The gel that fills your eye is called the vitreous humour and while, it’s meant to be clear there are at least 5 types of floating material that can enter the vitreous and cause annoying obstructions to your vision. The problem is that many of them are potentially very serious if not checked out. Lets take a look… In no particular order
1 Standard floater
- Caused by clumping collagen that casts shadows on the retina
- Age-related mainly, but can be common in young people
- Head trauma from boxing, contact sports and heading a soccer ball may lead to early vitreous eye floaters formation
2 Blood
- Due to retinal tear
- Burst central retinal artery or vein
- Hypertension
3 Inflammation
- Caused by inflammatory eye conditions such as posterior uveitis
- Posterior Uveitis common cause
- Relatively uncommon
- Severe symptoms will alert you to it
4 Asteroid hyalosis
- Is a build up of Calcium
- Relatively common
- Can be very annoying
- Vitrectomy surgery may an option if it affects vision significantly
5 PVD (Posterior Vitreous Detachment)
Key features
- ‘Weiss ring’ is the name of the ring-like floater formed
- Cobweb like large central floater
- May come with flashes of light
- May be linked to tears of the retina and retinal detachments
In all cases, you need to get your eyes checked urgently by an eye care professional even if you don’t have other symptoms, to rule-out problems requiring treatment.
Published with StoryChief
