Question: Can you give me information on what causes vitreous floaters in the eye. How long do they last?
Floaters are abnormal clumps of cells in the center of the eyeball that cast a shadow on the light-sensitive retina at the back of the eye, and the brain perceives this shadow as an object (spot) in front of the eye.
The ‘floater’ can occur at any point in the field of vision, but the closer it is to the center (i.e. when looking straight ahead), the more annoying it becomes. The cells can form in the center of the eye because of bleeding into the eye, a detached retina, infection or no apparent cause may be found. Diseases such as diabetes, leukemia, high blood pressure, and a number of rarer conditions may cause bleeding into the eye. A detached retina can be repaired by laser therapy in the early stages, but if left, may result in permanent blindness. Because there may be a serious disease causing the problem, all patients with floaters must be appropriately investigated to exclude these problems.
The condition is only treated if it is causing significant trouble, as most floaters dissipate with time.

Question: I have floaters in the inside of the eye. Could you tell me if there is any treatment for this?
Patients with floaters can ’see’ one or more fine, dark spots or lines that appear to ‘float’ across their field of vision. Floaters are actually extremely small particles that are formed from clumps of cells, and drift in the fluid that fills the eye. This fluid has the consistency of half-set jelly. These cell clumps break away from the inside lining of the eye, or are caused by bleeding from or damage to the lining of the eye ball. Most of them are not an indication of any serious disease, but because some floaters are caused by diseases such as diabetes, leukemia, high blood pressure and other rarer but more serious conditions, every patient with floaters must be carefully examined by a doctor.
The only treatment necessary in the majority of cases is reassurance, but where a particular disease is found to cause the problem, this must be treated. Persistent, annoying floaters are treated by eye specialists using lasers.

Question: I have just been diagnosed as having glaucoma. My mother had it too. What causes this disease?
Your eyeball contains a transparent liquid that has the consistency of half-set jelly. This liquid is produced by special cells that sit just behind the iris (the colored part of the eye). There is a slow circulation of this fluid around the eyeball and out through the pupil to the area in front of the iris. Here the fluid is absorbed back into the bloodstream.
The fluid in the eyeball is under pressure to maintain the shape of the eye and prevent distortion of the light waves entering the eye. If the pressure of the fluid increases, the light-sensitive cells inside the eye will be damaged and vision will decrease possibly to the point of blindness. Glaucoma is the disease caused by an increase in the pressure of the fluid in the eye. The most common type of glaucoma has a slow onset over many months or years. The patient may not be aware that there is anything wrong unless a routine test by a doctor detects it.
Unfortunately, the first symptom is often deteriorating vision, and by then it may be impossible to reverse the existing damage, but any further damage can be prevented by the correct treatment. There is an hereditary tendency to this type of glaucoma, and anyone who has parents with glaucoma should have their eyes checked every couple of years after the age of 35.

Question: What is color blindness?
The normal form of color blindness is an inability to differentiate between the colors red and green. In some men, other colors may be involved, but only rarely is all color vision lost with the person seeing in black and white. Color blindness is hereditary, and occurs nearly always in men.
Special cards covered in colored dots, with numbers hidden amongst the dots, are used by doctors to diagnose the condition. There is no treatment available, but most patients can live quite happily with the problem, and may have adapted so completely to the problem, that they are not aware of its existence. Those planning a to work as an electrician or commercial pilot, or in some other areas where color differentiation is vital, may not be allowed to undertake these careers.