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Medical Forum / General / Vision / November 2008FLOATERS - question
Just under 5 years ago I developed a large floater in my left eye. It still perminantly blocks my vision (as in makes it blurry). Within a month I had developed smaller ones in my right eye. To this day these ones float around more, so one minute things are blurry and the next minute things are clear. I put these floaters down to the computer screen as I was only 37 at the time and there is no history of them in my family. Anyway, things have gradually got worse (very slowly) but I am now only 42! I want to know how bad these can/will get. I realise it's the gell in your eye coming away, but is is possible for all the gell to come away and what happens if this happens? The gell must be there for a reason - what is this reason? Is it to give shape to the eye? If it all falls away then what happens to the eye? Thanks for any help. > I put these floaters down to the computer screen as I was only 37 at the > time and there is no history of them in my family. I beg to differ. Everybody has floaters; it's just that "normal" floaters are small and you may need help figuring out how to see them. > Anyway, things have gradually got worse (very slowly) but I am now only > 42! I want to know how bad these can/will get. Maybe worse. The ultimate hope is the vitreous will detach completely and the floaters will settle out of sight. > I realise it's the gell in your eye coming away, but is is possible for > all the gell to come away and what happens if this happens? Think of the vitreous gel (one "l") as jello with the outer edges thickened, like the "skin" that forms on real jello in the refrigerator. It's the skin that's peeling up, clumping and causing shadows that look like spots in visual space. > The gell must be there for a reason - what is this reason? Is it to > give shape to the eye? If it all falls away then what happens to the eye? Yes, that's complete vitreous detachment. The vitreous shrinks over time, tugging the thickened part off the inner limiting membrane. There's no downside I know of, as long as it isn't firmly attached somewhere and prone to pull up layers of the retina. -MT Thanks for your informative reply Mike. Is complete vitreous detachment quite common? Also have you any idea percentage wise how often it can cause tears to the retina? >> I put these floaters down to the computer screen as I was only 37 at the >> time and there is no history of them in my family. [quoted text clipped - 25 lines] > > -MT > Thanks for your informative reply Mike. Is complete vitreous detachment > quite common? Also have you any idea percentage wise how often it can cause > tears to the retina? I was told it was "uncommon", but can claim 50% personally. (One eye did it.) I believe the normal vitreous detachment is pretty near 100%, with sufficient age... Dave > Thanks for your informative reply Mike. Is complete vitreous detachment > quite common? Also have you any idea percentage wise how often it can > cause tears to the retina? Vitreous detachments are almost universal. They don't usually cause retinal tears except when the retina is weakened or predisposed because a pre-existing crack or break gets pulled. That's one reason to get a dilated examination or panoramic imaging every couple of years, and right away if streaks or flashes or sudden floaters indicate an active process. -MT > Think of the vitreous gel (one "l") as jello with the outer edges thickened, > like the "skin" that forms on real jello in the refrigerator. It's the skin > that's peeling up, clumping and causing shadows that look like spots in > visual space. Interesting. I used to think that floaters are present throughout the gel body. But they are mainly present at its surface? Some floaters arise from the outermost edge where the vitreous is thick enough to consider as a solid or membrane. Most of it is loosely attached to the retina but it's prone to separate over time. Detached vitreous usually becomes visible as floaters when it migrates to an edge-on position, or where it is clumped, or gathered into strands. When it peels evenly off the optic nerve, there's an opening like a bullet-hole where the vitreous was rooted to the optic nerve. Other floaters are created by congenital or embryonic remnants like cloquet's canal. Still other floaters result from ordinary vitreous degeneration, where the vitreous separates into irregular lacunae of liquified vitreous and insoluble fibers. The fibers condense into strands or blobs that can contract and pull, toward the center, or horizontally, or hither to yon. Normally the retina endures vitreous detachment and traction with no problem unless there's an existing tear, or degeneration, or exceptional forces. -MT >> Think of the vitreous gel (one "l") as jello with the outer edges >> thickened, [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > Interesting. I used to think that floaters are present throughout the > gel body. But they are mainly present at its surface? |
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