Hi. I just turned 40 and suddenly I started seeing a persistent floater
last week. It started as a spec flying around in front of my one eye.
I've noticed this spec for brief moments in the past but it alway
disappeared. Since the onset of the persistent floater last week, the
shape and clarity of it has changed in this short timeframe. Why? I
dont know. It began as a spec on 12/25. Now, it has evolved into a
larger spec with less clarity but with somewhat of a hair like thread
attached to it.

At first, I tried to think of causes.....I'd been sick for the last
three weeks with a hacking persistent cough (unusual for this long for
me) and it finally subsided after coughing my "eyeballs" out for a
while. I also started a vigorous exersize program of running just this
year. This consists of a whole lot of "stomps" as I run, maybe shaking
my eyes or brain around too much. hehehe. I also have chewed sugarless
gum for 6 years straight since I gave up smoking...alot of the
gum....where the main ingredient is sorbitol. I remember reading just
about a year ago on Wikipedia that Sorbitol can affect the cells of the
eye. I'm really interested in knowing more about what exactly Sorbitol
does to your vision, and what "cells" they refer to. I'm awfully
suspicious about this being a cause.

Anyway, I go to my Eye M.D. at a prestigious well known local medical
group. They dialate my own affected eye and teh pupil enlarges. I start
to see blurry in that eye and the floater is almost not apparent
anymore. The M.D. does the checkup and finds the floater. Retina and
Optic nerve are in excellent condition. When the pupils go back to
normal the floater is back.

This is really bothering me. It's annoying as I do computer work all
day. When I look at people it's like I have a built in black dot laser
pointer floating in their face. It's stupid. I want to completely
elimate it even though I understand that they are permanant. I'm not
sure as to all I read how my brain will get used to them, or how they
could ever float out of the line of sight.

Here is now how I intend to solve this issue: by understanding it
fully, then applying solutions based on that understanding. I learned
in this short week that when my pupils are more dialated, the floater
is less apparent. In a darker room, it's non-existent. In the sun, it's
even there when I close my eye, My goal is to find a way to elimate
bright light into my eyes at all or most of the time. I will seek to
determine if prescription sunglases (the ones that change
automatically) are something for me to consider. Even while working
indoors on the computer I would wear them.

Why my pupil size would eliminate or increase a floater's visibility is
beyond me, but it does.

Another thing I heard is to train one eye to read instead of the
floater eye. I dont know if my brain is strong enough to do that, but
it's worth some practice.

Anyone with a story of how they cured or ignored their floater to the
point of near invisibility is what I'd love to hear.

I also read that there may be special glasses that help elimate the
floater. Maybe a darker glass on one eye. That would stink but if it
resolves then I'd be very happy. Just can't live well with this.