Eye floaters are small spots in your vision that appear like specks or floating strings of material. When you move your eyes, they move with them too, but if you try to look at them directly, they clear out of the way. Most eye floaters are just a minor nuisance and fade away with time, but some can remain and impair your vision. If eye floaters are affecting your vision, you may want to consider treatment from an Orange County eye doctor.
Causes of Eye Floaters
In our eyes, there is a gel-like substance called the vitreous. As we grow older, the vitreous starts to break apart and dissolve into a more liquid substance, causing these eye floaters. The cobwebbed-like strings you see are actually just microscopic fibers and part of the vitreous.
Again, most eye floaters aren’t cause for alarm and the eye will naturally flush them out over weeks to months. There are many over the counter eye drops you can use to help flush them out as well. If these pesky eye floaters just don’t seem to go away, however, you may want to consider seeing an Orange County eye doctor for surgery.
Symptoms
Most symptoms with eye floaters are very minimal. You will see these cob-like strings in your vision that appear to float around in your vision. Purchasing over the counter eye drops may help speed up the dissolving process and get you floater-free faster. If you are finding that these floaters are very large, aren’t going away, and are obstructing your ability to properly see and function, you should call an eye doctor as soon as possible.
Surgical Treatment
The surgery that is most commonly used for eye floaters is called a vitrectomy. During this procedure, a small cut is made and either all, or part of the vitreous is removed by the ophthalmologist. Doing this also removes the eye floaters. It is then replaced with a clear fluid solution to bring the eye back to normal.
Another possible procedure is called vitreolysis. Vitreolysis is a surgical procedure performed with a laser and has been proven to be safer than a vitrectomy, which can often cause other eye issues like cataracts. With this procedure, the ophthalmologist will first apply anesthetic drops to your eyes, followed by a special contact lens meant for the procedure. Then, a laser is cast into the pupil, specifically focusing on the floaters and breaking them apart. When all the floaters have been properly discharged, the contact lens is removed, and the ophthalmologist will instruct you to rinse out your eyes with the proper eye solution.
This laser procedure is highly recommended as it is free of pain and leaves you with very minimal side effects besides some minor puffy eyes. In addition, you may see spots after the laser procedure, but these are just gas bubbles that dissolve easily and naturally on their own. Your Orange County eye doctor will apply anti-inflammatory eye drops after the procedure and may send you home with a prescription of them to aid in your recovery. You may return to normal day to day activities after the treatment. Any minor side effects will fade away in a few short days.
A follow-up appointment will likely be scheduled in order to assess how the treatment went and to determine if all your eye floaters were properly resolved. If it seems that a number of them are still around and don’t resolve soon, which is very rare, a second treatment may be advised.
Laser vitreolysis isn’t for everyone though, and only your Orange County eye doctor can determine whether or not you are fit for the procedure. Factors like age, personal symptoms, and the nature of your eye floaters (size, shape, quantity, etc) are all considered before committing to the procedure. If you are interested in talking to a professional Orange County eye doctor, contact Advanced Eye Medical to do so. We will answer any questions you may have about the procedures we offer and help advise you on the one that is fit for you.