If you are young and suffer from annoying, dark, moving shadows in your vision, please read this section carefully. It contains important information about the prognosis for treatment and safety issues that are common to the younger age group that loosely describe as younger than 30 years of age.
Most of the patients we successfully treat here at Vitreous Floater Solutions are over the age of 45 and have suffered some of the ravages of the aging process to include the breakdown of the vitreous fluid. In some ways it is like the generalized breakdown of collagen elsewhere (sagging skin and wrinkles). With aging, structural changes will occur: The vitreous will thicken and dehydrate and get cloudy in some areas, and liquify in other areas.
Younger people rarely experience these diffuse, generalized changes in the vitreous. Our examination in younger patients more often reveals overall very healthy eyes and overall quite clear vitreous fluid. The floaters in younger people tend to be microscopic, dense, and most important, they are almost always within 0.5-3.0 millimeters from the retina. They are very difficult to see, and sometimes they are below the optical resolution of our ability to see them despite the most diligent and motivated efforts!
This graph approximates the distribution of patients who have come in for evaluation in our office. This is a self-selected population and not meant to represent the distribution of eye floaters in the general population. The majority of patients seen by us are over 40 years of age (the blue curve above). Of the younger group of patients (red curve) we can safely and successfully treat only about 10-20%.
The below illustration set is a nice example of some of the difficulty and challenge of treating younger patients. A 26 year old male had seen at least two eye doctors. There was conflicting conclusions as one doctor told the patient he had had a “partial” posterior vitreous detachment and the other said nothing specific. On my exam, I initial saw nothing of any significance in either eye. Upon very close scrutiny, I found this small, dense vitreous condensation approximately 0.5mm from the retina. With appropriate magnification we can see a fine vertical strand that tethers the floater in place which correlates quite nicely with the patient’s drawing. There is much more that the patient is seeing that i am unable to see despite the most motivated effort on my part. For explainable reasons, the patient will ALWAYS see more than the doctor. This patient was not treatable as the laser can not safely treat this close to the retina. This is an all to common scenario for those under the age of 30-35.
Younger patients bothered by moving shadows in their vision often describe very distinct, hard-edged, lines and dots that move around much like vitreous floaters. We have nick-named some of them “crystal worms” because of their refractile, and glass-like appearance. They tend to be seen in the central vision region. For the patient population that visit our office, we find these moving shadows occur mostly in young men in their twenties through early thirties. They are still described occasionally in the third decade and very rarely occur in the 40 and older population.
Here are some actual pictures some of our patients have drawn in their effort to describe them to us:
These “moving shadows” were ultimately either barely visible, invisible to the doctor, or otherwise not good candidates for treatment. Note how they are very accurately drawn with very distinct shapes, lines and balls or knobs. These also tend to be seen well even when the pupil is dilated whereas floaters in the mi-position of the eye nearly disappear when the pupil is dilated (in dim light naturally, or when dilating drops are administered).
Regardless of your age, type or location of vitreous densities, you do not actually “see” the floater. You see the SHADOW that is cast onto the retina. The closer the object is to the retina, the most defined and distinct the shadow will be.
As in the case of most younger people with floater symptoms and in all of the illustrations above, the shadows are very defined and distinct. We can infer that the source of the shadows lie closer to the retina rather than closer to the lens and cornea. In fact no object near the lens or cornea (or even in the middle part of the eye) can cast a distinct well-defined shadow.
“Small, thin, well-defined moving shadows are almost always very close to the retina. If they are too close to the retina they cannot be safely treated.”
So on examination we expect to find something very close to the retina. Finding these floaters can be very challenging. Dr. Johnson has described it as “as looking for a strand of fiberglass, in a pool, at night, with a flashlight”. If we are lucky, with a narrow beam of light we may get lucky and see a slight reflection of light on something small. Very often, with young people we simply cannot see anything. Anywhere. The vitreous will be crystal clear.
