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[tehrik-e-insaaf]

My first contribution to Off-Topic... and a pretty interesting Q at that.

Anyone here have floaters in either of their eyes? If so, do they interfere with your gaming? What about other activities? Have you sought a way to fix them? How old were you when you first noticed them?

Myself, I got my first floater in my left eye 3-4 weeks ago, and it drives me nuts. Makes it impossible to work on a computer and leaves me with chronic headaches. Since mine is so close to the Retina, there is no way to fix it and thus I am stuck with a huge black shadow in my left field of vision for the rest of my life (unless some breakthrough discovery occurs when Opthalmologists stop calling people who are suffering from this condition "whiney kids")

Wondering if anyone here has experienced the same pain.

 

[MrAngryFace]

I have a like a gajillion of them, they're always floating around. You learn to ignore them. My eyesight is royally fucked tho. I also get migranes from light

 

[tehrik-e-insaaf]

To top it off, I have started noticing more floaters in my left eye the past couple of days, and now going outside results in me being unable to look into the sky without seeing blackness...

 

[DarienA]

I have some small ones but I don't notice them most of the time... of course now that you've created this thread... I'm noticing them... damn you....

 

[Shompola]

I believe everyone has them just we don't constantly think about them thus we forget about them altogether.

 

[tehrik-e-insaaf]

I wish I could stop "thinking" about them, but I literally have to close my left eye to even read anything since the shadow it casts on my retina is so big

 

[MrAngryFace]

TOTAL ECLIPSE OF THE HEART

 

[dem]

You're a bastard for making this thread

 

[thomaser]

I've had lots for most of this year. The weird thing is that they've been coming and going a bit... I first got them three-four years ago, had them for half a year, and then they disappeared for a while. They're irritating when using the computer, reading, and sometimes outside if the sky is blue or it's snowy, but you get used to it.

I have small "lights" too that appear for a second and then go away. I've read that they're bad signs, but my eyedoctor said that they're just another variant of the floaters. There's not much to do with floaters anyway, but, as I've experienced, they sometimes go away. My mother also used to have lots, but most of them disappeared when she started using glasses. I got mine first after using contact lenses for a year, so maybe that has something to do with it.

 

[tehrik-e-insaaf]

actually i have noticed the tiny dots of light too... it occurs a few times a day... Opthal doesn't seem to care... but he is content charging 700 dollars for 10 minute consultations...

 

[evil solrac v3.0]

i sometimes leave floaters. is that the same thing?

 

[miyuru]

I don't even know what a floater is...so if I have them, I probably don't notice, which is the same as not having them, at least mentally

 

[way more]

I only notice them when I have a massive hangover.

 

[Hollywood]

Yeah I've had them for years and they get annoying .. but I'm used to them. Really annoying when the sun is out .. sunglasses really help.

 

[Nemrael]

I normally notice these when I'm looking at a surface that's a uniform colour, such as a white wall or a blue sky. They look a lot like blood cells bunched together.

I also sometimes see lights in my eyes when caught by external light properly, again looking at the sky seems to show this quite clearly. These lights look a lot like loads of white tadpoles darting around at high speed. Does anyone else have this, or should I seek psychiatric help?

 

[ZombieSupaStar]

just crap in the eye fluids


most near sighted people have em worse

 

[Matrix]

Ughhh I get floaters all the time,so damn annoying.Floaters are clumped vitreous gel/extra protein floating around in your eye...stupid protein...why are you in my eye!

 

[Azih]

I have one or two floaters, I only notice them if I'm lying on my back staring at the ceiling though. One of 'ems got an interesting corkscrew pattern.

 

[buck naked]

I also sometimes see lights in my eyes when caught by external light properly, again looking at the sky seems to show this quite clearly. These lights look a lot like loads of white tadpoles darting around at high speed. Does anyone else have this, or should I seek psychiatric help?

You're not alone with the lights =)

I have hundreds of floaters in my eyes that are always visible. I've noticed them ever since I was about 7 years old and have just learnt to ignore them (or use them as cheap entertainment when bored).

For the record, I'm short sighted, have been wearing glasses since I was 10 and my eyesight has gotten progressively worse.

 

[DaCocoBrova]

Has a cause been determined? Corneal scratches were ruled out last thread.

 

[Doc Holliday]

If you have a sudden increase in floaters go see your eye doctor ASAP. Could be a bad sign. I believe they are protein deposits or something like i forget.

 

[Matrix]

Has a cause been determined? Corneal scratches were ruled out last thread.

