Eye Floaters

[Mjolinor]

16 hours ago, Bper said:

Hi John, what type of scan- picture did you have taken of your eye that the optician used to do but the NHS decided to do it in house.?

As a diabetic there is a chance of retinopathy so regular pictures of the retina to identify problems are free on the NHS. It used to be that you had this done at any optician but they changed it.

This one is 2008.

[Mjolinor]

16 hours ago, Haliotis said:

Hi John.  I don’t think the NHS are allowed to keep info ABOUT you FROM you.  I would ask them to explain their reasons for doing this.  Also, I believe they have to pass info about you to your GP - perhaps he/she could assist you in obtaining the details you require?

Concerning floaters, I’ve had these for years (I’m 88) and never been given any advice regarding removal of them.

I have distortion in my right eye and, about a year ago, visited the eye hospital for an examination.  I was told a film had formed that resembled crinkled cling film and could be removed to cure the problem.  Repair is not time-sensitive, so I may wait until I require cataract surgery (probably needed sooner rather than later) and get it all sorted in one go.  I have not ruled out going private for this.

True but they will only give you a paper copy. That is no good for digital analysis, you need the full resolution as a digital image.

[Bper]

46 minutes ago, Mjolinor said:

As a diabetic there is a chance of retinopathy so regular pictures of the retina to identify problems are free on the NHS. It used to be that you had this done at any optician but they changed it.

 

This one is 2008.

John, doesn't the OCT scan that Specsavers do the same or is the scan at the NHS completely different. The OCT test is £10 . I don't know what the waiting list for the NHS test is but when I asked for an appointment to see if I could have vitrectomy to get rid of my floaters it took a few months.

The OCT provides non-invasive imaging cross-section examination of the retina using light waves. The test helps opticians see through all the retina layers and assess its health. For individuals with diabetes, OCT tests can be useful to diagnose conditions such as glaucoma or diabetic retinopathy in advance.😄

[Mjolinor]

The specsavers one is better and my optician also offers that now. It is more of a 3D scan where they can look into the retina and see things that the normal photograph does not show because the faults have not reached the surface of the retina yet. The NHS test is just the normal fundus image of the retina surface inside the eyeball. My knowledge of such things is now exhausted. Thankfully mine are (so far) normal which aint bad after 35 years of type 1 diabetes.

I think my optician offers it for £15 but I have never had it done.

 

[dannyboy413]

10 hours ago, Roy124 said:

I have not noticed them since.

If you need brilliant blue sky and pure white sunlit skies to see them, I ain't surprised you have not noticed them since! I seem to recall a day like that last August though??? 😊

[Eddie G]

You can get eye injections such as Eylea which could help if your floaters are linked to high cholesterol, high blood pressure or diabetes worth speaking to your doctor or if there is an eye infirmary near.

[FROSTYBALLS]

Tried to book an eye test this week, but was told they couldn't see me - bit worrying ....

[Rhymes with Paris]

On 1/22/2024 at 8:43 PM, dannyboy413 said:

Let us know how you get on Paul. As regards getting old, it does have some advantages - one that immediately comes to mind is that, when I am doing the weekly shopping on a Thursday or Friday, (after dropping my wife at work 😉), I can stop off for coffee and toast if I want to. 😊

Went for the appointment today, and it was ok.

As Bob said the OCT scan was indeed £10 presumably subsidised by NHS or gubment.

Then a EOS examination by the optometrist at £25 ,so £35 in total.

Lordy knows what all these acronyms are ,iyswim,nnft, and vcttu.

Took about an hour all up,so I thought good value for all the faffing around it took, although the actual optometrist did seem to know what she was talking about, and reassured me that there was no retinal detachment, which was the main concern, hence the appointment.

So, the floaters,a jelly like substance that can be pigmented or clear, move about, and will stay with me permanently apparently, nothing to be done to remove, but not necessary,as the brain gets used to it, so no bother.

She said it's also known as the Tom Jones syndrome, I asked if it was common, and she said it's not unusual.🥱

There seemed to be more staff than customers, all milling about in different directions.

Maybe that's why some of them were wearing dirty trainers with the company suits to facilitate all the pointless walking about looking busy, instead of proper shoes.

Really, the standards nowadays, it is more like the footwear of ma cuz's an bruv's on the Sunday car meets than company attire.

 

 

 

[Bper]

57 minutes ago, Rhymes with Paris said:

Went for the appointment today, and it was ok.

As Bob said the OCT scan was indeed £10 presumably subsidised by NHS or gubment.

Then a EOS examination by the optometrist at £25 ,so £35 in total.

Lordy knows what all these acronyms are ,iyswim,nnft, and vcttu.

Took about an hour all up,so I thought good value for all the faffing around it took, although the actual optometrist did seem to know what she was talking about, and reassured me that there was no retinal detachment, which was the main concern, hence the appointment.