Here is a rarely seen or photographed image of a microscopic vitreous density sitting right on the surface of the retina. It is only seen with great magnification and narrow slit beam retro-illumination. Most doctors would not find this floater with a typical examination. Dr. Johnson spent about 15 minutes looking in this area before getting the lighting and angle just right. This floater is not treatable as it is too close to the retina.
Here is a rarely photographed microscopic vitreous density sitting right on the surface of the retina. It is only seen with great magnification and narrow slit beam retro-illumination. Most doctors would not find this floater with a typical examination. Dr. Johnson spent about 15 minutes looking in this area before getting the illumination and angle just right. This floater was unfortunately not treatable.
How is it the patient can see the shadow so clearly and the doctor can’t see the source? People can see shadows as small as a red blood cell. For the doctor to see it, he has to shine a light into the eye and reflect light off this microscopic, low contrast, semi-translucent object. The reflected light must pass back through the patient’s vitreous fluid > the lens > the aqueous fluid > the cornea > a thick, diagnostic contact lens > several lens elements of the microscope > 2 mirrors > a few more lens elements > the doctor’s cornea > aqueous > lens > vitreous > and finally be imaged by the doctor’s retina. There are many layers of optical degradation in this process. If your doctor can’t see your floater, they may not be trying hard enough, or they simply may not be able to!
Regardless of how much these distinct shadows may bother the patient, there are safety issues that may prevent treatment. The use of the YAG laser is an adaption of an already available and FDA approved laser. It is an adaption to focus the laser and apply the energy to the vitreous chamber instead of near the front of the eye when treating post-cataract surgery issues. The laser can only be adapted so far, and treating too close to the retina is not safe. Here and elsewhere on this web site we have tried to give general guidelines to help determine if someone might be eligible for treatment. We have described how floater may appear differently to the patient depending on how close or far it may be from the retina. Ultimately, it is very difficult to determine without examining it here in person.
We have not found it very helpful to depend on another doctor’s assessment and evaluation of the floaters. Your local doctor may confidently see some vitreous condensation in the middle (and treatable) part of the vitreous. What they may not be able to assess is whether or not what THEY see is the same as what YOU are seeing. We recently had a young man in his mid-twenties who was reassured by his very well qualified local eye surgeons that they could see his floaters and they were in a very treatable area in the middle of his vitreous. This young man flew several thousand miles at no small expense with high expectations for treatment success. Dr. Johnson saw what this patient’s doctor’s had seen, but Dr. Johnson also found a small cluster of vitreous condensations approximately 0.5mm away from the retina. It was Dr. Johnson’s final assessment that the mild vitreous condensations that the other doctors saw were not responsible for his symptoms. Ultimately he was not considered a candidate for treatment. It was a major disappointment for this young man and another humbling realization that the laser can not treat all floaters.
Over the last 4 years, we have become less aggressive and in fact somewhat pessimistic when communicating with younger patients. We will highlight it here:
“If you are under the age of 35 or so, your chances of a successful treatment of your floater-like symptoms using the laser are greatly diminished. Adjust your expectations appropriately.”
There are a few occasional exceptions and so we do not refuse appointments for evaluation and consultation from younger patients.Whether it is worth it for you to travel to see Dr. Johnson (or one of the few other doctors proficient with the later procedure) is a question we can not answer for you. It depends on the distance you must travel and whether it will be of some value to definitively know where your floaters are located and whether or not you are a candidate for treatment with the YAG laser and to take that chance that you may be of the smaller percentage of young patients that are indeed treatable.
hi, i’ve got some questions:
1. Is FOV the only way to treat these “young floater”?
2. For a normal eye, how many years it takes for vitreous gets liquefied?
3. Will it be much more danger if i take FOV but with my vitreous still “solid”?
thanks
answers: 1. I can treat a small percentage of younger patients. If not treatable with the laser, then the vitrectomy may be the only real option.
