Eye Floaters
You may have noticed them
before but not realized what they were. The little shadows that
float by in your line of vision when you look at a blank canvas
or up at the sky; these little waves and string-like shapes are
called eye floaters.
Eye floaters are pieces of clumpy
gel or cells in your eye inside the vitreous, which is the jelly-like
fluid that fills your eye. The shapes you see are the shadows the
eye floaters are casting on the retina. As people reach middle age,
the vitreous begins to liquefy and contract. When this occurs parts
of the vitreous begin to form clumps leading to eye floaters. People
who are nearsighted, have had YAG laser eye surgery and undergone
cataract surgery as the most likely to experience eye floaters.
Doctors rarely perform
surgery on eye floaters. These shadows, which are more annoying
than harmful, usually disappear in time. But, if you notice a number
of eye floaters suddenly appear and they are accompanied by flashes
of light, visit a doctor immediately. These could be signs of a
serious eye condition like retinal detachment.
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