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Floaters & Flashers

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Signs To Look For/Symptoms:

  • Smalls specks or clouds moving in your field of vision. They can appear as little dots, circles, lines, clouds or cobwebs.
  • Most common in people who are nearsighted, have undergone cataract operations, had YAG laser surgery of the eye, had inflammation inside the eye.
  • Flashing light or lighting streaks can also occur if the vitreous gel rubs or pulls on the retina. The flashes can appear on and off for several months.
  • Flashing lights can appear as jagged lines or “heat waves” and may last for up to 10-20 mins.

Risk Factors:

The retina can tear if the shrinking vitreous gel pulls away from the wall of the eye. This may cause bleeding in the eye. A torn retina can lead to a retinal detachment.

Flashes of lights can be a great discomfort and can be coupled with painful migraines.

Preventative Measures:

If one new floater appears or you see sudden flashes of light, see your ophthalmologist.

Recommendations:

Floaters may become a serious problem if they lead to a tear in the retina, in which case surgery is the only treatment.

However most floaters are harmless and fade over time or become less bothersome.