On noticing small figures moving, squirming and squiggling on a solid, blank wall, you probably wonder if its hallucination or an aftereffect of overeating. And if the occurrence is frequent, it refers to as eye floaters that further indicate to an underlying disease. Floaters can be seen anytime, anywhere even if you’re simply staring at a clear blue sky.
In rare cases, floaters can even block your vision only when they appear in high concentration. The situation can be extremely dangerous when driving or crossing a street. You might want to book an appointment with the eye specialist in Dubai as well as learn more about these floaters.
Floaters & why you have them
Tiny imperfections in the vitreous humour are floaters. This ‘vitreous humour’ is a transparent jelly-like layer filling the eye, which starts shrinking as we age. It tends to develop small deposits and become ‘stingy’. When light rays fall on these deposits, a shadow is cast on the retina due to which we see floaters rather than a clear picture.
There’ve been cases when these floaters take on alarming shapes, prompting the affected in seeking medical attention. Fortunately, they aren’t a symptom of something severe but can be associated with underlying health or even an eye disease, depending on when and how you see them. Possible increase in their concentration or frequency is a cue to seek medical attention.
The dangerous situation
Seeing floaters is common as we age and people today suffer from this wear-and-tear more due to overexposure of digital devices. For people above the age of 50 years, changes due to aging give off floaters. But then some situations can be dangerous such as internal eye bleeding, a torn retina or inflammation in the back of the eye.
Aging aside, individuals diagnosed with diabetic retinopathy are likely to see the floaters or perhaps a side-effect, complication post cataract surgery or eye trauma. If you’re 50-years old or above and experiencing any of these conditions, better visit an eye specialist in Moorfields Dubai for timely treatment.
Floaters – Natural management & prevention
Just in case the floaters become denser and impedes the vision, treatment or removal is the next best step. The surgical removal of floater-filled vitreous humour is known as ‘vitrectomy’ after which saline solution replaces the natural jelly-like layer.
Although the surgery is effective, it’s nothing short of dangerous because eyes are sensitive to coping fully to this highly intrusive surgery. A number of complications can be caused by vitrectomy with infection being most common alongside the risk of retinal detachment which can also result in blindness. A few natural preventive measures include;
- Flick the floaters
And not with your fingers! Move your eyes rapidly up, down, left and right can flick away the floaters away from the central field of vision. Since they float freely, your eye movement can help to clear up the floaters from impeding the vision.
- Hyaluronic acid
Also known as hyaluronan; using hyaluronic acid helps in clearing away the floaters as the compound has a history of being used as a recovery agent post eye surgery. Still, it isn’t actually a typical floater fixer but just as a cleaning agent.
