Those little “floaty” things

We have seen them at one time or another. They have a very scientific name, you know…those little floaty things in your vision. What are they? I must answer that question 5 times per day. I am happy to because really, they are usually nothing bad.

They are parts of the vitreous membrane inside your eye which have coagulated, are submerged in viscous vitrous fluid floating randomly within the posterior chamber. Light entering your eye passes through them casting a shadow on the retina which you perceive as a little floaty thing.

Thank GOODNESS I don’t actually have to say THAT everyday. At Front Range Eye Associates, we have this nifty patient education software called EyeMaginations. With it, I can actually walk my patients through a digital animation that documents the above story without lots of big words and optics. My patients have taken very well to this type of education process. It sure beats an eye diagram on a piece of paper. Or, better yet, how often have you heard that astigmatism means your eye is shaped like a football…what the heck?