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What could my floaters & other eye issues be caused by?

Hi,

I am 35, I am short-sighted. I have since 14 years old spent a lot of time on laptops/computers due to studying, working in jobs that involve staring at a screen every day and general use. I believe this led to me becoming short-sighted at age 20.

I have had on and off eye issues for years. My quality of vision can change which is likely due to blurred vision due to eye strain....

More recently I have had worse vision than ever, more blurred, I can't yet tell if this is permanent or if a several week break from screens would fix it. Anyhow, on top of this my eyes have been sensitive to bright white screens for 2 months now. 2 days ago I realised I had approx 10 black squiggly floaters, I have never noticed something like this before. I only see them when I go into the bathroom on a sunny day, the bathroom is all white walls and floor. I did also notice the floaters the other day for 5 seconds when walking in the sunshine, but other than that I do not notice them at all.

Another thing I have noticed is that over the past 2 days on 2 occasions out of the corner of my eye I have seen something on the tv or my laptop flickering, then when I looked at it directly it didn't flicker. It would only flicker when it was in the corner of my eye / when I didn't directly look at it. This has only happened twice for a short amount of time, maybe 10 seconds.

On top of this I have dry eyes.

Any ideas what the issue could be?

I have looked it up and read that it is either a normal occurrence where part of the eye is liquifying or in more serious cases it could be retinal detachment which is my concern. I just wondered if what I have explained about my situation above can possibly be a sign of one (normal ageing process) more than the other (retinal detachment). Or....it also has most of the symptoms of Uveitis. Can eye strain/soreness/irritation lead to Uveitis? where maybe my body is trying to heal my strained eyes but not having much success as they are always strained so is possibly working overtime causing issues?

I have no medical conditions and am generally healthy.

3 Responses
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177275 tn?1511755244
Just a few things:  1. prolong near use of the eye for reading, computers, iphones, ipads, video games etc DOES cause myopia (near sighted) and accounts for the epidemic of myopia world wide with many people spending 10-14 hrs per day doing near tasks.   2. prolonged near work can cause dry eyes and eye fatigue.  

The only part of your posting that is worrisome is the new floaters and what might be flashes of light  (photopsia) in your field of vision. New flashes and floaters are worrisome and require and exam ideally by an ophthalmologist EYE MD. Although most ophthalmology practices, like mine in Kansas City, Missouri, USA, are closed for routine eye exams we still are doing emergency exams. Thus if you call an area ophthalmologist, ideally you already have one, and describe new floaters and possible flashes you should be able to be seen an an urgent problem.  The great number of new flashes and floaters are NOT due to retinal detachment but to posterior vitreous detachment it should still be checked.
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2 Comments
Hi, thanks for your reply.

I am in the UK. I have read that opticians can check to see if I have anything serious going on and they are still open here in the UK for more serious issues. I will phone them today and ask them if they can check for retinal detachment or if they advise I go to a specialist to get this checked.

What I think I should have asked here was that I have read about the flashing lights symptom.....but what is this flashing like? is it regular? is it just one flash of light, is it a flash of light that covers the whole field of vision, or is it like what I described I have experienced with something in the corner of the eye flickering on a screen, but when you look directly at it it isn't flickering? I have only had this briefly for 5 seconds or so, twice in the past 72 hours.
The flashes from traction on the retina are extremely bright and very short duration. Think like a bolt of lightening on a very dark night.
Avatar universal
Do myopia increases in adults doing near work?

I thought it only occurs with kids only

Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
I went to the optician and he gave me the all clear, couldn't see any issues, he couldn't see the floaters. Just said if I noticed it getting worse or flashing lights etc, then to call them.
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177275 tn?1511755244
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