When people reach middle age, the vitreous gel may start to thicken or shrink, forming clumps or strands inside the eye. The vitreous gel pulls away from the back wall of the eye, causing a posterior vitreous detachment *Yea like anyone knows what the fuck that means*. It is a common cause of floaters, and it is more common for people who:

* are nearsighted;
* have undergone cataract operations;
* have had YAG laser surgery of the eye;
* have had inflammation inside the eye.


Also floaters are harmless themselves,just annoying as hell.

 

[FortNinety]

Thanks a lot for this topic. I never even knew what they were called till now. I don't feel so weird for having them; I've heard no one ever speak of them before.

 

[yoshifumi]

i get them all the time but they don't really bother me or anything

 

[MrAngryFace]

Well that explains that, im nearsighted as fuck. Damn I need new eyes.

 

[Idle Will Kill]

Yea, they are annoying as hell. I've noticed them since about 7th grade (I'm a sophmore in college now). I remember for like a year they went away and I never noticed them, and then one day they were back.

Sometimes they get extremely annoying where I can't concentrate at all as I keep on noticing them. It's the worst with a white computer screen, but I generally notice them all the time.

 

[Vgamer]

Ya I get them to. They are definetly the most annoying when doing computer work. They are annoying becuase sometimes i see them quick and think i see something moving but its just a floater And then trying to focus on them gets me dizzy becuase when you move your eye to follow them it makes them move as well. but sometimes I cant help it I want to see whats goin on in eye floater land lol.

 

[robochimp]

Has a cause been determined? Corneal scratches were ruled out last thread.

The cause is aging

 

[tehrik-e-insaaf]

I'm seriously considering having laser surgery to zap this prominent floater in my left eye. I can see it before I open my eyes in the morning (that is how big it is). It looks like a vague clump of mass that swishes around my left eye.

For those of you who had yours dissappear - were they the transparent types or were they actual black lines/clumps that you saw both in and out doors? Wondering how long I should wait. I don't want some doctor to zap my eyes when they could go away on their own...

 

[Ferrio]

They never disappear, they will always stay in your eye.

I read up quite a bit on them when I got my first one, and lazer surgery was said to be incredibly stupid unless you got TONS of them. Otherwise all the lazer does is break them up, causes more smaller pieces which could cause problems.

 

[GDGF]

I have them, but I usually pretend that they're UFO's that only my superhuman eyes can see to make me feel better

 

[Great King Bowser]

I only get them when I really concentrate. They're like pwetty little floating angels. Really. One looks like an angel, and it moves around.

 

[tehrik-e-insaaf]

Well... considering how dark mine are... it is unlikely the laser would do anything for me anyways. Instead, I am gonna just wait it out and hopefully my retina won't be as blocked in the future...

There is a new drug though named Vitrase - looks like it could be pretty good for dissolving the vitreous jelly - maybe wait it out a couple of years and see if there are any significant advancements.

As it stands... My vision is blocked and it is difficult for me to read anything on paper, much less write anything. Computer use is not so bad since I can focus my right eye on the monitor and type that way. I'm not sure if I can sustain myself this way for the next couple of years considering the stressful nature of my work.

 

[Pfucata]

Well vitreous floaters can be retinal detachment so it sounds like you should have had laser surgery to make sure it doesn't get worse... right?

 

[tehrik-e-insaaf]

No I don't have PVD - I checked it out with a couple of Opthals.

In my case, I think it is my nearsightedness that resulted in it.

But having them does impact your lifestyle significantly... That is why I am eager to find a way to at least alleviate them.

Unfortunately the only solution outside of a vitrectomy is YAG laser surgery. While it doesn't have any real complications, your floater has to be located mid-vitreous, otherwise it is too close to the Retina and thus dangerous to try and disrupt.

 

[gofreak]

In the last week I've noticed one of these. It's like a translucent black little squiggly thing. I notice it when looking at large even areas of light colour (like clouds or a white wall etc.). I've not noticed it in the past day or so, though, so maybe it's gone.

 

[gofreak]

"Computer addicts could go blind!"
http://news.newkerala.com/health-news-india/?action=fullnews&id=42840

=/

I wonder if these eye floaters are one of the early visual "abnormalities" associated with this?

 

[Naked Snake]

You're a bastard for making this thread

:lol :lol :lol


And I agree

 

[Ollie Pooch]

one day when i used to work in a phone shop they got so bad i actually had to tell a customer "i'm sorry - i can't actually SEE you'.. went out to the back room, sat around for a while, they disappeared.. but it was rather distressing haven't had them since that actually