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visual floater
Etiology:
1) with normal eye movements the jelly in the vitreous humor tugs on the peripheral retina
2) rapid increase in number of floaters
a) posterior vitreous detachment
b) vitreous hemorrhage
c) retinal detachment
Pathology:
- age-related changes occur as the vitreous humor becomes more liquid
- microscopic fibers within the vitreous may to clump together & cast tiny shadows on the retina
Clinical manifestations:
- appearance of black or gray specks, strings or cobwebs (spots) that drift with eye movement
- most noticeable when looking at a plain bright background, such as a blue sky or a white wall
- spots eventually settle down & drift out of the line of vision
Management:
1) generally of no clinical significance
2) check visual acuity & visual fields
3) funduscopy to rule out retinal detachment
4) opthalmology referral if acute visual loss
Related
retinal pigment epithelium detachment (retinal detachment)
General
sign/symptom
eye disease (ophthalmopathy)
References
- Medical Knowledge Self Assessment Program (MKSAP) 11, 16, 18.
American College of Physicians, Philadelphia 1998, 2012, 2018.
- Hollands H, Johnson D, Brox AC, Almeida D, Simel DL, Sharma S.
Acute-onset floaters and flashes: is this patient at risk for
retinal detachment?
JAMA. 2009 Nov 25;302(20):2243-9
PMID: 19934426
- Mayo Clinic: Eye floaters
http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/eye-floaters/basics/definition/con-20033061
- National Eye Institute: Facts About Floaters
http://www.nei.nih.gov/health/floaters/index.asp