2. about 25% of 60 year-olds with have experienced a posterior vitreous detachment which the major shift of contents away from the retina. 3. More dangerous as the vitreous is more likely to pull and tug on the retina at the time of the vitrectomy possibly increasing risk of retina detachment or tear. – Dr. Johnson
Hello Dr Johnson
i am 56 have had three corneal transplants two in left, and one in the right. Recently had YAG laser on both eyes 1 year post op from cataract lens implants. The right eye now has a vitreous detachment that appeared right after treatment with the yag laser. It seems quite large affecting almost the entire vision field and will change with eye movement from being noticeable or not. The vision goes from very sharp to a out of focus with a white shadow.
answer: It sound like a lot of stuff in there. I have treated some massive and diffuse and cloudy floaters, but they usually require more treatment over more time. The surgical vitrectomy may sometimes be a one-treatment solution, but the vitrectomy is sometimes a theoretical option, not a very available or practical option. Your sounds like one of those situations where you just have to get in there in person to see how bad or comprehensive the problem is and take the conversation from there. -Dr. Johnson
Hello,
Since I was young I rarely noticed “squiggly lines” floating in my eyes. I noticed these floating objects usually when looking in bright areas. I am 21 years old now and they have dramatically been more noticeable. They look like transparent squiggly worms. I did not start noticing them until I recently became employed as a welder. When welding I am constantly wearing a shaded lens because the ultraviolet light produced when welding is so bright. I really think this welding from bright light has irritated these floaters and caused them to be more visible. I went to see a eye doctor and she told me “they have treatments for these floaters, but she wouldn’t recommend them” and that “I would just have to live with it”. I just found your website and would really like to here your feedback. I think its so cool how you actually help people with their floaters when everyone is telling people “you’ll just have to live with it”. Floaters are so annoying and I was almost in tears when hearing my doctors response. I have found that wearing sunglasses helps camouflage my floaters. Thanks.
I thank you for this webpage, I’ve had floaters since I was about 18. I’m 32 now and all my floaters are the “crystal worm” type. In fact I can clearly make out distinct cell structure to them it seems. They have well defined edges and some are just tiny little cell looking structures floating around. I have several of them and for awhile thought I grew used to them. Now they are starting to bother me again and I did have a full eye exam from my ophthalmologist who said everything looked healthy and did not see anything. This webpage answered some of the questions he unfortunately could not.
I guess my one question is do you feel over time these type of close to the retina floaters can change their location, sink, reabsorb, etc… Or are we basically just hoping our brain will adjust to their existence.
answer: These floaters can change location, but there is no way to predict a timeline that they do so. They do not have enough mass to overcome the elastic fiber that usually hold them in place. Interesting to me is that many of these floaters in younger patients often appear to “sink” to the floater sufferer, but actually rise to the superior part of the vitreous chamber – the roof of the eye, if you will. Some of these floaters would optically disappear if they would just move a few millimeters away from the retina. That may happen, but there is no way to predict IF, or WHEN that might occur. Occasionally I have to look at my doctor phrasebook and say “You will just have to learn to live with it”. I hate having to do so, but it is what it is. – Dr. Johnson
I am 23 years old and I had PRK laser surgery a couple of months ago. Unfortunately, just as my eyes appeared to be the most improved (probably 20/15), I began noticing floaters in my vision. I had never seen or heard of these “floaters” before, so it just doesn’t make sense when the doctor who did my follow up exams and a retinal specialist I saw last week both tell me they were probably there before and are nothing to worry about. The retinal specialist dilated my eyes and also used a Goldman lens to examine my eye. Furthermore, he also said that I had no signs of PVD or retinal tear. Is this the method that you use to locate floaters?
He said he saw 10-12 floaters and a cluster in my right eye that is most bothersome to me. Whenever I look at a light at night (including a television), there are large blurs that move around and briefly obstruct my vision. When I look at the sky, I see a multitude of the stringy, worm like floaters that are very dark and defined. From your other comments, this leads me to believe that my floaters are very, very close to my retina. Would you agree on this?
Another question I have pertains to physical exercise and if it may make these floaters worse? I played basketball for a couple of hours the other day and now I feel like I have more floaters and the ones I have also are more prominent. Do you know of any correlation between strenuous activities and floaters?
