Floaters and flashes

[Bearcat]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Floater

Last weekend I started experiencing floaters in my right eye and also light flashes. Needless to say, I was very concerned, but as it turned out after a visit to my opthamologist, this isn't uncommon for someone my age, who is near sighted. I keep wanting to swat the "fly" that appears every once in a while in my field of vision, but then realize its only a floater.

Just curious to see if anyone else has this condition.

[Raymond]

Ah my mum complained about that few years back.
She kept on seeing fly or mosquito at the corner of her sight.

[Bearcat]

Ah my mum complained about that few years back.She kept on seeing fly or mosquito at the corner of her sight.

Just curious Raymond, but does she still see them? I have read that once you develop floaters they never go away, but just like with chronic pain, the brain compensates for them and they become less noticeable after a while.

[A Guy]

I do Bear. Had them for years. Found this article a few years ago:

http://www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2010/06/what-causes-eye-floaters/

The floaters are normal, it's the flashing that worries me.

If you ever see a ton of floaters appear out of no where, possibly with some light flashes, you should get to an eye doctor immediately. There is a chance (1 in 7) that your retina is about to detach from the back of your eye. If that happens, you have very little time to get it fixed before it effectively dies and you go blind from that eye.

I'm hoping your Doctor was thorough!

A Guy

[Raymond]

She did say that the condition improved after taking a lot of chinese herbs that are good for the eyes.

[Bearcat]

She did say that the condition improved after taking a lot of chinese herbs that are good for the eyes.

That is interesting about the chinese herbs, because when I asked my Doctor that question, he said that vitamin therapy doesn't work on floaters. But who knows, I've got nothing to lose by trying it.

@ A Guy

The diagnoses was posterior vitreous detachment (PVD). My Doctor says that the new equipment they have now, gives them an excellent view of the eye, much better even than just a few years ago. He didn't observe any weakness in the retina itself and told me that if a tear had occured, my vision in the eye would have been impaired. Now its just a matter of watching to see if things get worse and if they do, I am to go back in to see him immediately. Apparently the flashes aren't uncommon and will generally go away in a few months.

Oh man, I just love these "golden years" that supposedly I am now enjoying!

[Raymond]

The thing about chinese herbs and medicines is they are not recognized by western doctors as they don't provide 100% results. It's like you take it and there is a "chance" of improvement.

[JayCub]

i have noticed this myself Bear and had a full eye scan, maybe im used to it by now as there are no other side effects, and like you im near sighted...still first time i have heard of anyone mentioning the condition and may be worthy of note..

[Bearcat]

The thing about chinese herbs and medicines is they are not recognized by western doctors as they don't provide 100% results. It's like you take it and there is a "chance" of improvement.

Hi Raymond. Homeopathic medicine is growing in popularity in the US, but is far behind China. I totally agree with the use of natural herbs, minerals and vitamins and have done so now for a number of years. If you wouldn't mind, could you find out what herbs your mum took? I would be very appreaciative.

@ Jay

Lots of people suffer from floaters, but not to the same degree as I do, so they may not always notice unless they are under bright light conditions. For me, the floaters are long amoeba like strings with a series of black spots and I can see them under most light conditions, except when its dark.

[Raymond]

We call it "kitchi" in Mandarin.
After a bit of googling and translating, I found that it is called Chinese Wolfberry.
Here are some of the images.
http://mykitchen.cookingmomster.com/?p=459
http://www.fotosearch.com/CSP492/k4920550/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolfberry

We normally buy the dried ones so that it can be easily eaten as a snack.
It can also be used to cook in soup.