floaters

[mrsteve]

I'm 53 and have noticed a problem with floaters that seemed to start right after Yag treatments. It's been 9 months since RLE and I have adjusted to them with the exception of one activity. Does this make since that I would have an increased awareness doing this motion? When I'm working on the computer doing data entry (looking down at a document then back up at the screen) with a backlight from the outside, I can hardly get through it. Waves of the stuff floating across my field of vision. Is it the looking down then up that stirs it up? If I could limit the eye movement would that help? During normal activities I don't notice it (the floaters) too much anymore, and luckily my computer work is just a few hours a day. I was hoping that they would settle to the bottom and stay there, but maybe that is not the case. Any help or suggestions are appreciated.

[John C Hagan III, MD, FACS, FAAO]

Yag laser capsulotomy can often cause floaters since the pieces of the hole cut in the posterior capsule are blown back into the vitreous.  There is no medication that gets rid of floaters and no treatment that will except a vitrectomy and that's way too serious of an operation to consider.

Most people have floaters after 50. Most everyone can learn to "tune them out" that is ignore them. That's about all you can do.  The more you dwell on it the worse it will get.

JCH III MD

[John C Hagan III, MD, FACS, FAAO]

In eyes where the vitreous has turned entirely from a gel to a solution the floaters move like snowflakes in the snowman paperweight that they sell at christmas. Turn it upside down and the snowflakes in the globe are stirred up then set it down and they settle down. Most eyes have some gel and some solution and some in floaters are teathered to gel. So I don't think trying to limit your eye movements will help much at all.

JCH III MD

[mrsteve]

I don't think I'm dwelling on it at all, with this particular motion at the computer you can't dismiss or ignore it. I picture this like a snow globe that has just been turned upside down. When at the computer looking down and up, the snow is constantly flying. My question was, will limiting the eye movement help? If so I could try and rig up some type of eye level document holder. If the snow globe theory is off base, and the down and up is not agitating the vitreous and compounding the problem I won't pursue the eye level holder.
Thanks