Floaters after eye dilation

[kukulski]

The day after getting an eye dilation exam, I noticed a large cobweb floater in one of my eyes.  I didn't connect the two at first until I realized it happened consistently.  I now have large cobweb floaters in both of my eyes that keep getting bigger with each exam ... it's been about 8 years since my first dilation exam and they are not getting any better.  Has anyone heard of this before?  My eye doctors recommend that I keep getting the exams but I'm worried.

[R_Edwards]

For the benefit of the sufferers in this forum, I'd like to add my voice and share my experience with new floaters in the aftermath of a comprehensive eye exam.  I've NEVER had any problems with my eyes in all my 54 years on earth.  Sure, I know what floaters are; I've had them for as long as I can remember and they've always been so benign that I really had to look closely to see them.  In December, however, I went for a routine eye exam.  I wish I hadn't!  Immediately following the exam, I experienced a thick discharge, watering, burning, and yes, a brand new set of floaters.  One in my left eye is like a mosquito directly in my line of sight.  When I consulted my doctor about the new floaters, he wasn't so arrogant and cocksure as to say it isn't possible, he simply said "I know of no documentation to support it."  (I have to give him credit for this).  
Since then I've done extensive research on floaters and the eye and based on the information I obtained I would be reluctant to have believed it possible if it hadn't happened to me.  BUT IT DID!  Given my and others' testimonies, I feel it's beyond ludicrous to pass it off as simple coincidence.  I wonder if we'll have to wait for this to happen to a doctor before it's taken seriously.
In the mean time I'd like to keep this thread going in support of my fellow sufferers and share any information we collectively come up with.  After suffering for over four months, I'm seriously looking into laser disruption of floaters (at least for my left eye).
Good luck to everyone suffering from this phenomenon.  

[llong6472]

Never had an eye exam b4 with eyes dilated, but after my 1st time being dilated I developed floaters in my eyes.  Dr blew it off as just being a coincidence.  I am afraid to ever have my eyes examined again.  It was too much of a coincidence!

[JohnHaganMD]

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[nf6]

nf622@aol  Do you have any experience with cataracts and what choices are good for surgery?  I have a lot of floaters and understand  that cataract surgery does not solve floaters.  Any thoughts

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

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[Elite83]

I don't think everyone in this forum that has noticed this can be wrong. There's something going on that the medical community isn't talking about. I can't remember when my floaters started but each time I've had my eyes dilated, my floaters have become worse. I'm to the point I don't think I want to have my eyes dilated anymore.

[kvosb]

Dr. Hagan - Your comment that floaters are primarily age-related is not supported by the posts since many -if not most- are from people in their 20s and 30s.  It would be helpful if the medical community actually listened to the experiences of people who had floaters appear, for the FIRST TIME IN THEIR LIFE, immediately following a dilation exam.  There is more evidence of cause and effect than of simple  coincidence.  Dismissing these testimonials helps no one, and just creates distrust.  Of course, in depth eye exams can be valuable, but if the cost is having an ever increasing number of floaters that diminish our vision, then perhaps the med community should find an alternative method.

[anitajay]

I also witnessed my first floater after dilation. Incidental? Maybe. But with the number of people having had the same experience I don't 100% believe it's a coincidence. If the dilation itself did not cause it maybe some other source did while the pupils were dilated. Hope to hear more about the relationship if there is one as studies come by.

[JohnHaganMD]

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[Hudsongrl]

Dr. hagen, I can assure you I get it. I have suffered with floaters for 18 months and I am 100% positive new ones developed after my dilated eye exam 2 days ago. Hoping I can adjust to them as I have to the Weiss ring,But, I am very hesitant to have eyes dilated again for fear more will appear. I have read 100's of articles on floaters and have a degree in biochem. I am merely relating what happened to me.

[bryan_eyes]

Absolutely agree. For the 1st time in my left eye I have post dilation and light examination, large and disturbing floaters which appeared directly after my eye examination. When I commented on this AT THE INVESTIGATION WHICH PRODUCED THE FLOATERS, I was told they MUST  do another immediate and identical examination. When I countered that it seemed senseless to repeat the process which had caused the problem, to investigate the problem. I was told that I must sign a NON CONSENT FORM to release them from blame! Surely this is not ethical?

[MrPresley]

@bryan_eyes, see another specialist. There is no reason to tolerate rudeness (if that is indeed the case) from a health care provider. A certain amount of gruffness is OK in my opinion, if said provider is otherwise well skilled in their profession.

[JohnHaganMD]

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[Kathy1777]

I just want to add myself to the list of people with this problem. I have had floaters (several) almost my whole life, but they had gotten to the point where I barely noticed them (only in very overcast or snowy conditions). I had a dilated eye exam six weeks ago. The bright light shining in my eyes REALLY hurt. Was told everything looked fine. I get home and now the floaters are everywhere, pretty much all the time. I even see a few indoors, which I never did before. It's very frustrating and I am ruing the decision to ask for a test to check on the status of a condition that only made it worse ... far worse.

