Sudden eye problem - PVD

[rodeo_joe1]

<p>Hi All. I don't usually post to this forum, but a recent event has me worried enough to ask a wider audience about their experience - if any.</p>

<p>I recently became aware of some very obvious "floaters" in my left eye and mistiness of vision. After an advised emergency visit to the local eye hospital I was diagnosed with a Posterior Vitreous Detachment. This is where the viscous sac of fluid that normally fills the eye collapses and shrinks forward in the eye - hence the symptoms I'm experiencing.</p>

<p>Online health sites advise that this is quite common in older patients (I'm "only" 66) and nothing to worry about. However I'm still quite anxious about the prognosis for this event and any future deterioration in my vision.</p>

<p>Has anyone else here suffered from this and would be willing to share your experience?</p>

[Bill J Boyd]

<p>RJ,<br>

I am 73 and had this same problem last year. My doctor said this is quite common in older patients. The best I can remember is that it lasted about 1 or 2-weeks then went away. The worst part for me was driving at night. I think it is a short term problem that will eventually disappear. Nothing to worry about but you might visit your eye doctor to have a look.</p>

[chris_waller]

<p>RJ,<br>

We are about the same vintage and I too recently developed a floater. It's a minor irritation at times but most of the time I'm not aware of it. I've got to that stage where doctors, opticians etc. close every consultation with the words, "It's your age."</p>

[Edwin Barkdoll]

<p>I had an initial PVD 8 years ago in my right eye, then 2 years ago in my left eye. I am very myopic which increases the risk of PVD. Other than floaters, which I have always had, I have had no complications.</p>

<p>Be aware of symptoms of retinal detachment, which as I'm sure you know is much more serious, and have a followup visit with your ophthalmologist; perhaps he/she already scheduled one. </p>

<p>BTW I was "only" 50 when I had my first PVD.</p>

[ShunCheung]

RJ, I cannot (and should not) comment on your specific situation, but I have had floaters inside my eyes since I was a

graduate student at UCLA. I had an eye exam at the eye institute there, and the orthomolgist saw them. I was in my 20's

and that was some 30 years ago. That is just a condition I have been living with. Usually I don't even notice it.

[mark_pierlot]

<p>I've had floaters since I was a kid, and haven't really noticed them for decades (I'm 53). Way back when, I used to call them "Tiny Bubbles," as a tribute to the late, great Don Ho.</p>

[charles_stobbs3]

Second Mark but older (88). I'm not very often aware of mine. It sounds like you're doing the right things.

[Andy Murphy]

<p>I am far sighted (apparently determined by shape of eyeball) so I easily look past small floaters. By the way, once read a Cambridge U. book on eye and photography in which the author claimed that, as we age, the vitreous humour in the eye may discolor and, in a manner of speaking, become a yellowish filter (as in B/W photography). So far, I am not aware of this effect.</p>

[Jeremy Stein]

<p>With regard to yellowing; some years ago I had a cataract in my left eye replaced with a plastic lens. The operation was a complete success, but I noticed soon that colors seen by my left eye were noticeably bluer (i.e., less yellow) than those seen by my right eye. Once I had cataract surgery on the right eye, the two eyes saw very similar colors. So maybe the yellow coloration is at least partly in the lens...</p>

[donald_miller5]

Floaters are quite common (almost everyone gets them sooner or later). I got a few when I was 40 and it created anxiety for me went to

3 of thamologists and in so many words said what is the big deal? They are real annoying at first but you forget they are there after a

while. I do not know anyone where it has progressed significantly but any physician will always add the caveat to contact them

immediately if there is pain, flashes of light or any big changes

[stephen t]

<p>Quite common. I'm a couple of years older than you and had it happen in both eyes (a few months apart) about 5 years ago. There was no retinal damage and the doc said that I was sort of "protected" against a recurrence since the vitreous usually only shrinks once. The first time it happened was quite "interesting" (aka scary)! The floaters (blood particles) eventually dissolved away. </p>

<p>Another wonderful adventure of maturity (aka old age). Fear not, you'll be fine.</p>

[Matthew Currie]

<p>My wife had this and it's been a minor annoyance for a long time, and has improved very slightly over the years. A few years ago I also had an incident in which I quite suddenly developed a spot on one eye that looked as if I had a bug on the windscreen. It remains, but has lightened and become less bothersome, and as in my wife's instance, has not gotten worse. We both have some of the more common little black floaters, which are pretty benign as well. I guess we're just getting old and rickety. </p>

<p>Actually, my vitreous detachment has become a good deal less bothersome but at a nasty cost. An accident a few years ago resulted in a damaged trochlear nerve, which controls the rotation of the eyeballs on the horizontal plane, and in its turn means that my two eyes are tilted and see a different horizon. So now I see double up close, and the lower half double all the time. After the accident, my dominant eye shifted from left to right, and my brain now attributes all the error to the left, and that, in its turn, has led to me squinting, and that, in its turn, has minimized the impact of the blot in my left eye, along with the fact that for better binocular vision, I must tilt my head down to look straight ahead, and the "bug" is lower down. A silver lining! </p>

