Expert explains what you should do if you start seeing 'floaters' in your eyes
It's happened to all of us - you're going about your day, looking around, before you notice little smudge-like shapes in your vision.
You may even see wiggly lines, but after a bit of blinking, you realise that there's nothing there and the shapes suddenly disappear as quickly as they showed up.
They're called 'floaters', and this rare occurrence may worry you if you haven't seen them before, while also being fairly annoying.
The phenomenon can be very common, but the NHS has provided advice on when you should see a health expert about your floaters.
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While they are annoying, it is always better to know what having floaters can mean, whether you should ignore them, or why they pop up in the first place.
What are 'floaters'?
The NHS explain that they are caused by a process known as posterior vitreous detachment (PVD), which is a harmless process where the gel in your eyes changes.
This can also be caused by retinal detachment in rarer, more serious situations.
If it's a serious health case though, it can lead to vision lossm but it should be noted that floaters and 'flashes' can also happen for no real reason.
When should you see an expert?
Dr Daniel Polya, an expert from Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Ophthalmologists’, explained that it's ‘so important to see an optician when a floater first appears’.
The eye expert explained that you should see an optician only when new ones show up and if they don't, feel free to ignore them.
Dr Polya added: “Laser surgery can also be performed to break up big, problematic floaters, but it has risks associated.”
Why do floaters appear in the first place?
Dr Polya explained the science behind all of it to Daily Mail Australia, adding that they are a result of vitreous fibres (which make up about 80 percent of the eye) clogging together.
He went on: “It's the condensation of the collagen fibres. Large molecules of collagen clog together and cast shadows on your retina which you perceive as eye floaters.”
Apparently, these clogs then create the shapes of blobs or squiggly lines that pop up when we look at plain walls or lights.
What do floaters really mean?
They can be a massive issue if you're not careful, as the doctor added: “What's really disappointing is when someone will come in with retinal detachment from a posterior vitreous detachment that hasn’t been examined earlier.”
PVD, while mostly harmless, can be a sign as Dr Polya explained: “For those that get PVD, there's a five percent chance it's developing a tear in the retina, and if a tear does occur, there's a 50 percent chance of retinal detachment.”
While laser surgery can treat a retinal tear, it's crucial to catch on to the issue early on to stop any further damage.
He went on: “PVD is common and not that disappointing to see, whereas retinal detachment is disappointing to see in a patient who could have had an earlier exam when they first got floaters.”
Joshua Nair