So, the floaters,a jelly like substance that can be pigmented or clear, move about, and will stay with me permanently apparently, nothing to be done to remove, but not necessary,as the brain gets used to it, so no bother.

She said it's also known as the Tom Jones syndrome, I asked if it was common, and she said it's not unusual.🥱

There seemed to be more staff than customers, all milling about in different directions.

Maybe that's why some of them were wearing dirty trainers with the company suits to facilitate all the pointless walking about looking busy, instead of proper shoes.

Really, the standards nowadays, it is more like the footwear of ma cuz's an bruv's on the Sunday car meets than company attire.

 

 

 

Hi Paul what is a EOS examination and what does this do. I can't find  this on Specsavers info.

Found it Enhanced optical services is an OCT scan why £25 for what.

[Rhymes with Paris]

Well Bob, I can only assume that the £10 job is for the basic eye health check, the machine that you look into with the crossed lines that look like lasers , and the air puffs into your eyeballs to test pressure.

The rest I think,is for the skill of the actual optometrist dilating the eyes and looking into them with the light, and magnification, and diagnosing if there is a problem.

Sorry not sure what EOS means, but am guessing that is it.

The whole thing to me was delineated by the difference between the optometrist who could answer questions with coherent answers that made sense, and the other trainer clad machine operators who read from a script,ie know nothings.

It only takes a couple of minutes to find out these "professionals" ask them to depart from the printed script with a couple of questions, and they are lost.

If I could walk about all day, and talk bullcrap , I could be on the payroll.

[FROSTYBALLS]

EOS - Enhanced Optical Services.

OCT scans are available at other opticians as well (eg. Boots).

[Bper]

19 hours ago, Rhymes with Paris said:

Well Bob, I can only assume that the £10 job is for the basic eye health check, the machine that you look into with the crossed lines that look like lasers , and the air puffs into your eyeballs to test pressure.

The rest I think,is for the skill of the actual optometrist dilating the eyes and looking into them with the light, and magnification, and diagnosing if there is a problem.

Sorry not sure what EOS means, but am guessing that is it.

The whole thing to me was delineated by the difference between the optometrist who could answer questions with coherent answers that made sense, and the other trainer clad machine operators who read from a script,ie know nothings.

It only takes a couple of minutes to find out these "professionals" ask them to depart from the printed script with a couple of questions, and they are lost.

If I could walk about all day, and talk bullcrap , I could be on the payroll.

Paul,,The OCT examination scan requires you to sit in front of one machine and then move over to another. I won't go into the tech on this but this is the normal procedure.When you book the test online or by phone they ask if you want this OCT test and inform you that the cost is £10 pounds.

Now when they dilate your eyes they ask you to wait about 30 minutes or more and then do a further pressure test on one of these machines.

This cost is reclaimed via your doctors details and Specsavers claim this cost back. If this and a regular eye test is the only examination done then I fail to understand why you had been charge £25 pounds.

[Bobs Rav4]

I had cataract surgery, wow amazing results.  My eye doctor mentioned to me after the surgery that if there was an increase in floaters to watch out for a detached retina.  Stay close to your eye doctor / surgeon.  
There are many factors that increase the risk of a detached retina, an increase in floaters is a warning

[Bper]

8 minutes ago, Bobs Rav4 said:

I had cataract surgery, wow amazing results.  My eye doctor mentioned to me after the surgery that if there was an increase in floaters to watch out for a detached retina.  Stay close to your eye doctor / surgeon.  
There are many factors that increase the risk of a detached retina, an increase in floaters is a warning

Hi Bob, you are correct but floaters are also part of the aging process. It is always recommended if you get a floater or flashes to see your optician and after having had a retinal detachment it is a pretty scary experience.

Did your doctor also tell you you have an increased risk of floaters following cataract surgery. Also clouding can occur a few years after.

I had a simple procedure of sitting in front of a laser which cleared this cloud and this was 7 years after cataract surgery. The thing is they never told me this after surgery and I had my treatments at Moorfields eye hospital which is renowned world wide for its eye treatments.

[dannyboy413]

24 minutes ago, Bobs Rav4 said:

I had cataract surgery, wow amazing results. 

Totally agree. 👍. I had mine done last April and May and the difference was like comparing night with day, (almost). For the first couple of days, after having the left eye done, I was walking around with the eye closed half the time, the amount of light getting in was so intense. I even wore sunglasses whilst driving for a couple of weeks - and there was not much need for sunglasses weatherwise. When I had my eyes tested later, the optician said I had 20/20 vision in one eye and the other eye was better than 20/20. I can thoroughly recommend the procedure. 

