Healthy Eyes, Healthy You

Many people wake up with these annoyances in their field of vision seemingly out of nowhere. Eye floaters are small but noticeable strings, balls, or other shapes that seem to drift around in your visual field. They can move when you move your eyes, which makes it hard to focus on them to get a good look. If you ever wake up with eye floaters in your field of vision, consider making an appointment with the optometrist for a quick eye exam. Even though this optometric condition is rather common, it can point to certain woes with your vision and your health. 

1. Eye floaters can be related to inflammation of the eye and retinal tears.

Some of the most severe situations with eye floaters are when the problem is being caused by either inflammation in the back of the eye or due to retinal tears. Either of these situations puts your vision at risk if not treated promptly, and they are not all that common but should be checked for through an eye exam. Through a thorough visual exam, the eye doctor can tell if the back of the eye appears inflamed or if there are potential damages to your retina that needs to be treated right away. 

2. Eye floaters can be a sign of other health problems. 

One reason to seek an eye exam right away is the fact that eye floaters can be a sign of other pressing health concerns. For example, floaters can occur due to bleeding in the eye caused by diabetic retinopathy. Even though the eye doctor may not be able to formally treat these underlying health concerns, they can let you know when something is wrong so you can seek the proper treatment right away. 

3. Eye floaters may need surgical treatment when they are severe. 

In the majority of cases, eye floaters are barely more than a nuisance. The longer the floater is present, the more accustomed you grow to it being there, and you will hardly notice it is there, if ever. However, there can be situations when a floater must be surgically removed. Vitrectomy for eye floaters involves removing the eye fluid that contains the floater with microscopic tools and possibly repairing the issue that caused the problem. This form of treatment is done by a specialist, and it is only done in the most severe cases. If a floater is drastically blocking your vision, vitrectomy may be necessary.