Eye Floaters!!

Bionic-Badger said:

I've had them since I was a kid, and long before I ever had lasers. They're a natural part of your eyeball, and the fact that you are only noticing them 4 months after your supposed laser incident means they're probably completely unrelated.

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I meant I've had them for 4 months since I last used the laser.

I had them before lasers, too.

Those floaters are probably only because you think you have eye damage and are noticing things as a result.

If you REALLY need to know then go to an eye doctor and get your retinas examined. Then post back here and tell us the results. I'm 95% sure you're just paranoid and linking two unrelated things.

^^^ I second this

michael.

Razako said:

If you REALLY need to know then go to an eye doctor and get your retinas examined. Then post back here and tell us the results. I'm 95% sure you're just paranoid and linking two unrelated things.

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I've been to 3 doctors including a retinal specialist. No visible retinal damage through dilated exam and OCT test. I think it might have damaged the vitreous humor though or caused debris to enter it. The doctors dismissed the idea of any interaction of the laser with the vitreous humor. I've had floaters before, but not these persistent prominent ones. It just seems like too much of a coincidence that these showed up the same month I started using a 150mW green laser.

just incase you don't know this... eye floaters are a normal part of getting older. the "floater" is just dead tissure your eye is throwing away that happens to go past your field of vission. that is the norm.

michael.

chipdouglas said:

just incase you don't know this... eye floaters are a normal part of getting older. the "floater" is just dead tissure your eye is throwing away that happens to go past your field of vission. that is the norm.

michael.

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It's actually collagen in the vitreous that has clumped together.

I can 100% say they do cause eye damage. I had a red laser pointed right in the middle of my right eye and since then I have a big floater that causes a lot of stress for me. It is black and distorts things as i read things it is like im looking through broken glass, I also have a smaller wavey black one on the bottom of my left eye where you guessed it I had a red laser pointed at me. Both of these problems didnt exist before the laser was pointed in my eyes. I hate it I wish it would go away

jrinbulli said:

I can 100% say they do cause eye damage. I had a red laser pointed right in the middle of my right eye and since then I have a big floater that causes a lot of stress for me. It is black and distorts things as i read things it is like im looking through broken glass, I also have a smaller wavey black one on the bottom of my left eye where you guessed it I had a red laser pointed at me. Both of these problems didnt exist before the laser was pointed in my eyes. I hate it I wish it would go away

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How powerful was the laser and have you been to an Ophthalmologist? If so, what did he/she say?

Floaters are usually transparent, this sounds more like retinal damage.

Bluefan said:

Floaters are usually transparent, this sounds more like retinal damage.

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They can appear dark if they are dense and/or close to the retina. But, if they don't move they're probably not floaters.

sampurn said:

I've been to 3 doctors including a retinal specialist. No visible retinal damage through dilated exam and OCT test. I think it might have damaged the vitreous humor though or caused debris to enter it. The doctors dismissed the idea of any interaction of the laser with the vitreous humor. I've had floaters before, but not these persistent prominent ones. It just seems like too much of a coincidence that these showed up the same month I started using a 150mW green laser.

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Honestly it sounds like you just have a bad case of floaters. I do too and it sucks. However it wasn't the lasers that caused them. Whenever I've gone for eye exams the doctor has never found anything wrong with my eyes. Most likely you just started getting really paranoid about them and noticing them more since you got your lasers.

For me I've got a tiny grayish dot in my right eye with a bunch of squiggly transparent lines that are 'attached' to it and move around changing their shapes sometimes. My left eye also has some floaters, but they're not nearly as bad. I've never taken a direct hit to the eyes from a powerful laser and whenever I burned stuff with lasers I wore safety goggles.

Razako said:

Honestly it sounds like you just have a bad case of floaters. I do too and it sucks. However it wasn't the lasers that caused them. Whenever I've gone for eye exams the doctor has never found anything wrong with my eyes. Most likely you just started getting really paranoid about them and noticing them more since you got your lasers.

For me I've got a tiny grayish dot in my right eye with a bunch of squiggly transparent lines that are 'attached' to it and move around changing their shapes sometimes. My left eye also has some floaters, but they're not nearly as bad. I've never taken a direct hit to the eyes from a powerful laser and whenever I burned stuff with lasers I wore safety goggles.

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Dunno I had minor ones before, but they just got a lot worse all of a sudden. I wasn't looking for them or anything.

Go see an eye doctor. I know you're trying to avoid it like the plague... but from reading most of this thread, and what you wrote, I don't think you have ANYTHING to worry about.

Fact is our brains are actually very well equipped to handle moderate amounts of obstruction to vision. Floaters could also be related to other issues.. such as a poor diet in some cases, but generally speaking by themselves they are not an issue, though they can be annoying.

I've had them since I was ~4, and my vision unfortunately started going down hill since I was 10. Only gets worse with age, although seems to have slowed since I stopped growing. Either way, I've had more opportunity to be paranoid about my vision than most.

Go see an opthamologist, do tell him that you handle lasers... he will dialate your pupils and have a look... he can also take pictures for future comparisons to see if there is any degradation over time. They are nice guys generally and you will feel better knowing for sure that nothing is wrong.

Unfortunately now I have to take that same advise and bring myself to schedule a check up with a dentist - I hate going to the dentist, usually no problems at all, but still hate it.

You must have missed the part where I said I've already been to a doctor.