From your comments, I am pretty sure that I am not a candidate for YAG, but as my Vitreous liquefies, will these floaters possibly become treatable someday in the future?
Also, what percentage of your patients would you say have floaters that result from laser eye surgery?
I truly appreciate the advice you have posted on this site and the fact that you care about what others in your profession seem to neglect and misunderstand.
P.S. These floaters disappeared completely both times my eyes were dilated. Should this be a reason for me to have hope that they may not be close to my retina?
answer: Matt, your description is not typical of younger patients. Usually the floaters are very difficult or impossible to see. Occasionally, I’ll come across a younger patient with treatable floaters. It is also possible that your doctor saw “something”, but that something may not be the floaters that are actually bothering you. I’ve seen that situation a number of times. About your question as to the number or percentage of patients that relate their floaters to a previous refractive surgery procedure, I have only had a couple and of course it can’t be proven, just suspicious because of the temporal association. If the floaters disappear, then they may be a few millimeters further away Enough to treat? Hard to say.
Thank you for your response.
Were you able to treat the patients who experienced floaters after refractive surgery?
Dr. J: Yes, I’ve had many patients who have had LASIK, less with PRK or RK. Many also with lens implants after cataract surgery (technically, a form of refractive surgery).
Since my floaters seem to appear as a large blur as they pass over light, would this indicate they are closer to the retina or possibly in the premacular bursa (PMB)?
Dr. J: I have de-emphasized the presence of the premacular bursa over the last couple of years. I think it was a way to explain off floaters we couldn’t see. The range of motion of many of these PMB suspects is too great to be explained by something trapped in that smaller potential space. I think most of the floaters in younger people are just very small and difficult to see. Many of them with dimensions much smaller than a millimeter.
I know it hasn’t been long since I had PRK, but if these floaters don’t improve over the next few months and there is even a slight chance that they are treatable, I will make the trip from Texas.
Hello, I am 15 and have had 1-2 floaters in my right eye for quite some time but i can’t remember when they started but i started my research on them today because i seem to be the only person i know that is effected by them. There are a few barely visible transparent circular ones and a more visible black dot with a strand like thing attached. From reading the articles above i understand that mine are most likely not treatable treatable because they could lie close to the retina. But my questions to you are what may have caused them and why are they only in my right eye?
answer: Theo, The short answer is that no one really knows. The collagen protein that is present in the vitreoua is normally a bit sticky and attracted to itself. If something disrupts the delicate balance chemical and electrostatic balance of the collagen and hyaluronic acid, small bit will clump up. This may happen closer to the retina where the blood vessels are located. Maybe a better question to ask is how can the vitreous be perfectly clear in the first place and remain clear for most people through their adult lives?
Dr Johnson
I call Magno Carolino M, 17 years since I have floaters, the doctor said the cause was emotional stress is this possible? What treatment do you recommend me? Remembering that I am not myopic or astigmatic, did blood tests to see if the cause of floaters toxoplasmosis or diabetes were Thank God showed no positive result, I am 23 years old! Any help from you is welcome!
answer: Magno, It is very rare for floaters to be caused by toxoplasmosis, and it would be very rare to have diabetic eye disease (such as hemorrhage causing floaters) without any of the other symptoms associated with diabetes. More likely you have some sporadic and small condensations that I see in younger patients. They are not usually treatable with the laser as they often sit too close to the retina to safely treat. These are frustrating for the floater-sufferer as there really aren’t any practical options. There are rare exceptions and I have treated some younger patients, but they are exceptions.
