Maybe you have heard about a floater in the river while watching a thriller. Well, this is not the kind of floater I want to write about today. However, the one which I mean can give you a thrill too. When it appears suddenly, totally out of the blue, and when a black frame starts jumping in your eye in each and every direction, spoiling the vision. When it makes your eye so sensitive that you cannot stand the light as it makes you feel pain and you can hardly keep your eye open. No way you could read or look at the computer screen. And because of it all, you want to stay in a dark room all of the time or would rather go out in the night only. Darkness brings relief - no pain, no floating sensations, no dark frames in your vision. The thrill is even stronger if some 'flashy lightnings' seem to struck inside your eye before the black frame appears. You get scared if you know what the flashlights may be a sign of.
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| Scarborough Fair |
So you visit a specialist as soon as you can. When you hear 'it is only a floater - it is very common - many people have floaters' you feel great relief because of the word ONLY.
You think to yourself 'OK. A floater. Never heard about it. Having spent most of my life in Poland, never heard about anybody who had that. Even now, when I tell someone in Poland about it (in Polish and using the Polish name for 'floater'), they ask what it is. Not so common there or what? Is it a matter of the climate difference - the hot and dry air here and cooler and more refreshing weather in the north of Europe (when you need some fresh air being at home there - you just open a window - air condition is hardly ever needed)? Or maybe there are some other reasons - I just rolled my eyes too suddenly or something?'
Hmmmm. The mystery of floaters.
So interesting to read this today - I have an appointment with my eye doctor in about an hour and a half. Floaters and flashes in my right eye - the one that also has glaucoma - but I have had this before, in my left eye. That time, the floaters included spots of blood, and it was diagnosed as posterior vitreous detachment, common for many very nearsighted people like me as we get older. Something to keep an eye on (pun intended), as floaters and flashes can also be an early sign of a detached retina. Hence the appointment later this afternoon.
ReplyDeleteHow interesting that you found that old post on the day of your doctor app. Some people call it a synchronicity. Yes, I knew the flashes might be related to some more serious problems. Retina type ones touch not only nearsighted persons. Regular check ups are indeed important. Hope you heard some positive news at the doctor's. Wishing you all the best & thanks for reading the post!
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