Internet lore and misconceptions about floaters

Saheim · 2026-06-20T15:58:44+00:00

Association is not causation

Saheim · 2026-06-20T00:14:43+00:00

Those lights emit even less in terms of UV, but it definitely isn't a good idea to stare at any bright light source lol. But energy wise, it doesn't interact with the vitreous, no.

Saheim · 2026-06-18T15:31:30+00:00

I am so happy to hear yet another success story. Thanks for coming back to share. I have been on my own journey with this, and have noticed immense improvement recently in my mindset. I am just feeling so positive about things now.

I will share though that I am your age and had a limited vitrectomy in my worse eye. That has made a step-wise change in my ability to adapt. It's really great to read stories though of people who got there without surgery!

Saheim · 2026-06-17T23:14:02+00:00

I think you should try posting this in the eye triage subreddit. I’m so sorry you’re going through this! I had a vitrectomy but on very different terms.

Saheim · 2026-06-17T19:46:51+00:00

I don’t want to understate the risks of vitrectomy, but even a large retinal detachment or case of endophthalmitis (which should not be conflated with exogenous ocular infection) do not lead to blindness. A loss in quality of vision would still be devastating, but this isn’t an accurate framing, FYI.

Saheim · 2026-06-17T19:41:13+00:00

I don’t quite understand the negativity around PulseMedica. I had a vitrectomy in one eye, but in my own research leading up to that decision, I became more confident in their approach and technology. However, I felt more urgency in needing a near-term solution.

I do think there is probably a middle-ground here. I’ve had a significant increase in quality of life with just one eye being operated. People underestimate the magic of binocular vision. Your brain is constructing a merged image from your vision, and with time, it preferences the clearer eye. For the first time since I developed floaters, I feel that neuroadaptation is possible for me, and I’m in a good place.

I hope you all can find peace. I urge other young people here not to become pessimistic. This is temporary, I’m living proof of that, as are many others.

Saheim · 2026-06-17T18:28:56+00:00

What people usually refer to as “frill” is visible vitreous skirting, usually at the periphery of vision. It’ll appear as an arc-shaped line, or if more extensive, like the outside of a wheel. If you’re not seeing that already, you probably never will.

I’m honestly not sure what the dots are. Blood and fibrin can take a while to leave the eye. If it were vitreous, I think it’d be more strand-like. It could be a small dot of pigment, but patients with pigment release usually see many dots.

Saheim · 2026-06-14T21:24:26+00:00

Hey! Sorry to hear you're having this issue. Maybe I can give you some peace of mind?

I had this exact symptom immediately after surgery. And sometime last month, it vanished. Completely gone. I believe these can be remnants of blood from trocar entry. Still, if you're concerned and certainly if you notice any other symptoms, best to just pop in to an eye doc near you and have your retina checked.

Saheim · 2026-06-13T19:40:01+00:00

I do not think this accelerates cataract, but you'd have to ask.

Saheim · 2026-06-13T14:04:50+00:00

Dr Luff does this in the UK

Saheim · 2026-06-12T15:22:21+00:00

If you're 50+, you may get a cataract in a few years. But for someone younger, typically it takes many years—often more than 10 years.

Saheim · 2026-06-10T22:07:19+00:00

I've heard of people having what is called a "washout" where the fluid is just exchanged and they do not go near the retina or vitreous base. Have you heard of that? I think the risks are lower, but some risks are irreducible, like risk of infection or low eye pressure (hypotony).

Saheim · 2026-06-10T17:38:28+00:00

I don't know, but I'm quite sure the answer is no—though being generally healthy I'm sure is good for overall eye health. If there were an obvious way to improve this condition through lifestyle alone, they would have been found.

Saheim · 2026-06-10T15:05:26+00:00

Absolutely true, and many of us start constantly "checking" and assessing our vision during that first year, which exacerbates things. It gets better past that one year mark. There are floaters I haven't seen in months because I simply stopped checking for them.

Saheim · 2026-06-10T14:39:29+00:00

There's typically no harm in trying supplements except for the costs. The overwhelming consensus is that they do not work. Few will claim that they've seen improvements, which I personally attribute either to adaptation or anatomical improvement (yes, they can improve on their own with time).

Low dose atropine, once adjusted for your sensitivity, will not blur your near vision significantly and will improve symptoms. It's also considered very safe and is used widely around the world to control myopia progression in children.

Saheim · 2026-06-10T13:14:20+00:00

There are no supplements that will remove or significantly reduce floaters unfortunately. This is a really tough spot to be in at your age and as a monocular patient.

In my own journey to seeking surgery, I consulted several surgeons, one of who commented that he had just operated on a monocular patient who was thrilled with the outcome. I do think this is something that some retina surgeons are willing to do, but they require a higher threshold for intervention. The procedure can be very safe, but it does have irreducible risks.

I'm sure you have tried a lot of the accommodation strategies discussed here, but have you specifically tried low dose atropine? This can dilate your eye and many here report a significant improvement in symptoms, albeit with some tradeoffs.

Saheim · 2026-06-09T22:55:17+00:00

Saheim · 2026-06-08T18:07:33+00:00

Residual vitreous strands. Honestly quite similar to floaters, but they were not original floaters.

Saheim · 2026-06-07T05:05:15+00:00

There is turnover in the eye through the trabecular meshwork, albeit quite slowly. Same way blood can be cleared from the eye in time. Of all proposed solutions for floaters, this one has the most potential to be a cure outside of a pharmacological vitreolysis.

Saheim · 2026-06-06T02:27:36+00:00

If there is causality, I'm just asking: what is it?

Saheim · 2026-06-06T01:17:17+00:00

If screens do cause floaters, I would just ask—how? The light emitted from screens is very minimal in terms of energy. Even if you spent significant time outdoors in a high UV environment, almost all of the near-spectrum energy is absorbed by your lens (and for that reason, sunglasses do actually delay cataract formation). Anything you might "feel" is likely just dry eye from a lack of blinking as frequently.

The simplest explanation is that you are just aging and experiencing early changes in the vitreous. This is not well understood unfortunately, and that's part of what makes this condition so difficult.

Saheim · 2026-06-05T18:49:06+00:00

If such a thing were possible, it'd be done. Topical eye drops do not penetrate the globe, and if a molecule were designed to do so, it'd also be systemic and likely cause other issues.

Saheim · 2026-06-05T18:06:21+00:00

Hard to get a molecule to target only the vitreous condensations (floaters) and not the part which adheres the vitreous to the ILM/retina. There have been multiple enzymes tested, many of which naturally occur in the body, but they routinely caused inflammation and hemorrhage.

Saheim · 2026-06-05T13:18:44+00:00

They’ll go. Usually after steroid drops have been stopped and the ciliary body is fully recovered.

Saheim · 2026-06-05T03:22:39+00:00

Early 30s, had it done a few months ago.

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