Hello Dr. Johnson,
Thank you very much for this fantastic website. I am a 23 year old medical student, and recently while studying for the boards, my eyes felt very tired and I decided to rub them. Within a few minutes, I started noticing a prominent floater in my right eye. I had always had a small floater in my right eye but it had never been very prominent or bothersome. However, now, the floater seems much bigger and very clearly defined: it is a perfect circle, and dark gray in color (I have other floaters in both eyes of the “crystal worms” shape, but they are not bothersome). When looking straight forward, it is slightly off to the right, but with any eye movement, the floater also moves quite significantly. Additionally, when I focus on nearby objects such as text, the floater appears smaller, while when looking at farther objects, it appears larger. I find it highly distracting, because I’m actually taking my Step 1 Board exam in two weeks. Are such well defined floaters similar to the typical sort encountered in young patients (close to the retina and usually indiscernible), or does the clarity of the shape and prominence lend to its possible treatment with the YAG laser? And lastly, can rapid eye movement dislodge the floater and perhaps allow it to settle out of sight? Your feedback would be greatly appreciated. I saw an ophthalmologist recently who told me that my eyes were healthy, but that he could see a subtle floater. Thank you very much!
answer: Ryan, It is very difficult to determine the location of floaters based on either the patient’s description, or their eye doctor’s evaluation for that matter. In general, and with few exceptions, floaters in younger patients tend to sit close to the retina where it is not safe to treat. There are some nuances.. such as when these patients describe that their floaters are less distinct in dim light (when the pupil is dilated somewhat) but this may mean that the floater is 1-2mm from the retina instead of 0.5-1mm. Either way, still to close to treat. There are a few exceptions once in a while, but in general I think it best to be somewhat guarded and set lower expectations for these prospective patients, especially because of the distances and expenses they would incur just travelling to my office. I won’t turn anyone away who desires or needs an evaluation, I’m just trying to set realistic expectations for these floater sufferers.
Do you think that floaters will be treatable for everybody someday in the future?
I only ask this in order to have hope.
answer: I hope so. I will take a change in the overall attitude among ophthalmologists and then a trickle down to device manufacturers and/or pharmaceutical companies. They need to realize that, although technically benign, floaters cause great grief and angst in people of all ages.
I forgot to ask before.
Why is it that when I squint I can see my floaters more clearly. But when my eyes are wide open, they become less visible?
And also, you implied that you rarely see the eye floaters found close to the retina in patients above the age of 45. Theres nothing wrong with giving me and other patients like me a little bit of hope. However, I am of course skeptical that time alone can be the cure? It would seem that a miracle cure would be a more likely solution.
Jordan
Jordan, what you describe is a well known property of optics. Narrowing your eyelids creates a narrow aperture, much like when I ask my patients to look through a pinhole aperture (1.2mm). The narrowed source of light entering the eye casts longer shadows and so the marginally seen floaters will become more distinct. The opposite occurs when the pupil is dilated (normally in dim light or when I administer dilating eye drops). You can read about it at the bottom of this page:
Cheers, Dr. J
Dear Dr Johnson,
I visited you two years ago when I was 20. Since then my floaters have gotten worse. I have several questions.
Firstly, cells in the human body die and get replaced all the time, so why is it that these floaters can stay intact for decades? Are they resistant to decay?
answer: The material that makes up the floater material is collagen, an inert, non-cellular, structural protein that is actually pretty stable. Unlike vascularized tissues, the vitreous humor space is pretty quiet and not part of exposed to the immune system and specialized blood and tissue cells that are designed to clean up dead tissue.
Secondly, I actually have a fraternal twin brother. We have been brought up in the same way and have several similar medical conditions. So why is it that he can have perfect eye sight, and I have so many floaters?
answer: there is no way to answer that question. Eyes with floaters are usually healthy eyes. These benign floaters in younger people are not part of a medical problem, or genetic influence, or anything else that has been discovered.I think it is all part of the entropy of life.
Thirdly, given the minute nature of floaters inside an otherwise very healthy eye. And the fact that the brain is meant to phase out these interferences. Can I pose that perhaps the brain’s of individuals that see floaters aren’t sufficiently wired to ignore these interferences. Thus, could it be more useful to pursue some sort of meditation or mind focusing route to eliminating seeing them.
answer: I don’t think the brain is designed to phase out these disturbances. I think the brain is highly aware of unexpected movement in your vision. I think it is a basic “lizard brain” function and likely part of a survival instinct to be aware of potential threats in the environment. Some people are more able to accept floaters and others, because of their personality type, will have a much more difficult time with them. I have said that floaters are seen through the filter of your personality.