[Charlie72555]

As someone who recently had my eyes examined, dilated a week later & now have dot & stringy floaters that I DID NOT HAVE prior to having eyes dilated I am having a hard time not seeing the cause being the dilation process!! After the basic exam (my husband & I had our eye exam on same day, he had his eyes dilated day of exam so I waited a week for my dilation part so that I could drive us home) my eyes felt fine, no floaters, strings, pain...then a week later, after my dilation process my eyes stung as well as felt itchy  (which I told the examiner & was told that was normal). I thought, OK, normal...all good, then slightly increased prescription glasses arrived & I started wearing thinking things would get better...but as time went on my eyes felt worse, various floater styles appeared in my left eye, both eyes felt swollen & strained as well as bothersome! Went back to old glasses/prescription HOPING that would help. Well, thank God the right eye started feeling better BUT, the left eye did not! Called the eye examiner facility, explained my issue, got in as soon as they could see me, was told prescription correct, eyes look fine, was told that it was likely a "coincidence" of my age (57) & timing of my dilation exam! I still have these stringy & dot like floaters STILL appearing in my left eye of which I did NOT have prior to my exam AND I was the same age before my exam as I was after...the ONLY addition to my eye was the dilation chemical! Coincidence, I think NOT! So, now my question is seeing I am NOT the only one who is dealing with the issue AFTER having eyes dilated & some are younger I wonder IF anyone is looking into this "COINCIDENCE"!?!? I now "get" to go see an Ophthalmologist as soon as one can see me AND I can afford the visit to see what, why, how this happened to my eye! Sadly the stringy/dot floaters are so bothersome I just want to stay in the dark where they are not as noticeable! Too try to make someone believe this is  'JUST A COINCIDENCE' is shameful by any one in the know for OBVIOUSLY it is not...ANY is too many to having this 'coincidence'! Praying to God to find way to reverse the damage done by this year's eye exam! Charlie

[Betonaster]

There needs to be a class action lawsuit.  Fat chance of that.

[leo88]

In my case, the floats also appeared after a dilated eye exam. I had 5 exams in a year and in that year the floaters deteriorated massively. I am from Argentina, Sudamerica.

[jaideepg]

The same thing has happened to me.  in july 2011 had no floaters, had the eyes dialted.  asked to come back 2 weeks later due to dry eye issues, and bam floaters started appearing.  Then in Jan 2012 2 weeks after my eye appt again more floaters.  it seems right after my eyes get dialted floaters have been appearing.  

[eyefloaterssuffer]

To Whoever reads that forum. Do not let doctors dilate your eyes. Choose laser scan instead it doesn't require dilation. It cost 40 to 75 bucks but it's worth it. Cuz your life will not be ruined by horrible floaters that appear after routine eye exams for some people. And that can be you. Think twice before letting them put chemicals into your healthy eyes.

[JohnHaganMD]

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[JohnHaganMD]

No there is no need to restate any opinion other than what I've stated. If you don't "get it" the coincidental association between making the pupil wider to see a condition that is associated with an increasing number of floaters over days to weeks to months.  Increasing floaters are part of the reason eye is dilated. Today in the clinic I saw 5 patients that came in because over the last 1 to 6 weeks they had been having more floaters in their eyes. None had had their eyes examined.  They were attributing this to watching too much TV, using a computer, jogging, and a new energy supplement.  These things did not cause the floaters they were all having posterior vitreous detachments The relationship was "incidental"

[manu13]

Doctor, I agree Eye floaters are not caused by dilation, reason I had same experience, I started noticing eye floaters after few days I had eye dilation and I went to the eye doctor and he said it is not because of dilation and I had another dilation to verify any retinal detachment.

Now doctor showed me the photos of my eye right before the first eye dilation that is four days ago and showed me floaters in that photo, So I agree floaters were there.

Question, does the eye dilation cause the floaters spread around or that sort and come to the vision?
would it go down or goes off the vision after a while after the eye dilation ?
Why only few affected by the dilation with floaters, I take addreall, its a drug for attention, is it something with drug reaction?

Appreciate your responds.

