Medical Questions & Answers » poor vision http://www.medicalquestionsanswers.com Mon, 17 May 2010 11:32:40 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8 en hourly 1 Vitreous Floaters in Eyes http://www.medicalquestionsanswers.com/vitreous-floaters-in-eyes/ http://www.medicalquestionsanswers.com/vitreous-floaters-in-eyes/#comments Fri, 30 May 2008 09:52:48 +0000 medicalquestions http://www.medicalquestionsanswers.com/vitreous-floaters-in-eyes/ 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.

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