Floaters and Flashing Lights

The eye clinic at Colchester Hospital called on Friday as promised by the A&E doctor, and I went along for an appointment at 4pm. I was given an eye pressure test, a sight test and my pupils were dilated with those stinging eye drops. Then a scan of both eyes and a hi-res photo of each. After a while I went in to see the specialist doctor, who had looked at the scans and photos. He had a thorough look in my right eye, all the while discussing events and symptoms with me. He actually identified the new bits floating around inside the eye, even describing their shapes to me to confirm he was looking at the right ones. Thankfully there is no damage at all to the retina, and I just have some new floaters to add to my collection. Though harmless they are really annoying, but sadly there’s not much to be done about them. This is what the other side of the pictured leaflet says:-

“The symptoms of floaters and flashing lights most commonly result from a condition called posterior vitreous detachment (PVD). This is a common condition, occurring in more than 60% of people over the age of 40 and its incidence increases with age. In the majority of cases, vitreous detachment causes no harm and, therefore, does not need any treatment and the symptoms become less noticeable with time. However, sometimes as the vitreous separates, it can tug off part of the retina causing a retinal tear. The torn retina could lead to fluid seeping underneath and lifting the rest of the retina off. This is called retinal detachment and surgical intervention will be needed to treat it. If detected early, retinal tears can be treated with a laser, which seals off the torn edges preventing the development of retinal detachment. If you have floaters or flashing lights that developed suddenly or if you develop recurrence of these symptoms, especially if they are associated with reduced vision or loss of a part of your visual field, you need to be seen promptly by an eye specialist”.

The doctor told me I had done absolutely the right thing to get checked out so quickly. Despite all their well-known difficulties, the NHS has managed to get me seen by a specialist, diagnosed, and discharged within 48 hours of those new floaters appearing in my eye. I have been treated with kindness and expertise throughout. Respect.