The floaters (from the greek Myodes = 'like flies' and opsis = 'vision') or floaters are due to an imperfect transparency of the vitreous body. Indeed, thickening of the liquid that fills the eyeball of the shadows cast on the retina furniture and, therefore, are presented in the visual field.
They are common in many people, but it is nevertheless necessary to distinguish a physiological phenomenon (many people see floaters but do not have any ocular pathology) from pathological phenomena: the vitreous body shape in its internal proteinaceous debris that can sometimes be due to a rear detachment vitreous same or, in the worst case, to a retinal detachment. The transparency of the vitreous body can also be reduced due to aging or refractive errors such as myopia.
description
The vitreous body is more than half of the entire volume of the eye and is located between the lens and the retina; is formed by a watery substance called vitreous humor, vitreous supported by fibrils formed essentially of collagen, hyaluronic acid and other soluble proteins. When you look at an object, the light is focused by the lens and - after passing through the vitreous body - creates a mirror image on the retina. The vitreous body should be completely transparent to ensure clear vision; However, small imperfections are always present even if they are not normally visible due to clearing and habituation of the brain.
Due to the natural aging (or other contributing factors such as myopia) fibrils that support the vitreous liquefies and may collapse, resulting in the opaque bodies free to move around inside the eye. As these bodies are not perfectly transparent cone of shadow cast on the retina to the passage of light are visible to those who suffer from floaters as ethereal objects moving in the visual field, similar in fact to the floaters, a wire or spider webs. These objects are particularly evident doing search and fixing his gaze on a homogeneous background and bright, such as a blue sky or a computer monitor with a light background, or while holding your head, looking up and down. This causes a mixing of the vitreous humor and makes it very visible these objects. The form and amount of these shadows varies from subject to subject; their sizes vary widely: from small dots barely observable up to spots that extend to the entire field of vision.
Cause
In the literature, the floaters are considered minor defects of vision and not a disease; However, the literature considers the onset of floaters perfectly normal for a population between 50 and 60 years, while you are recently showing how the floaters are hitting young people between 20 and 30 years. To date, the causes are not yet fully known.
The floaters are often associated with the vitreous detachment, detachment of the retina or to side effects of surgical operations, such as the removal of the lens affected by cataract. In this case are also visible flashes of light in the dark which are caused by mechanical stress carried by the vitreous body against the detached retina; This can lead to injury or retinal detachment with severe consequences for the view, including even blindness. An eye exam is strongly recommended in all these cases.
care
To date, there are no pharmacological treatments to eliminate the problem. Attempts (which can also lead to serious complications) were made with particular types of laser or with minimally invasive surgery, when the extent of moving bodies is such as to obscure so persistent and enduring vision. It is desirable that the patient's trust in his ability to adapt: it can see through the open spaces left by the moving bodies. In the literature we read of people over time (months or years) have learned to ignore almost completely the floaters while others have seen aggravate their condition. Sometimes those affected, although under normal conditions has a good view, it tends to seek obsessively to see their floaters in fact amplifying the problem on a psychological level.
In some situations it is impossible to look through the floaters, appearing opaque they may represent the presence of blood clots.
Eye doctors often prescribe dietary supplements specific advise to ignore the problem, lead a regular life, and drink plenty of water. The effectiveness of dietary supplements is to be verified, it is highly unlikely to reach or only influence the evolution of the vitreous. Arguably, however, may rebalance some minor situations of dehydration and alteration of minerals the body. Also, a good diet rich in vitamins, fruits, vegetables, liquids is of fundamental importance, especially during the hot season, to prevent vitreous abnormalities.
A simple trick that does not solve the trouble but it can make it much less annoying for the patient is to wear sunglasses with large lenses and very dark, possibly a mirror, especially in the bright days: the number and intensity of floaters in visual field will appear significantly reduced.