Eye Floaters ,Weiss rings

[geordief]

Does anyone  else have these?

I have  just got myself a new "companion" in my right hand vision who twists around like a falling leaf or one of those arty mobiles.

I also have "floaters" that come every 6 months and  only last for 10-20 minutes perhaps.

 

This new visual defect (the Weiss  ring) seems here to stay.

It goes away when I concentrate my vision or thoughts  on one thing but reappears as soon as I relax.

I am learning from the internet that the brain will likely filter it out  in a few months  although there are some people with lots of floaters who find that their life has deteriorated a lot ( eg no reading , telly or going in the sun),probably because  they have very many  of the floaters.

So ,is anyone else in the same boat as me with a Weiss Ring?

Any advice as to how to make the (hopefully short ) habituation period as unannoying as possible?

Edited June 8 by geordief

[StringJunky]

Perhaps experiment with different colour backgrounds in your visual field when you need relief. It doesn't solve the problem but might give you a rest to look at if you can find a background colour that seems to attenuate the effect. If I look up at a blue sky, I see all sorts but mainly faint capillaries interrupting my vision. Some people call them 'worms'.

[exchemist]

2 hours ago, geordief said:

Does anyone  else have these?

I have  just got myself a new "companion" in my right hand vision who twists around like a falling leaf or one of those arty mobiles.

I also have "floaters" that come every 6 months and  only last for 10-20 minutes perhaps.

 

This new visual defect (the Weiss  ring) seems here to stay.

It goes away when I concentrate my vision or thoughts  on one thing but reappears as soon as I relax.

I am learning from the internet that the brain will likely filter it out  in a few months  although there are some people with lots of floaters who find that their life has deteriorated a lot ( eg no reading , telly or going in the sun),probably because  they have very many  of the floaters.

So ,is anyone else in the same boat as me with a Weiss Ring?

Any advice as to how to make the (hopefully short ) habituation period as unannoying as possible?

Have you been to the ophthalmologist about it? If not I suggest doing so without delay. New floaters can indicate posterior vitreous detachment (PVD). While common enough, these can result in retinal detachment in 10% of cases. I had a PVD last year and needed laser surgery to weld the flapping edge of my left retina back in place. This was regarded as very urgent by the doctors. 

[geordief]

1 minute ago, exchemist said:

Have you been to the ophthalmologist about it? If not I suggest doing so without delay. New floaters can indicate posterior vitreous detachment (PVD). While common enough, these can result in retinal detachment in 10% of cases. I had a PVD last year and needed laser surgery to weld the flapping edge of my left retina back in place. This was regarded as very urgent by the doctors. 

Thanks. I passed by the ophthamologist this afternoon  to book a checkup but they were closed  on the Saturday.

I will try again next week.

Did you have any  pain  at the time?

I  have been rubbing the eye for the past 4 days.It feels like grit  got in  or one of those mini styes.

It is just on the eyelid ,anyway   but I think I read that pain could be an indication  of something serious (blurry vision would be another  indication ,I saw)

[exchemist]

29 minutes ago, geordief said:

Thanks. I passed by the ophthamologist this afternoon  to book a checkup but they were closed  on the Saturday.

I will try again next week.

Did you have any  pain  at the time?

I  have been rubbing the eye for the past 4 days.It feels like grit  got in  or one of those mini styes.

It is just on the eyelid ,anyway   but I think I read that pain could be an indication  of something serious (blurry vision would be another  indication ,I saw)

Also flashes in your vision. But I would see a real ophthalmologist if you can, not just an optician. I originally saw the optometrist at the local optician, who diagnosed PVD but missed the flapping edge of the retina - it was over in one corner. I was initially reassured by her and left it for a few days but was not entirely happy, as the flashes and floaters continued, and booked myself to see a consultant ophthalmologist (I did  it privately, reckoning it would be £250 well spent). I'm glad I did as he told me to go and present myself at the Moorfield's eye unit at St George's within 24-48hrs, for urgent laser treatment.

I think if I were you I might go to the eye unit at your hospital. You'd need to take a book of course as you might be waiting several hours to be seen, but you would get seen by a proper eye doctor.       

Edited June 8 by exchemist

[geordief]

4 hours ago, exchemist said:

Also flashes in your vision. But I would see a real ophthalmologist if you can, not just an optician. I originally saw the optometrist at the local optician, who diagnosed PVD but missed the flapping edge of the retina - it was over in one corner. I was initially reassured by her and left it for a few days but was not entirely happy, as the flashes and floaters continued, and booked myself to see a consultant ophthalmologist (I did  it privately, reckoning it would be £250 well spent). I'm glad I did as he told me to go and present myself at the Moorfield's eye unit at St George's within 24-48hrs, for urgent laser treatment.

I think if I were you I might go to the eye unit at your hospital. You'd need to take a book of course as you might be waiting several hours to be seen, but you would get seen by a proper eye doctor.       

Well done you.You dodged an almighty bullet.

I think I read that the laser treatment to the back of the eye  can be quite severe (a bit like a punch in the face)

 

Anything like that?

Edited June 8 by geordief

[exchemist]

6 hours ago, geordief said:

Well done you.You dodged an almighty bullet.

I think I read that the laser treatment to the back of the eye  can be quite severe (a bit like a punch in the face)

 

Anything like that?

Not in my case. There was some sensation, which I would class as discomfort rather than pain, and in fact I was slightly unnerved  by a smell of burning, but not too bad. And it may have saved my sight in that eye. Thinking back, I suppose there may have been a bit of an occasional ache, afterwards, for a day or two.  In fact I needed two sessions, one at the St G clinic and another at Moorfields itself, as the first one didn’t quite reach far enough into the corner. I was able to go  home on the Underground straight away after both sessions, once the dazzle had dispersed. Though they might not have wanted me to drive, I imagine. 

[geordief]

On 6/9/2024 at 6:00 AM, exchemist said:

Not in my case. There was some sensation, which I would class as discomfort rather than pain, and in fact I was slightly unnerved  by a smell of burning, but not too bad. And it may have saved my sight in that eye. Thinking back, I suppose there may have been a bit of an occasional ache, afterwards, for a day or two.  In fact I needed two sessions, one at the St G clinic and another at Moorfields itself, as the first one didn’t quite reach far enough into the corner. I was able to go  home on the Underground straight away after both sessions, once the dazzle had dispersed. Though they might not have wanted me to drive, I imagine. 

 

So (I know some people don't like thst use of "so") I saw the optometrist  and she said  the floater  looked a littie thin in one place

 

She had given me a referral to an ophthalamologist  in 7-10 days even though  I have had no symptoms of detached retina.

They offered me some micronutrient  (vitrocap) seemingly to dissolve the weiss ring but I didn't bother with it(maybe down the line if it becomes annoying)

As well I had a bacterial infection in the eyelid and so it will be more comfortable when that clears.

[exchemist]

3 minutes ago, geordief said:

 

So (I know some people don't like thst use of "so") I saw the optometrist  and she said  the floater  looked a littie thin in one place

 

She had given me a referral to an ophthalamologist  in 7-10 days even though  I have had no symptoms of detached retina.

They offered me some micronutrient  (vitrocap) seemingly to dissolve the weiss ring but I didn't bother with it(maybe down the line if it becomes annoying)

As well I had a bacterial infection in the eyelid and so it will be more comfortable when that clears.

OK that's good. There may well be nothing to worry about in your case but it's worth making sure, I reckon.