Dilated eye exam

I have floaters. I read many places that even if you have one new floater you should go and re-check bye your eye doctor. That means dilate eye exam every time. My question " Is dilated eye exam  2-3 times with 1-2 months harmful for eye?

In some places doctor are doing optomap now d days which does not  need   dilation. But how good is optomap to find out retinal tear?

Thanks

[John C Hagan]

Optomap is not, in my opinion,  an acceptable technique for examination of the perhipheral retinal for tears and detachments and adds to the expense. It's a screening device. Even on the company website they note that when the screening exam is done the patient is sent to an ophthamologist for a dilated peripheral retinal examination with scleral depression.

A dilated examination with the 'bright lights" is uncomfortable but does not damage the eye.

Every single new floater does NOT need to be reexamined. Foaters are normal part of ageing (aging). Single, solitary floaters are not a danger single. This is what I tell my patients:

1. If you have a sudden onset of many, many new floaters (like soot in the eye, or hundreds of small black or red particles like a dust storm  OR
2. You experience bright flashes of light in your eye (like a bolt of lightening at night, or a flashbulb going off in the eye, especially if this occurs in daylight (much more common in the dark) OR
3. You lose any part of your peripheral vision (side vision), see a blacked out area in your vision

then call and we'll get you in that day or the following morning for an exam.

A single small floater without the above symptoms that appears in my opinion does not require an all out fully dilate eye examination with indirect ophthalmoscopy and scleral depression.

With these easily understood guidelines my patients don't worry about single floaters but know how to identifiy high risk symptoms. We have an extremely good record for having the people that need to be seen being seen and the 'simple floaters" not having to go to the time and expense of an office exam.

JCH MD  Ophthamologys  (Eye MD)

[froggiejump]

If you have a shadow (but not blacked out) in the peripheral vision of one eye, but no floaters and no bright flashes, could it still be a retinal tear?

[John C Hagan]

frogman, I'm out of comments on your condition. Maybe some of the readers wish to respond.

JCH MD

[vsq_delp123]

[vsq_delp123]

Hi,

Could you please confirm me weather above symptomps are  for tear or detachment?

VSQ

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

The symptoms of a vitreous detachment, a retinal tear and a retinal detachment are so similiar as to be identical. The main difference is that the vitreous detachment will not have a loss of field of vision as the RD can cause.

JCH III MD Eye MD

[vsq_delp123]

I went to see a Retina Specialist to for my floaters. I have more folaters in eight eye than left eye. This is what he wrote in his report

"He does have vitreous syneresis as the cause of his symptoms. This does not look worrisome in any way. "

Is it possible to see floaters to find out weather or not

1. They are harmful

2. Person have a possibility of retinal tear and/ or detachment

Thanks

VSQ

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

Floaters are not in themselves harmful, just annoying. Your exam today excluded retinal detachment and retinal tears. If you had them the retina doctor would have told you. Vitreous syneresis is a normal part of aging that begins to occur for many people in their teens or twenties.

Go to Google Images seach engine and searach "floaters" and "Vitreous detachment".  You will have hundreds of images to see of what is going on in your eye and what floaters look like.

Glad the exam turned out good.

JCH III MD