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Heat, eye patch, new floater
Background: I had cataract surgery 2.5 months ago and ended up with a lot of astigmatism. My eye has slowly been healing back towards normal so nothing else has been done to the eye yet, since whatever the next step is, it can't be done until the eye stops changing. Currently there are about 3.5 D between my left eye (IOL) and my right (small cataract still present), so I can't use both eyes with glasses since I cannot fuse the two images. To drive I have been wearing an eye patch over my left eye and using the right lens only in a pair of distance glasses.
Today is really hot, about 104, and after driving half an hour (with AC on) I took off the patch and saw a new floater at about 3:00 in my left left eye, about 45 degrees away from the center of vision. There also seemed to be a flash when the patch came off too, but since I was in a parking lot under full sun that might have just been a reflection of a car. This is the first floater I have ever had which I can see rotating (slightly) after each eye motion. It is pretty annoying since it is visible under normal lighting conditions, and not only darts around with eye motions, but keeps moving (rotating) when the eye is still.
It gets pretty hot under the eye patch, can a hot eye cause new floaters to form?
Today is really hot, about 104, and after driving half an hour (with AC on) I took off the patch and saw a new floater at about 3:00 in my left left eye, about 45 degrees away from the center of vision. There also seemed to be a flash when the patch came off too, but since I was in a parking lot under full sun that might have just been a reflection of a car. This is the first floater I have ever had which I can see rotating (slightly) after each eye motion. It is pretty annoying since it is visible under normal lighting conditions, and not only darts around with eye motions, but keeps moving (rotating) when the eye is still.
It gets pretty hot under the eye patch, can a hot eye cause new floaters to form?
Apparently my right eye was jealous of all the attention the left one has been getting and decided to have its own PVD today. There has been no surgery on this eye, although it its going to need it at some point because there is a cataract developing there. The right eye PVD developed a bit more gradually than the one in the left eye did. This morning around 8:00AM there were a small number of new tiny floaters (probably blood cells) and a tiny bit of eye motion associated flashing in a quite small region located at about 5:00O'Clock about halfway from the center to the periphery, by 11:00AM the flashing region had become a larger irregular arc shape and moved outward, at 1:00 PM a clear Weiss ring was observed (positioned at 3:00O'Clock, smaller, rounder, and slightly more central than the one in the left eye, but it flops around the same way), and the flashing region moved even further outward, and now at 8:00 PM the flashes run in a large peripheral arc more than half way around the eye.
No wavy image, blind spots, or moving curtain issues, so I think the retina is still OK. I will schedule an appointment as soon as possible on Tuesday to check - have to wait until then since the office was closed today and will be for the holiday tomorrow. So far the vitreous in the right eye, other than the Weiss ring, has not obscured my vision. (Unlike the left eye, where the vitreous now floats around like a jellyfish, crossing in and out of my foveal vision.)
No wavy image, blind spots, or moving curtain issues, so I think the retina is still OK. I will schedule an appointment as soon as possible on Tuesday to check - have to wait until then since the office was closed today and will be for the holiday tomorrow. So far the vitreous in the right eye, other than the Weiss ring, has not obscured my vision. (Unlike the left eye, where the vitreous now floats around like a jellyfish, crossing in and out of my foveal vision.)
Just to clarify, that position is 3:00 O'Clock as viewed from outside the eye. In the perceived visual field it is at 9:00 O'Clock.
No retinal tears on examination, follow up in 6 weeks.
The Dr. said that she could not tell how long the PVD would take to resolve since some cases progress rapidly while others go part way, and then "stall" for a long time - like a year. Nor could she say how far along this one was because in a normal external eye exam the vitreous isn't visible, whether it is attached or not. My PVD is definitely not done yet since the arc flashes are still there.
The Dr. said that she could not tell how long the PVD would take to resolve since some cases progress rapidly while others go part way, and then "stall" for a long time - like a year. Nor could she say how far along this one was because in a normal external eye exam the vitreous isn't visible, whether it is attached or not. My PVD is definitely not done yet since the arc flashes are still there.
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Only your surgeon lookin in your eye can tell. Hopefully you asked him/her when you were theren
JCHdm
JCHdm
The eye patch is only for driving and is worn at most 45 minutes a day.
Once it got dark last night I saw a lot of arc shaped flashes. This morning there were also a dozen or so new tiny round floaters. No obvious blind spots or loss of peripheral vision. From what I've read, this is probably PVD. Appointment with an Ophthalmologist today.
How long does it usually take the vitreous to completely release from the retina, particularly when this event follows cataract surgery? Hours, days, weeks, or months???
Once it got dark last night I saw a lot of arc shaped flashes. This morning there were also a dozen or so new tiny round floaters. No obvious blind spots or loss of peripheral vision. From what I've read, this is probably PVD. Appointment with an Ophthalmologist today.
How long does it usually take the vitreous to completely release from the retina, particularly when this event follows cataract surgery? Hours, days, weeks, or months???
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
You need to call your surgeon and discuss. Generally we try and avoid patching eyes. If necessary ask your physician to get a second opinoion
JCH MD
JCH MD
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