Floaters Health Dictionary

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Floaters: From 3 Different Sources

Fragments perceived to be floating in the field of vision.

Floaters move rapidly with eye movement but drift slightly when the eyes are still.

They do not usually affect vision.

Most floaters are shadows cast on the retina by microscopic structures in the vitreous humour (the jelly-like substance behind the lens).

The sudden appearance of a cloud of dark floaters, especially when accompanied by light flashes, suggests retinal tear or retinal detachment.

A large red floater that obscures vision is usually due to a vitreous haemorrhage.

Health Source: BMA Medical Dictionary
Author: The British Medical Association
Particles that appear to be ?oating in a person’s ?eld of vision. They move quickly as the eye moves, but when the eye is still they seem to drift. Vision is not usually affected. Most ?oaters are shadows on the retina from minute particles in the vitreous humour (see EYE) which lies in the main part of the eyeball behind the lens. As a person ages, the jelly-like vitreous humour usually shrinks a little and becomes detached from the retina; this produces ?oaters which vanish over time. If a person notices a sudden cloud of ?oaters, sometimes accompanied by ?ashes of light, it is likely that a tear in or detachment of the retina has occurred. This requires prompt medical attention (see EYE, DISORDERS OF – Retinal detachment).
Health Source: Medical Dictionary
Author: Health Dictionary
pl. n. opacities in the vitreous humour of the eye, which cast a shadow on the retina and are therefore seen as shapes or spots (muscae volitantes) against a bright background in good illumination. They are a form of *entoptic phenomenon.
Health Source: Oxford | Concise Colour Medical Dictionary
Author: Jonathan Law, Elizabeth Martin

Spots Before The Eyes

Also called FLOATERS, these can arise from a variety of causes including in?ammation and bleeding in the eye, or preceding a retina detachment. They may also occur for a variety of totally harmless reasons. (See EYE, DISORDERS OF.)... spots before the eyes

Flooding

(Menses). See: MENORRHAGIA.

FLOATERS, Black. Usually clumps of red cells which invade the vitreous humour from the retinal vessels. “Spots before the eyes”. See: LIVER. ... flooding

Retinal Detachment

Separation of the retina from the outer layers at the back of the eye. Detachment may follow an eye injury but usually occurs spontaneously. It is usually preceded by a retinal tear, and is more common in highly myopic (shortsighted) people and in people who have had cataract surgery.

The detachment is painless. The first symptom is either bright flashes of light at the edge of the field of vision, accompanied by floaters, or a black “drape” obscuring vision.

Urgent treatment is required and usually involves surgical repair of the underlying tear. If the macula (site of central vision) has not been detached, the results can be excellent.... retinal detachment

Vision, Disorders Of

The most common visual disorders are refractive errors, such as myopia, hypermetropia, and astigmatism, which can almost always be corrected by glasses or contact lenses. Other disorders include amblyopia; double vision; and disorders of the eye or optic nerve, of the nerve pathways connecting the optic nerves to the brain, and of the brain itself.

The eye may lose its transparency through corneal opacities, cataract, or vitreous haemorrhage. Defects near the centre of the retina cause loss of the corresponding parts of the visual field (see macular degeneration). Floaters, which are usually insignificant, may indicate a retinal tear or haemorrhage, or they may herald a retinal detachment. Optic neuritis can cause a blind spot in the centre of the visual field.

Damage to the brain (for example, from a stroke) may cause visual impairment such as hemianopia, agnosia, visual perseveration (in which a scene continues to be perceived after the direction of gaze has shifted), and visual hallucinations.... vision, disorders of

Entoptic Phenomena

visual sensations caused by changes within the eye itself, rather than by the normal light stimulation process. The commonest are tiny floating spots (floaters) that most people can see occasionally, especially when gazing at a brightly illuminated background (such as a blue sky).... entoptic phenomena

Muscae Volitantes

see floaters.... muscae volitantes

Ranibizumab

n. a recombinant *monoclonal antibody fragment used for the treatment of wet age-related *macular degeneration. It inhibits *vascular endothelial growth factor and therefore choroidal *neovascularization. Common side-effects are conjunctival haemorrhage, eye pain, *floaters, increased intraocular pressure, and intraocular inflammation. *Aflibercept and pegaptanib have similar uses and effects.... ranibizumab

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