<p>No not negligee shopping.
Things in my eyes that isn’t going away ( it has been two weeks- I did go to the optometrist- but it is major and driving me crazy)
Just wanting to get sympathy
Kthxs</p>
<p>Posterior vitreous detachment? You do have my sympathy. I had it last year, and it’s annoying. It was difficult to drive at night, too. The symptoms will go away, eventually (although I still see things-just less of them).</p>
<p>This is SERIOUS. You probably have a tear or tears in your retina. I went through this a few years ago==part of aging. Go to an eye specialist ASAP. TOMORROW at the latest. You could lose the eye if it tears more and detaches. I’d go to Swedish ER if you can’t contact a specialist. They have eye specialists on call. You will need laser treatments to seal the tears.</p>
<p>Yes, ek, you need to have it checked out. But it probably is something completely benign – google eye “floaters”. It is a normal, age-related phenomenon. Probably nothing to worry about, but you should rule out something more serious.</p>
<p>Yes, it could be serious. I assumed that your optometrist diagnosed PVD. If not, yes, of course, get help right away!</p>
<p>When it happened to me, I was referred immediately to an ophthalmologist, and he diagnosed the PVD (which is common in elderly, nearsighted people, but I am only one of those).</p>
<p>ek, are you talking about the little black thread-like things that look like a tiny hair or eyelash and only show up in certain conditions and seem to float down - except you realize you are following them with your eye and they are still right there. Or is this something new and major? If that’s the case, get to an MD.</p>
<p>barrons is right. This could be a partial tear of your retina. Could be a precursor to a complete retinal tear, and it could be nothing. I would at least go to a opthamologist (better to see a retinal specialist) tomorrow. Black streaks could mean blood, but I am not sure that “black floaty things” are at all the same.</p>
<p>Do get help asap. Last year I had a friend rushed into surgery with those symptoms.</p>
<p>Ditto. I had floaters suddenly when I was pregnant with my first…torn retina as a result of thinning of the vitrious fluid behind the eye…laser surgery was done pronto and successfully. I still have floaters though…they DON’T always go away (even more reason to get checked out) - most times I don’t really notice them unless I think about it…but you NEED to get checked out ASAP.</p>
<p>I have had floaters for years. I did go in to an opthamologist to have it checked out for something more serious when they first started. </p>
<p>They are ANNOYING, however, you do get more used to them. For me floaters are more obvious and annoying when against lighter views, such as against a bright sky or in the winter against lots of white snow in bright sunlight conditions. They stink and I hate them but I don’t think about them too often anymore.</p>
<p>You have my sympathies, fellow floater.</p>
<p>I have lived with floaters for many years. My ophthalmologist told me to expect a very gradual increase in the number of floaters I notice as I age. However, he cautioned if I notice a sudden increase in the number of floaters it can be a symptom of very serious problems (retina tears, for example)and I should be seen immediately.</p>
<p>EK4 - I do agree that you should probably see an opthamologist (as opposed to an optometrist).</p>
<p>Any update in the meantime?</p>
<p>I suddenly had floaters (more like an eyelash that couldn’t be blinked away) and little grains of sand. Went to the ophthalmologist and he diagnosed little tears in the retina. He “sewed” them shut with a laser. Those little grains of sand? They were blood cells.</p>
<p>Get thee to an ophthalmologist to make sure they aren’t something serious.</p>
<p>I have the floaters too. Have had them for over awhile now. I went to an Opthamologist and he declared them benign. However, he did say to watch out for sudden flashes or stars. If I saw those I should go straight back to him.
I’ve gotten used to them over time…but still annoying when I think that I never used to have them at all.</p>
<p>Bumping up because, guess what? I have a floater in my left eye as of yesterday. </p>
<p>A question, though. If you call the opthamologist and tell them you have a floater, will they automatically get you in to see someone that day? Or do you have to push the issue? I only see the opthamologist once every couple of years as I do not wear prescriptions, and I just can’t imagine that if I called them up tomorrow, that they’d say, come on in today.</p>
<p>My guess is that they would see you the same day, teri. Retinal detachments or tears are serious stuff, and they can’t tell over the phone if the “floater” is innocuous or more serious. It’s probably the former, but you should definitely have it check out ASAP.</p>
<p>If you also see flashes of light – like arcs, maybe off to one side – this is another symptom that you should report to your ophthalmologist right away.</p>
<p>You should be seen the same day, since it is possible that it is a retinal tear. But as others have pointed out, it might just be PVD – posterior vitreous detachment. (Google it for more information.) PVD can be very annoying, but it is not serious.</p>
<p>I had the flashes of light and floaters symptoms a bit over a month ago, and called my regular doctor after about an hour and a half of trying to ignore it. She arranged for me to see an ophthalmologist within an hour. Luckily, it was just PVD. But it could have been something serious (a retinal tear), and my doctor said it could not wait another day to be checked out.</p>
<p>I had the same thing–PVD, but with no retinal tear. The first onset was quite alarming–I saw a big mass of squirming black threads. Now, there’s one persistent annoying threadlike structure, but I’m getting used to it. There are a couple of doctors who do laser treatments to zap the floaters, but most ophthamologists (including mine) advise against it.</p>
<p>yea, no flashes of light like arcs. Am pretty sure it’s not anything serious, but I’ve been incredibly fortunate with my eyesight for my whole life… I’d hate to change that streak at this point, so I will call the eye doctor in the morning. Mine is actually quite small, but noticable.</p>
<p>Very nearsighted people are more prone to floaters and PVD’s. Something about the shape of the eye. I’m very myopic and have had more and more floaters as they years have gone by, then had a PVD last summer (indicated by the typical sudden flashes); the PVD left me with a large round floater called a Weiss’ Ring, very hard to ignore because it’s a perfect geometric shape and my mind keeps recognizing it, if you know what I mean. Randomly shaped floaters are easier to ignore. From what I’ve read, and I’ve read a lot since this happened, floaters never go away, but your brain eventually learns to ignore them most of the time, the same way you learn to ignore ambient noise. Mine are most apparent when I look at a white computer screen (like right now) or a bright sky. Some very sensitive people are so driven to distraction by floaters that they become depressed, but because they are not considered harmful, medical science does not address them. A few “out there” ophthalmologists, one in Virginia, one in California, one in Florida, purport to be able to zap floaters away with a laser, and some patients claim amazing results, but the mainstream docs say there’s no such thing. Weird, huh? I can’t imagine another area of medicine where some docs are doing a procedure regularly that most deny is even possible. </p>
<p>When I had my PVD, the retinal specialist also found a tiny hole in the retina that he sealed with a laser to prevent a possible future retinal detachment. That required a number of follow up visits, and the worst thing about the visits was having my dilated eyes held open and examined for quite a long time under his very bright lamp. I’m very sensitive to light anyway, so this was really painful to me. And I react very strongly to the dilating drops, so my pupils stay dilated for many hours, and I’m pretty incapable of doing anything except sitting in the dark or napping until they go back to normal. It’s like losing a day of my life.</p>
<p>Anyway, loads of sympathy here for the floater-prone and PVD’ers. Getting old stinks.</p>