be female, and has this happen?

I'm thinking biker chick and Sonny out side with his Harley and 20 guys ready to mess with you

OK,, I had a bad experience at a lap dance place in LA once

It was the tattoo reading Property of the Oakland Chapter Hells Angels on her butt that worried me

Nice lady though

Posted: Fri Feb 29, 2008 7:12 pm

^^^Actually I was the innocent bystander. I was sitting in a booth with some girlfriends when this drunk sat down beside me. He ordered a pitcher of beer. When the beer arrived he had no money to pay for it and the waiter went bezerk on his ass. He grabbed him by the neck and swung to hit him but he missed hitting the drunk and got me in the eye instead. One big honker of a black eye too. This is why I never sit in booths - ever.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it!

Posted: Fri Feb 29, 2008 8:22 pm

I have very small ones I rarely notice unless the light conditions and surroundings are right. With the eye surgery they have now, Docs can shoot your larger floaters and break them up with lasers. I remember reading about this a while ago and as technology gets exponentially better, there is less and less to worry about with eye surgery. Not that there is much to worry about now anyway, as eye surgery isn't really new anymore.

Master of Master Baiters Joined: 09 Aug 2007 Posts: 593

[quote="Casual Occurance"]Not that there is much to worry about now anyway, as eye surgery isn't really new anymore.[/quote]
Neither is the electric chair!

Btw what is exactly is a floater (of the optical kind?) Is it one of those things that you'll know when you have one?

Posted: Sat Mar 01, 2008 6:06 am

^^^This is what a floater is:

http://www.allaboutvision.com/conditions/spotsfloats.htm

Master Baiter Joined: 01 Oct 2006 Posts: 237

Roycropper wrote:

Having been scared by some of the stuff I've read about retinal detachment (The flashes were a possible symptom of this) I'm off to see my optician (I'm short sighted and a contact lens wearer) next week.

Glad to see you post this. I know this is a huge "what are the odds," but...My dad had just a few weird flashes about 14 months ago, but it off to overtiredness and out in the sun too much, and didn't think anything of it. 10 days later he dropped by and was helping me with a few projects around the house and seemed fine. An hour after he left he called from the ER saying he had left and gone to Urgent Care after my house b/c they were doing it again (and told me about the first time) and it worried him. Wound up having emergency surgery 8 hours later. Severely detached retinas in both eyes. Doctors were puzzled that a healthy and relatively young guy had that happen and had no recent (or otherwise, for that matter) head trauma, and they're to this day both perplexed and just shocked he has his eyesight at all.

While extremely odd, and not to worry anyone, after that whole thing and Christmas that year with him unable to see while they tried to hang on after the one eye to wait the two weeks for the other, I have definitely seen that suddenly weird going-ons with eye things are not something worth ignoring.

Like I said, I know his situation is very unique, and it's far more likely to be innocuous, but definitely not worth the risk!!

Posted: Sat Mar 01, 2008 12:19 pm

Roycropper wrote:

I suddenly have a big floater in my right eye. The other night I kept getting flashes in the corner of my eye, since then a giant blurg keeps swimming past.

Floaters are normal. Flashes combined with sudden floaters aren't. Go see ophthalmologist, preferably today if you can.

Posted: Sat Mar 01, 2008 12:27 pm

Roycropper wrote:

Having been scared by some of the stuff I've read about retinal detachment (The flashes were a possible symptom of this) I'm off to see my optician (I'm short sighted and a contact lens wearer) next week.

Probably a good idea. It could just be dust and gunk you've beene exposed to during your bathroom renos but better safe than sorry.

Master Baiter Joined: 06 Nov 2005 Posts: 233 Location: USA

Roy, get it checked out, just in case. If it IS a 'regular' floater, your brain learns to filter it out, and in a few days you won't notice it.

Posted: Wed Mar 05, 2008 8:19 pm

Right, you're not the only ones who take this seriously. The optician put something in my eye to dilate the pupil, so I look like David Bowie (If you dont know what I'm on about, take a close look at his pupils on a good photo), and made extra room for me in his schedule. He wasn't sure but thought he could see a small irregularity up in the top corner, and sent me straight to A&E. They're not sure either, so 9am tommorow I have an appointment at the eye clinic at Weatherfield Royal.

I'll keep you posted. It hasn't got worse, but as the optician said, a small tear can become a big one.

Baiting Guru Joined: 19 Mar 2007 Posts: 2628

Good luck tommorow, Roy
Might be an idea not to drive there tho'
They may dilate the eye again
Wonder if they'll use that dye that turns your tears ( and wee ) a funny colour. I only know about it as hubby had an eye exam where they wanted to see what was going on in his retina and injected this dye.
Nice bright colours

Posted: Wed Mar 05, 2008 9:22 pm

I actually had an eye exam today to see if I had glaucoma. Thankfully I've been cleared now, but advised to make my optician appointments yearly instead of every other year so anything that does change will be spotted quicker. Losing my eyesight is one of my biggest fears, and I had to wait 9 months between exams so they could check for any changes. It was NOT a fun 9 months, I can tell you. Crying or Very sad

Posted: Thu Mar 06, 2008 12:06 pm

Just got back on the bus, they told me not to drive. Both pupils are dilated like crazy, my Mum used to check mine when I was a teenager to see if I'd been up to no good.

Foxy Indian Eye doctor said she was jealous of my long eye lashes when they kept getting in the way. Much peering into my eyes ( she must've fancied me too) and bright lights, , then she attached a 'contact lens' the size of a golf ball to my eye, apparently full of lenses and mirrors.

Verdict was no lasting damage, but the jelly stuff in my eye is shrinking and had pulled away slightly, no tear though. I have to keep an eye on it Smile

and go back if anything new happens.

Baiting Guru Joined: 19 Mar 2007 Posts: 2628

Glad all seems to be relatively OK for both you, Roy ,and Wayne.

Posted: Thu Mar 06, 2008 4:28 pm

Get a second opinion.

Posted: Thu Mar 06, 2008 4:35 pm

^^^ OK you need a diffrent hair style