# Eye Floaters



## RyanE1991 (Feb 14, 2013)

Does anybody else suffer from these wretched things? i have what looks like a swarm of flies in both eyes and i see them all day long and they really make me feel crap because i have OCD and want to have stuff clean and with these floaters its like dirt in my eyes that i just want to clean and its so infuriating. 

Ive seen numerous opticians and they said its nothing to worry about but its just i dont feel like i should suffer from them this early in life, especially not as severe as mine are, like constant black swirls and cobwebs blocking everything, i hate them so much and hate knowing they will still be there in like 50 years because they dont go away. 

And there are treatments available but they are both expensive and dangerous which could lead to blindness, what i have is irritating as hell but its still better than no vision at all

So does anybody else get these and please could you describe what yours look like?


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## shyvr6 (Feb 18, 2008)

I used to have them. I may still have them, but I don't notice them anymore if I do. They looked like tiny little transparent bubbles that would move around whenever I moved my eye.


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## RyanE1991 (Feb 14, 2013)

Thank you for your replies


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## noscreenname (Feb 24, 2013)

I've been terribly near sighted my whole life and these are just part of the deal. Not sure what to tell you, I've had them since I was a child so I don't think you are too young to have them. I just don't pay attention to them.


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## A SAD Finn (Sep 16, 2007)

Yep, lot's of them. Most of them appeared after a laser operation on my left eye. I think some appeared in my right eye too before it was surgically operated to save it.


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## TheExplosionist (Apr 13, 2009)

Laser eye surgery, rubbing/itching or anything that disrupts the matrix fluid makes them worse.


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## WhoDey85 (Sep 6, 2006)

Yeah I have one bad one that has been around for awhile. I only see it when I am looking at blank backgrounds. Mine just looks like a fuzzy little brown dot that moves away every time I try to focus on it. 

Apparently your brain get used to it after awhile and just starts to ignore it.


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## milhaus (Feb 19, 2013)

I had them really bad in college, went to get them checked and they didn't find anything out of the ordinary. They seem to have subsided almost completely. 

I recommend you go to the eye doctor, if they don't' find anything then I wouldn't worry too much.


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## NormalLad (Nov 1, 2012)

I barely noticed them


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## scarpia (Nov 23, 2009)

I got them after spending too much time in the sun without sunglasses. They have not gotten any worse since I wear shades in the sun all the time. The sun gives you wrinkles too. Avoid the sun.


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## HopefulDreamer (Feb 26, 2012)

I have them. I've had them since I was 12. I've gotten used to them now. I don't really notice them anymore. I used to notice them all the time, and I could sit there for a long time staring at them, and making them move. I used to make a game of it. Now I don't notice them as much. I notice them more when I am outside than inside.


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## CeilingStarer (Dec 29, 2009)

I have them. They seem worse with lack of sleep, alcohol abuse etc. Since I've been eating a more or less raw vegan diet for a month with exercise, no beer etc, they've improved somewhat.


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## IveGotToast (Jan 1, 2013)

Go to about 5:15 on the video


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## Bohuw (Feb 1, 2013)

I have them too. they are like itty bitty fire flies that appear over any surface  
It happens now and then not constantly but it literally looks like im seeing stars float around


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## Lacking Serotonin (Nov 18, 2012)

I have them all the time and I've seen these tiny transparent bubbles since I was a kid. I didn't know they were called floaters. I thought it was a hallucination or something.


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## lonelyjew (Jan 20, 2010)

Bohuw said:


> I have them too. they are like itty bitty fire flies that appear over any surface
> It happens now and then not constantly but it literally looks like im seeing stars float around


Err, are you confusing flashes with floaters, or do you have them both? Floaters are funny looking squiggly things that move around in your vision - they're little little floating bits inside your eyes, while flashes are bright lights that are caused by the ganglion cells (the ones that actually send the signal to the brain) of your eyes when they're irritated. I have some floaters, and occasionally I get some flashes, but if you have *lots *of both, and particularly if you suddenly see lots of them them together, you need to go see an ophthalmologist ASAP. When you get a retinal detachment/tear, it will present with suddenly lots of flashes and floaters, and it is a thing that needs to be treated fast, or you can lose your vision. Not trying to freak you out, but just something to keep in mind.

IRT to the OP

Floaters are completely normal. Behind the lens of your eye you have a ton of jelly (vitreous humor). As you age, some of it breaks down and liquifies, so you get bits that break off, and are floating around. When those floating bits get in between light and your retina, you see them as floaters. The only time to worry is if you suddenly see a lot more of them than usual, and you see flashes of light, because that could be a retinal tear which needs taken checked out ASAP (though usually it's just your vitreous detaching from the retina, which isn't a problem, but you don't know that until after it's been looked at). As for having them removed, the only way to do that is a "vitrectomy", where they remove all the jelly and either fill your eye with air (which your body replaces with fluid) or oil. It's done to treat floaters only in extremely severe cases, and I don't imagine it would be worth taking the serious risk unless you couldn't function normally (never mind that no ethical ophthalmologist would agree to doing it unless it was severe).


