Countless issues can happen with vision and eye health, but for many people, a vision field disturbance can appear as eye floaters.
Courtesy of Personalized Retina Care of Naples
What are Eye Floaters?
The eye has a clear gel lining called the vitreous, which fills 5/6 of the back of the eye and helps to give the eye its round shape. This gel-like substance can start to degenerate what is known as eye floaters, which may begin to appear in the line of vision as forming cobwebs, squiggly strings, and other delicate objects. Generally, eye floaters appear to have a grayish tinge, and if the person looks around, the floaters tend to quickly move around, so that the individual is never able to look at them directly. Many people have a few eye floaters, and they are usually more noticeable when looking at a bright background such as a light colored wall, the sky, or a piece of white paper.
Onset of Floaters
Typically floaters appear in people over the age of 50. Sometimes eye floaters are not cause for alarm, and many people learn to ignore them for the most part. However, it is imperative to see a retina specialist at the initial onset of floaters. If you’ve had them but have never seen an eye doctor before, it would be a good idea to see one. The reason why it is so critical to seek medical attention is because eye floaters could be a precursor to retinal tears or retinal detachment. Many of these conditions are painless but could potentially lead to vision loss and blindness.
Most of the time, floaters clear up on their own and are sporadic enough for patients to live with them, but if you experience a sudden increase in eye floaters, you must seek medical attention immediately as this could be a sign of retinal damage especially if accompanied by flashes of light and veiled vision.
Posterior Vitreous Detachment (PVD) is the process of separation of the vitreous gel in the back of the eye lining from the retina. PVD in some few cases can lead to a retinal detachment.
In a recent study published by the American Academy of Ophthalmology titled, Cost-Utility of Evaluation for Posterior Vitreous Detachment and Prophylaxis of Retinal Detachment, their findings were as follows, “Published retrospective data on the natural course of PVD, retinal tears, and lattice degeneration were used to quantitate the visual benefits of examination and treatment. Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services data were used to calculate associated modeled costs in a hospital/facility-based and nonfacility/ambulatory surgical center (ASC)-based setting. Published standards of utility for a given level of visual acuity were used to derive costs and quality-adjusted life years (QALYs).
Evaluation and management of incident acute PVD (and symptomatic horseshoe tears) offer a low cost and a favorable cost-utility (low $/QALY) as a result of the minimization of the cost and morbidity associated with the development of Retinal Detachment (RD), thus justifying current practice standards.” If you have the onset of new floaters, you need and eye exam screening to prevent a retinal detachment.
Retinal Damage
The retina is a layer of neural tissue in the back of the eye. It contains 10 layers with synaptic interconnections between neurons, and it is responsible for acquiring image and transmitting through the optic nerves to the brain, where the image is seen. Vision loss is tragic, especially when it could have been prevented. If you have eye floaters, it is essential to get an eye exam with a Retina Specialist at your earliest convenience.
Conditions of the Aging Eye
One can start experiencing conditions like dry eyes and presbyopia (near vision impairment) in your 40’s; and cataracts, glaucoma or retinal disease such as macular degeneration in your 50’s and beyond.
Personalized Retina Care of Naples offers the latest most advanced diagnostic tools. Dr. Taba provides the following treatment methods:
• Foresee Home Monitoring
• Non-mydriatic Wide Angle Imaging Technology
• Spectral-domain Optical Coherence Tomography Angiography (OCT-A)
• Painless intravitreal injections
Being proactive about your eye health is critical to keeping your sight. If you are experiencing any changes in your eye health, whether it is blurry vision, pain, impaired vision, or any other eye symptoms, it is imperative that you see a retina specialist right away. The earlier disease or disorders are detected, the better the outcome and treatment options are for you.
Personalized Retina Care of Naples provides incomparable diagnosis, medical and surgical treatment for retinal conditions and disorders. Dr. Taba is a Board Certified Ophthalmologist and is Fellowship trained in surgical and medical retinal diseases.
Dr. Katia E. Taba is a Board Certified Ophthalmologist who opened her practice, Personalized Retina Care of Naples, to provide individualized and patient-centered care in a warm and welcoming atmosphere. Significantly, she will take the time
to explain all aspects of her plan of care to the patient and family.
She acquired extensive experience from her prior role as an instructor and assistant professor at a teaching hospital and many years of training in both medical and surgical vitreoretinal diseases. All diagnostic equipment is the state-of-the-art for accurate diagnosis allowing the best visual results.
Often times same day appointments are available at our conveniently located facility in the center of Naples at the Pine Ridge Road and Livingston Road intersection, off of I-75 exit 107.
For more information, please visit www.retinanaples.com, or call our office at 239-325-3970.
3467 Pine Ridge Road Suite 103
Naples 34109