Too many Floaters

[nannynormi]

Floaters: I got one 10 yrs ago in my right eye. one tiny speck. It's never gone away. This week I got another one in my left eye. then within 48 hours I got about 7 more. It's a little frightening. It's waaaayyyy too many and its interfering with my vision because where before they were in the peripheral vision, the additional 7 are straight in front. Before I see my opthamologist...does anyone have any experience with this?

[Wolfhall]

You are very welcome!  To be honest I do find the floaters annoying but I know from experience that after a while you just learn to see through them, this is from my experience with my left eye, where I' had a large floaty white one for years.  Plus they are worse in sort of white light and when lots of light is coming in from different angles, so on a bus, or while driving.  I personally would not risk surgery but I do understand why people do.   I did ask about the the ones in my other eye but they were too near the retina anyway.  The new ones in my operated eye are so annoying because I could see so well and so far for 28 days before I got the PVD, however, I am pragmatic and realise that I am lucky there are no other complications.  I do find that sunglasses really help when I fixate on them.  Good to chat.

[nannynormi]

I so appreciate all of you helping and caring! All the best.

[nannynormi]

Thank you!

[Wolfhall]

Hello there, I hope  all went well with you and your husband.  I had an appointment in England on Friday and my retina is intact.  Now I just need to decide what on earth I am going to do about my other cataract  (which is the  dominant eye) .  To be honest, after hours of research, I do not have any idea. At least my vitreous can't break down in that eye, as this alreadyv happened years ago.!  I wish you both all the best.

[pinhole]

Hi,
You are indeed on top of the situation! Makes sense to combine your two appointments. I am sorry that you both are having health issues. You are right about catching anything there might be to catch that's visible to the ophthalmologist but out of your awareness. I had lasering done on both eyes (several years apart) under that very circumstance. I hope everything turns out well for you and your husband!

[nannynormi]

Thank you for replying!  Yes, I had floaters in my right eye started 10 years ago.  This is different in that 7 appeared all at once. Within 24 hours the lightning flashes began.  It's not that I cant get used to it...I could. I did with the other eye.  The curtain is the last thing that happens, and if you wait for it the surgery can be tricky and unsuccessful. If you catch it before the curtain they can just out patient your eye with a laser.  Thank you again!!

[nannynormi]

Thank you for your kind reply! Yes, that is an AMAZING place. But my husband is in crucial pain and has an appt for an injection at Mayo the day after my eye appt. So we're able to "kill 2 birds with one stone". The docs at Mayo are top notch. (cleveland Clinic too from personal experience)

[JohnHaganMD]

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[Wolfhall]

Hi there,

Are you still experiencing flashes of light?  If you have not recently had eye surgery or injury you  probably have absolutely nothing to worry about.  You really can adjust to floaters surprisingly quickly and they are part of the normal aging process.  The same thing happened to me some years ago in my left eye.  This was due to the 'jelly' in the back of the eye becoming liquid and harmlessly pulling away from the retina.  It happens to everyone unless they die young!  I recently had a cataract operation and annoyingly the same thing happened to my 'new' eye.  Actually this is not desperately uncommon after cateract ops on the under 60s (well, around 6%)  If you suddenly experience partial loss of vision in that eye than you need to get your eye checked out at the hospital.  They will use drops to enlarge your pupil and have a good look at your retina to check all is well.  This is just a precaution.
Any problems at this stage can be fixed.  Otherwise, you will learn to sort of see through the floaters and they will shrink.  Good Luck.

[pinhole]

Hi,
I am a retina patient, not a medical practitioner. I believe you live in Florida. If so, I would be inclined to call Bascom Palmer Eye Institute in Miami right away with symptoms like yours; that is, the sudden onset of floaters and flashing lights.
Best wishes.

[nannynormi]

Unfortunately for me the lightning on my peripheral vision started slowly. AFTER my original post. It progressed quickly and now I have at least a hundred in 24 hrs.  I made an appt with a Mayo Clinic Opthamologist for tuesday. There are NO ER docs for eyes at ANY of the hospitals nearby. Mayo is 3 hours away...but worth getting to.  Thank you so much for taking the time to post!

[JohnHaganMD]

They come from aging changes (syneresis) in the vitreous.
JCH MD

[DonW66]

Dear Doctor,

And these floaters are most likely to come from where?

[JohnHaganMD]

Please use the search feature and read the many informative posts about floaters.   Small floaters unaccompanied by flashes of light like lightening or loss of peripheral vision are rarely serious.  By age 50 more than half of us have floaters and by age 70 its 3 out of 4

JCH MD