[Rhymes with Paris]

1 hour ago, Bper said:

Paul,,The OCT examination scan requires you to sit in front of one machine and then move over to another. I won't go into the tech on this but this is the normal procedure.When you book the test online or by phone they ask if you want this OCT test and inform you that the cost is £10 pounds.

Now when they dilate your eyes they ask you to wait about 30 minutes or more and then do a further pressure test on one of these machines.

This cost is reclaimed via your doctors details and Specsavers claim this cost back. If this and a regular eye test is the only examination done then I fail to understand why you had been charge £25 pounds.

I can only guess that it is for the physical examination of the eyes by the actual optometrist post the second pressure test, not a standard eye test, but looking into the eyes, not around the eyes, into the eyes,321, I am back in the room,to quote a sketch with Matt Lucas in it, playing a fake hypnotist.

Tbh Bob, I am not too bothered,£35 for an hour's use of the staff, qualified optometrist, and equipment doesn't seem too bad to me, whatever the charging structure.

 

[bigblock]

A vitreous detachment is very common in older folk. It has happened to me in both eyes. This starts with floaters and some flashing as the vitreous breaks away from the back of the eye. If all goes well the vitreous will break off cleanly but if you get alot of flashes it's important to see an optician as the vitreous may be pulling on the retina causing a retina tear which must be see to very quickly. Once the vitreous has broken away you can get cobwebs and sort of clear strands of liquid floating about. It will clear after a few months and also the brain kind of makes you ignor them over time. I don't get any floaters now but do see these little cobwebby strands in certain light situations.

[Bper]

10 minutes ago, bigblock said:

A vitreous detachment is very common in older folk. It has happened to me in both eyes. This starts with floaters and some flashing as the vitreous breaks away from the back of the eye. If all goes well the vitreous will break off cleanly but if you get alot of flashes it's important to see an optician as the vitreous may be pulling on the retina causing a retina tear which must be see to very quickly. Once the vitreous has broken away you can get cobwebs and sort of clear strands of liquid floating about. It will clear after a few months and also the brain kind of makes you ignor them over time. I don't get any floaters now but do see these little cobwebby strands in certain light situations.

Hi Michael, Did you have the gas bubble and have to keep your head down for ages after the surgery, I did and for a day after. It was literally a pain in the neck.😎

[bigblock]

1 minute ago, Bper said:

Hi Michael, Did you have the gas bubble and have to keep your head down for ages after the surgery, I did and for a day after. It was literally a pain in the neck.😎

Hi Bob, I didn't have any surgery as the vitreous broke away naturally. It doesn't need to be replaced unless it's full of debris that makes seeing things difficult. It's a risky operation to replace the vitreous liquid with a substitute and not normally recommended.

[Bper]

8 minutes ago, bigblock said:

Hi Bob, I didn't have any surgery as the vitreous broke away naturally. It doesn't need to be replaced unless it's full of debris that makes seeing things difficult. It's a risky operation to replace the vitreous liquid with a substitute and not normally recommended.

How long ago did this happen and have you had any cataract surgery since.😎

[bigblock]

30 minutes ago, Bper said:

How long ago did this happen and have you had any cataract surgery since.😎

First Vit detachment was 2014. Second was 2018. I have had cataract surgery in one eye in 2020 this was unrelated to the Vit detachment though. I was losing definition in detail and especially driving in the dark plus alot of glare from the sun. Cataract surgery cleared all this up. It was amazing. But last year 2023 I had lazer treatment to break up the film or flap that they leave in place after catatact surgery. It's called opalization of the new replacement lens which can cloud over in 20% of cases after surgery. Now my eyesight is the best it's ever been for a number of years. Really sharp and super driving at night now.

[Bper]

Over the last few years I have looked at various natural methods to get rid of eye floaters from different diets, eye exercises,eye drops,potions,yoga, etc etc.and whilst some people reported success I have yet to meet anyone personally who suffers from ones that haven't naturally dispersed that has actually been able to get rid of them without surgery.

The problem is? do you live with them and accept the visual problems this causes or pursue the only two treatments available that have reported success but with risks.

The first of these treatments is a vitrectomy which requires surgery and if successful removes the floaters but in most cases leads to a cataract, normally about 18 months later. It also increases the risk of other eye problems which includes retinal detachment which I have experienced myself along with surgery for a cataract later on.

The NHS will not carry this surgery out unless there are patient circumstances that really warrant this being done. They will of course carry this out in the private sector but again will point out the potential risks.

The second option is Vitreolysis which requires a laser, in simplistic terms it zaps the floater and they should naturally disperse. This has various success as well. Some of the risks are damage to the retina and possible blindness but this is very rare. Depending on the type and position of the floater it may not be possible to either carry the procedure out or it may have limited effect by breaking the floater into lots of smaller ones but this could lead to making the situation worse if they do not disperse.

So given the option would you do leave them alone or have surgery or laser.😎