Is it possible to damage your eyes when flying by plane?

[Lostre13]

I was wondering if it's harmful for the eyes for those who experience floaters when they travel by plane?

[JohnHaganMD]

Ideally on a complete eye exam the pupil should be dilated.  When you dip your head down in exercise you stir the floaters up (think like those paperweights with snowman and snowflakes in them)  You turn it upside down to stir the snowflakes up and make it "snowing" again.  You should be having an annual eye exam.

[JohnHaganMD]

Problems of flying have to do with surgery that puts gas into the eye such as for retinal detachment surgery

[Lostre13]

First of all I would like to thank you very much for replying. I really appreciate your help. To be more specific I have been experiencing floaters for the last few years and it seems they strongly appear when I do a handstand or somersault for example. However I definitely notice them soemtimes when I see a white background ( my computer's screen ) or looking at the sky. About 2 years ago the ophthalmologist told me that it's because of the vitreous gel and there's no detachment, after the examination. What concerns me is that the doctor checked my eyes with the opthalmoscopy without dilation. Is it possible to make an accurate diagnosis after evaluating a patient without dilating the pupil?

[JohnHaganMD]

no