Fourthly, I have tried my best to pursue a healthy lifestyle. I go out for a run every night. I drink plenty of water everyday. And i eat a lot of carrots. I don’t expect that the floaters will go away. But I hope that at the very least, that they won’t get any worse.
Finally, thank you for seeing me the other time. I appreciate your honesty and desire to help people like me.
Good Luck, Dr. Johnson
Hi doctor, Im 17 years old, and recently i noticed the appearing of a little dark blot in my field of vision, after searching on the internet I realize that it’s a floater. I would like to know what do you recommend me to do, I’m getting really stressed with this little “friend” following my sight directions. Sorry if I made some English mistakes, I’m from Brazil. Thank You Doctor.
Junior, I am sorry to hear about your new floaters. As you can tell from my website page and my responses to some of the younger patients, I’m not very enthusiastic when trying to treat younger patients. It is just a small percent of them that may be treated. Almost always their problem, and perhaps yours, are these very small, microscopic (1/10th to 1/20th of a millimeter) floaters that sit very close to the retina. The laser is just not the right tool for these floaters. In fact, the right tool has not been invented yet. There are no supplements, vitamins, regimens, or detox programs that I believe will be helpful. If there were, I would be selling it on my web site and making money off it! I don’t have any specific recommendations for you, unfortunately. Regards, Dr. Johnson
Dr. Johnson – This is a great blog, with a lot of good information. I think there are many people out there who suffer from eye floaters, so it’s great to see professionals taking an interest.
I am 28 and have had foaters for about 3.5 years. I have many floaters (worm-like), but only 2 floaters bother me and they are very large and dark (brown/sandy color). The worst one is somewhat defined to me, but the edges are still sort of vague. They also almost completely dissapear when my eyes are dilated. My question is about the mobility of the typical “young people floaters”. Does there seem to be a consistency in how mobile the untreatable floaters are? When I say mobile, I mean how far up and down, and left and right these will travel? Would you say they typically move only a little within central vision, or can they swing far up or far down before settling in the central vision? Just curious, as I am in the process of evaluating my options here.
Thanks Dr. Johnson!
Because the floaters in young people are closer to the retina, they may be perceived as moving further and faster than floaters in the middle portion of the eye. I’ve tried to illustrate how the inertia and elasticity of the formed vitreous in young people behaves in this illustration
My son is 11 years old. About half years ago, one of his eyes got a hit by a badminton racket. in last 2 months, he said he can see more and more apparent worms with different shapes. We have see 2 eye doctors, they said they can’t see anything, but they said it is maybe the floater inside his eye. When I read your website, I can confirm they are the Floaters. But what should we do now?
Response: Moving shadows are caused by irregularities in the vitreous space. There is nothing in the tear film, cornea, lens, retina or all of the visual cortex of the brain that can cause the same phenomenon. The “crystal worm”, semi-translucent, well-defined shapes that your son sees are likely located very close to the retina. Typically less than 1 mm. They are very difficult to see using typical examination techniques which are really better suited for examining other parts of the eye. This type of vitreous condensation located close to the retina is not usually treatable with the YAG laser as I use it. It cannon be safely adapted to this use. The surgical vitrectomy involves first chemically inducing a vitreous detachment via injection into the eye, then going into the eye surgically and draining all the vitreous fluid and replacing it with a saline substitute. Along with that procedure, there is a relatively high incidence of cataract formation. No retina specialist is going to offer or perform that procedure for floaters they can’t even see. So to answer your question, “What should we do now?”, there is really nothing other that reassurance. I would not recommend any treatment at this time. There is no supplement I would suggest, either. If there was something out there that worked, I would be selling it from my website. Sorry, I don’t have more to offer. Dr. Johnson
Hi,
I am a 28 year old female. I have had some floaters since I can remember but during my first pregnancy 4 years ago they became much much worse and have been bad ever since. They are crystal and dark. I also see what seems like millions of white dots swimming really fast in many directions. Are those White blood cells? Will the floaters I see now become more treatable when I am older? or is it only the floaters I develop when I am older that will be treatable?
