Sudden flashes and/or floaters? URGENT!

Many people see floaters in their vision; in fact I’ve seen small floating spots, threads and grayish blobs in my vision for many years. Optometrists call these annoying things vitreous floaters; they are actually the shadows of small clumps of the gel that fills the inside if the eyeball, the vitreous. These shadows land on the light-sensing retina, and appear to you or I as dark or gray spots that move when you shift your gaze (due to the movement of the vitreous).

However, a sudden onset or increase in floaters, especially if it’s accompanied by the appearance of flashes or “sparks” or a shadow in your vision could be serious! These symptoms could be a sign of a retinal detachment, which is a sight-threatening condition that must be investigated immediately! Now, it’s important to realize that sudden onset floaters/flashes/shadows are not always indicative of a retinal detachment; it could be something else, something far less serious and not likely to cause any long-term vision loss. The big problem is you can’t tell the difference! The only way to rule out a potentially blinding retinal detachment is with a dilated retinal examination. Dilating the pupil of the eye with special drops allows us to see and examine the entire inside of the eye, and to tell the difference between a retinal detachment and something more benign.
The important thing to take away from this is that if you ever start seeing flashes, floaters or shadows in your vision, especially if it’s a sudden appearance, and especially if it’s just in just one eye, you need to have it looked at today! Don’t just ignore it, or say “I’ll wait a few days to see if it goes away”. The longer a retinal detachment goes untreated, the more likely it is there will vision loss. Call our office and tell the receptionist that you’re seeing flashes or floaters and need to be seen today; we’ll arrange to see you without delay. If it’s after our normal business hours, our answering service will contact our doctor on call. Your eyes are important to us; help us keep them healthy by remembering this simple tip!

Welcome to our blog!

One of the things that I feel are special about my practice is that we strive to educate our patients as we examine and care for them. I feel that the more you know about your eyes, vision and vision-correction options, the better we can serve you and give you the best view of your world. Feel free to ask general questions here about eyes and vision, but keep in mind that this blog is not the appropriate forum for specific questions relating to any services or treatment rendered at our office. Also, if you have an urgent eye problem, or a billing or insurance question, please call our office at (860) 659-5900 so we can help you personally and directly. I look forward to hearing from you!