I’ve experienced floaters in my eyes a few times over the years, but they were tiny bubbles. When I got to work this morning I noticed a huge one in my left eye. It had a rusty color, long and wispy and gives the illusion of covering almost my entire eye. Do you think I need to consult an opthamologist or is this just a fluke? I have a lot of pain/pressure behind that eye also.
Actually it feels like someone did this :smack:
See a doctor. An ophthalmologist would be a good choice. An optometrist would also be able to give you a good dilated eye exam, and let you know if an ophthalmologist is needed.
QtM, MD
I see floaters sometimes (I’m nearsighted) and if I got one like that I would most certainly get myself to an eye doctor.
The fact that your eye hurts is also not a good sign.
Come on, how many of you came here thinking this was going to be a thread about floating turds?
What is a floater?
It’s not an eyelash?
Peace,
mangeorge
I thought turds too.
I’m no expert here, but if this happened to me I’d be worried about a detached retina, which needs IMMEDIATE attention. It couldn’t hurt to get it checked out, but if you don’t you could lose your eyesight. I’m not one to easily go to a doctor, but I would go ASAP.
Definitely see an ophthalmologist, preferably one who specialises in ocular immunology. Floaters, especially in conjunction with pain may indicate uveitis, an autoimmune disorder that causes inflammation of various parts of the eye, and can lead to permanent visual loss if not treated.
Thanks, minty.
No sweat. One of two columns I’ve actually made use of as references in my professional career.
Do go see one right now, or preferably yesterday.
I plan to try and see one tomorrow. After my post I noticed white flashes of light in the left side of that same eye which scared me to say the least. Thanks to everyone for the responses.
Large floaters plus flashes of light are the symptoms I, as a very nearsighted person was taught to watch for as a detached retina. I really don’t think this is something you want to risk waiting overnight to see a doctor for.
Actually, I was thinking of temp workers who work for several departments at once. Here, we call 'em floaters.
I have had floaters in my left eye for a long, long time, probably close to 20 years. Each eye doctor I’ve had has said it’s nothing to worry about…
I live in a very small town and don’t have any choice but to wait until Monday to have it checked out.
I’ve had floaters over the years too, but never had any nearly as large as this one.
I also have many small floaters in each eye. The things that I was told to watch out for were large floaters appearing suddenly and flashes of light. I don’t know exactly how time-critical treatment of a detached retina is, but it’s definitly not something to be left for days. I belive that avoiding heavy lifting and anything else that can jar the eye is important until she can get someone to look at the eye, too.
Everything I know tells me it is a serious mistake to generalize from “little floaters I’ve had for years are harmless” to “large floaters appearing suddenly accompanied by flashes of light are harmless.”