Cobweb now....

Hi, I just posted to you a few days ago, but had another question, sorry.... I developed a black dot floater in my eye about a month ago, which had a little string of see through dots attached to it. After seeing an opthamologist and having a dilated exam, he said he didn`t see a retinal detachment. Since my last visit w/ him, the floater has taken the form of a cobweb floater & the black dot is still there in it. I don`t think I`ve had any flashes, or other symptoms.... Should I go back for a 2nd opinion, or can cobweb floaters still be benign? Do I have a PVD since I have these floaters, & if so does it put me at more risk for retinal detachment? Thanks for your time... I know you`re busy....

[John C Hagan III, MD, FACS, FAAO]

Unless you have showers of floaters, flashes of bright light, loss of central or peripheral vision you should not need a re-exam.  Floaters themselves are generally benign. By age twenty about 1 in 5 people have floaters and by age 50 its 1 in 2.  

Big floaters and cobweb floaters are the most common benigh floaters. What is a danger signal is sudden changes, showers of tiny floaters like soot or ink in the eye.

The main risk factors for RD are family history, high myopia, severe trauma, previous cataract surgery, weak areas in the eye like holes, tears, lattice degeneration. There are racial differences, retinal detachments are less common in blacks but glaucoma is more common.

JCH III MD