<p>My grandmother long ago had cataracts and as they got worse her view yellowed greatly without her really noticing, except that she became less interested in photography, which she had enjoyed greatly, shooting piles of slides. When she had her cataracts fixed (back in the pre-implant days, when she had to wear her lenses as glasses), she suddenly got the colors back, and was quite happy to see that there was something in the world worth taking a picture of again. </p>

[User_2000406]

<p>Recent vitreous detachment here too, and floaters for decades. In my case the vitreous sac is pulling on the retina, causing weird flashes. The ophthalmologist says to keep a close eye (no pun intended) on it on the off chance I get a retinal detachment, but the odds are very good that I'll be fine.</p>

[AJHingel]

<p>RJ, I have the same in my left eye since some weeks. As mentioned above, mostly it is nothing to worry about, but be sure to take it seriously and go urgently to a qualified eye doctor. It can be dangerous for your sight. </p>

[rodeo_joe1]

<p>Thanks for all the responses. They've been much more reassuring than just my doctor's and ophthalmologist's textbook dogma. I have seen a few flashes of light out of the top-corner of my left eye, but they're supposedly quite common after a PVD, and in any case mine have subsided and I haven't noticed any in the last few days - touch wood.</p>

<p>The emergency ophthalmologist that examined my eyes gave me the needless advice to "come back if you notice part of your sight missing" - Like I wouldn't!<br>

I can see the funny side of that now. Thanks again to you all.</p>

[donald_miller5]

I did post previously here that it is usually benign in a very large majority of the cases. Just remember that there is a risk

still that this can progress to something more serious. Practitioners just can not determine which ones at this point will

progress. You seem to quite aware of what can happen and concerned enough to know when to follow up. Not to take

away from what I said in my first post I also would not want you to have an adverse event and tell you doctor that you

delayed getting attention because a bunch of photographers (me included) told you that you not to worry about it.

[Mark Keefer]

<p>I have had floaters for many years. It started in my forties, I used to lift weights regularly at the gym. An eye doctor friend said they are common, especially among weight lifters. It is from bleeding in the eye, and increased strain on blood vessel walls can cause this. If you are over weight or have high blood pressure, try to get this under control. Loosing extra weight can take a lot of strain off the blood vessels.</p>

<p>Getting an eye doctor to give you an eye check up regularly and monitor for any changes would be good sense. If the floaters get really bad, there are cases where they can go in with a laser and cauterize the bleeding vessels and they can even drain and replace the liquid in the eye. A person I work with said his wife had this procedure with good results, though it was said to be a little painful. For me personally, it would have to get pretty darn bad before I would do this, but if it comes to saving vision or blindness the decision would be have the procedure.</p>

<p>I have gotten used to the few floaters and it does not hinder my life or photography. The only time I really notice them is if looking at the sky in the daytime, looking at white background computer screen. If I am out walking in the woods or in the house I don't notice them.</p>

<p>I take supplements for good eye health, try to keep my weight down and get yearly eye exams. Don't get too worried about a couple of floaters.</p>

<p>Have an eye doc look at it, most cases you will be OK and need no procedures. But if needed, there are procedures eye doctors can do to treat various conditions. Many people have had them with good results and tell their stories, there is a lot of info on the web. Don't get too worried, this is all part of living a long life. </p>

<p>Regards,<br>

Mark</p>

[steve m smith]

<blockquote>

<p>I am far sighted (apparently determined by shape of eyeball) so I easily look past small floaters.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>Near of far sighted makes no difference as we don't focus on the floaters. We see the shadow they cast on the retina.</p>

<p> I recently had a floater appear which usually sits in the top left field of vision of my left eye. I can usually ignore it but it occasionally drifts across the centre and goes away again.<br /><br />I had an optician's appointment on Friday where I was given the usual advice of just keep an eye on it and go to the hospital if you see any symptoms of detachment. Something I am always aware of anyway as my father suffered to retinal detachments in his lifetime. One in the 1950s which was not successfullt attached despite spending three months on his back in hospital and one in the 1980s which was corrected by the pre-laser treatment of applying pressure to the back of the eye.<br /><br />I think the modern laser treatment is a lot quicker and easier.</p>

[pjdilip]

<p>Good hint above about not weightlifting. Same precaution about stomach crunches, straining on the toilet seat, and lifting weights? If you see small spots that look like fruit flies in front of the eyes, may have to see a doctor immediately. I got this done and they told me I had "holes" in my retina all the way around the lens, probably from childhood, maybe genetic. I remeber I had lost vision partially in one eye in college, but ignored it and it cleared up in a couple of days. Callow youth. ... Anyway a couple of years back, they did some longish barrage laser sessions to burn the holes shut, so that liquid did not seep in and liquify the gel. Stings a bit, but not too painful. Once the gel starts contracting and breaking off, vision gets somewhat clouded. Lasik operation to replace catarcted lens, however, is awesome. Let;s hope we don't outlive the body :) </p>