Thank you.
Response: Jennifer, I can not say whether your floaters are treatable by the laser now or in the future. The “millions of white dots” swimming about may actually be white cells moving through the retinal blood vessels. These can sometimes be seen by most people by looking into an intense blue light or a towards a bright light with the eyelids closed. – Dr. Johnson
Hi. Thank you very much for writing this article, it really helped me understand my floater problem. I’m a 21 year old male, and started seeing floaters at the age of 12. Over the years they have gotten slightly worse, with a couple of new floaters each year or so. The majority of the floaters I see are these very defined lines and dots in the center of the vision, like you describe in the article. However, in the last couple of years I have developed two new floaters that are not completely like the other ones. They are not in the center of the vision, instead one of them is at the very bottom while the other one is at the very top. Even though I don’t see these as often as the center-ones, they are actually the most frustrating, because I really can’t see what it is. All I know is that I have some diffuse dark spots floating in areas of my vision that I cannot focus on. Sometimes I think a bird flies over my head, when it’s in fact just my floater getting visible at the top of my vision (when I look up it has of course drifted away again).
My question to you is: Do you think these floaters might be the different kind of floaters that are not too close to the retina? I’m not considering an operation right now, but it would be nice to know if there is just a slight chance in the future..
Thanks in advance!
Response: There is no description of floaters symptoms or set of screening questions I can ask that will tell me how many millimeters these floaters sit from the retina. It is a very visual diagnosis that can only truly be done in person. Frustrating for both of us. -Dr. Johnson
Hi there. I first noticed my floaters about 2.5 years ago (around age 14). I’m 16 now and a junior in high school. I can’t really gauge how bad my floaters are because I don’t really have any basis of comparison. There are a good amount, and i have them in both eyes. I can’t really tell if they are the “Crystal Worms” that you were talking about in the above article, but in comparison with the picture in the sample response you posted, the “floaters” that I experience are more defined, and are much darker in some areas. They are also not only lines, but dots and little clouds as well, so I don’t think that they are the same. I was just wondering if treatment could possibly be available to me in a few years or so? If not it really wouldn’t be that big of a deal because I’ve sort of learned to live with them, and they don’t terribly interfere with everyday life, but it would still be great to get rid of them! Thanks for the help! [I have had multiple eye exams since floaters appeared, and my eyes/retinas have been healthy]
Response: Zach, thanks for your contribution and background information. Of the younger than 30 years age grouping, it is a relatively small percentage that can be treated. At your young and tender age, I presume it is even less. When you can see fine detail within the floater itself, it almost has to be sliding along and adjacent to the retina. – Dr. Johnson
I have a 12yr old that has been telling us about the thing floating in his eye. He describes it as clear and with joints that float around. Who should we see about this if you’re saying that a regular doctor won’t be able to see. His last full eye exam was in August 2010. Thank you!
Response: As I have tried to describe, the floaters in younger patients are very difficult to see even when highly motivated. I don’t have magic skills, I just usually spend a lot more time trying to find them. I try because I am supposed to be the expert?! Furthermore, even if I had determined that the patient is not a candidate for laser treatment, they deserve my best effort to at least determine what their real problem is. Quite often they feel like their own local Doctor has not really given them the time or a real understanding of what the problem is. Does you son see floaters that look something like this?:
These are what we call “crystal worm”-like floaters. They are transparent or translucent and there is detail within their structure. These are likely within 1mm or so of the retina and would not be a candidate for treatment for safety reasons. In addition, just based your son’s age, I would not want to treat. All this opinion and recommendation should be in light of the fact that I have not examined his eye, but I feel compelled to set realistic expectations for all patients, but especially the younger patients, where over time, I have become more pessimistic as to the potential for successful and safe treatment with the laser. – Dr. Johnson