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## arsesame (Mar 10, 2013)

Here is the deal.

why you got floaters:
1. being human 
2. being short sighted
4. bad circadian rythms
5. mechanical stress on the eyes
6. being in a breakthrough stress state or chronic stress.
7. inflammation is unregulated

what to do:
1. make sure melatonin cycle is in order, melatonin is known to help floaters overtime
2. generally return to good health 
3. don't look at the floaters and let them pass through. (retrain your eyes, constantly looking at floaters will make them worse and give you flashers too)
4. notice if you screw with your eyes too much and stop doing it
5. go outside, but wear sunglasses. daily. 

its possible for floaters to subside after 2-3 years, its not worth to bother with them anymore than with a runny nose. I lost 2 years of my life to them partially and the moment I resumed living more normally they didn't limit me that much. and now I have a bit less of them. 
remember that your ancestors got floaters since age 2-3 in all their eyes from getting hit in the head and wrote about it all the time for thousands of years, so do animals. they didn't interfere with your chances in life any more than a wrinkle. 
emperor nero however is said to have gone mad from them under some interpretations.


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## fanatic203 (Jun 23, 2010)

I've had them since I was a kid. I usually don't notice them, but now that I'm thinking about it, I see them. I can imagine how it would suck having them with OCD though.:rub


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## komorikun (Jan 11, 2009)

I started getting them in my 30s. Kind of annoying but I don't notice them quite as much now. Only if I stare at something white for a long time. I have pretty bad eyes. My contact lens prescription is -5.75/-6.5.


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## AussiePea (Mar 27, 2007)




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## Capsized Citizen (Mar 15, 2013)

It's from your retinas detatching. It happens to just about everyone at some point. I've had mine since I was in third grade or so, but I have an eye disease. They used to bother me a lot and sometimes still do but it's something you just have to learn to deal with if you have them


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## fanatic203 (Jun 23, 2010)

^ Uh, no, when your retina detaches, you can go blind. (see lonelyjew's post)


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## Capsized Citizen (Mar 15, 2013)

Well duh, but to some extent as we get older our retina slightly detatches and the eye floaters are the remnants of this. At least that's what my eye doctor said. All of my eye doctors I should say.


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## Capsized Citizen (Mar 15, 2013)

And trust me- I know you can go blind from your retina detaching, I'm going blind myaelf.


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## estse (Nov 18, 2003)

I like watching them. It helps me cope.


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## PaxBritannica (Dec 10, 2012)

Maybe they are not floaters


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## lonelyjew (Jan 20, 2010)

Capsized Citizen said:


> Well duh, but to some extent as we get older our retina slightly detatches and the eye floaters are the remnants of this. At least that's what my eye doctor said. All of my eye doctors I should say.


I think you misunderstood what your doc was telling you, you're probably thinking of a vitreous detachment, which isn't the same thing. Your vitreous humor (the jelly stuff behind your eye's lens) is also attached to your retina, and as it liquifies with age, chunks break off, and those are the floaters you see. When a lot of it liquifies, it gets a bit stretched, and it can break off the retina - a vitreous detachment - which happens to a lot of people, and can make you see flashes, and see a lot more floaters. Sometimes when this happens, or for other reasons, your retina detaches, which is a lot more serious, and if not treated quickly, can lead to blindness.


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## Capsized Citizen (Mar 15, 2013)

Sounds right to me. I'm sorry I got it wrong but I guess that's how you learn. Thank you for sharing. It seems I was a bit off my game. But it can be related to the retina detatching, right? Or did I make that up? Maybe I should stick to reading and not posting....


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## lonelyjew (Jan 20, 2010)

Capsized Citizen said:


> Sounds right to me. I'm sorry I got it wrong but I guess that's how you learn. Thank you for sharing. It seems I was a bit off my game. But it can be related to the retina detatching, right? Or did I make that up? Maybe I should stick to reading and not posting....


Most definitely it can be related to a retina detaching. Not only can a mild retinal detachment present just like a vitreous detachment (lots of new floaters, flashes of light), but the pulling that causes that vitreous to detach from the retina sometimes pulls the retina along for the ride, causing a retinal detachment, so no, you're not mistaken. I can understand the confusion, and the only reason I feel confident about these things is because I spent last summer shadowing ophthalmologists, and we saw tons of vitreous detachments, and I heard the explanation quite a few times .


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## Marinas Florin (Mar 21, 2013)

I have them too but if you ignore them they are pretty much safe


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## march_hare (Jan 18, 2006)

I've got them too. Weird squiggly things :S
I'm mainly worried about my short-sightedness though.


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## FireYourDoctor (Mar 27, 2013)

I find this strange, because I have them and am only 22.
I've always put it down to taking the acne medication, Accutane as others in a forum for post-accutane sufferers have reported them.
Mine kicked in a few years ago.. I don't think they've got worse but it's horrible and still bothers me every day. I tend to notice them in my right eye more. Always the same. One bigger one, and a couple of little'uns. Annoying outside or in well lit rooms.
I also suffer from dry-eye syndrome and guess this could be linked.
That was a side effect from Accutane.
I worry that in 50 years (if I live that long) my vision will be ridiculously bad.


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