[Joolayn]

Hello people, hello Dr Hagan
I read about 50% the posts here and i know this "it can't be a coincidence"-talk, but i still wanna state what I experienced:
The first floater in my left eye i noticed after I slept under the sun. I woke up since the sun was hiting my eyes pretty direct and it hurt. The next floater appeared when i looked into a magnesium burning, wich I tried to do "indirect" but didn't work out well. All concidences so far? Okai let's go to my newest floater which i only have for 4 days now. I went to an examination at the doctor without the drops to widen my pupil. Anyway, the doctor still looked into my eyes with a bright hurting light. I couldn't see for about 15s before my vision came back. And right that evening my newest floater was there, in my right eye, which never had any floater so far. You can call this a coincidence, but with your denial, Dr Hagan, you only cause me to never visit an eye doctor again, for fear of more eye floaters. My eye floaters are black and i am almost getting dizzy from them. I can also say the one i had for 15 years never got bigger, darker, lighter. So i am pretty sure my new floaters won't get "better" which just increases my fear to a huge extent. Yes i don't think it's the drops, but the bright light pretty sure, as i read a whole bunch of experiences from people either looking into the sun, bright light or gotten an examination with bright light which had a direct following of floaters appearing. So instead of telling us to just accept so many coincidences, tell us something to ease our fear of eye doctors or floaters. P.S.: If the light hurts your eyes, shouldn't that be a warning that something gets damaged?

[6899townk]

my 11 year old just had his eyes dilated yesterday and today is getting black area in his peripheral vision and blurry spots.  NEVER had any of this prior to yesterdays test!!!

[owenjones]

I am 21 years old and I developed noticeable floaters for the first time after an eye exam pertaining to an unrelated issue. My eyes were dilated, numbed, and examined with bright lights that left an after-image long after the exam was finished. Several days later, large floaters in the form of dots appeared. They were annoying, but I could live with them.

I went back for a follow up visit several weeks later and the same procedures were done, minus the numbing of my eyes. The next day, my floaters became MUCH worse. In addition to the initial spots, I can now see cobwebs, lines, and smaller spots 24/7, unless I am in low light conditions. I am seeing a retina specialist tomorrow, but barring a pending retinal detachment, I imagine that these symptoms are a result of my eyes being disturbed by either the bright lights, the dilation, or a combination of everything. Hopefully they will decrease over time...my quality of life has suffered.

[Srijak]

I had my eye eyes dialated 2 weeks ago.i have never noticed floaters before. Immediately when my dialation wore off, i started noticing like web like floater in my right eye and small spots floaters in my left eye.i can see them indors also. I am not able to ignore them at all. I worried about them

[Kekes523]

How are things now?

[JTuttle]

I see the doctors stating eye exams and dilation drops do not cause floaters.  I would like to see the actual study done confirming this. Also, testing differences between light eye people and brown eyed people.  

If no study has been done, than how can you 100% say floaters are not also caused by eye exams/dilation drops?

Please understand from our point of view.  I am under 35 and and never had floaters until after my first eye exam 2 years ago.  Going to a recent eye exam 2 years later, being tested through all the machines and dilation drops, I had new specs and floaters develop within a week in my other eye.  How can I call this a coincidence? its happened twice now, and the second time pretty much confirmed it there has to be some sort of link.

[Joolayn]

I am with you. But actually i am thinking of getting someone to start such a study. Although i am only a small laboratory technician, if I can just get one of my acquaintance to start it, we might get smarter in the next few years and help people to understand and maybe prevent further floaters.

[Betonaster]

It is more than the floaters.  It is the push to get pupils dilated as quickly as possible so as not to hold up the practice; it is that no formal training of the technicians is required; no insistence on having a driver; lack of reading the patient medical history prior to exams - worsened by system-wide electronic medical records; pain in the eyes; the bulging sensation... there is more.  It was caused by one or more components of the eye exam, whether an M.D. was involved, or not.

[JTuttle]

"Eye Strain" also causes floaters.  Having said that, shining bright lights in your eyes, and those other tests you get done in the ophthalmologist's office logically would cause strain on the eyes, thus causing floaters. Since the eyes are dilated, it is letting all that light in your eye. That can't be good for the eyes.  Your pupils are made to constrict with light not stay dilated.  Common sense would tell you this is putting a great amount of strain on the eyes.  There is a machine you look into that flashes bright lights and it hurts along with other machines. I wish I knew the names of them all.  This has to be connected and its not just because of "age".   More research needs to be done with these tests and dilation drops causing floaters to prove they cause them.

[chardiemak]

I also developer eye floaters a few days after my eye exam. My ophthalmologist told me to call back if I start looking floaters. I don't know if I should go back because I'm scared that when they check my eyes again my floaters would get worse or increase. :( I don't know what to do. How are your eyes?

[KDHarrison]

Add me to the list! I developed a floater in my right eye 1 week after a eye exam that included dilation. I have never had floaters before and know it was the exam that caused it. I never want to have another eye exam. My occupation is very visual and the floater is making me a little crazy since vision is so important for my career.  

[Kekes523]

How are things now

[SkyAisling]

PS - The sad part of this story is that I didn't ask for dilation.  I didn't know the optometrist was going to dilate my eyes.   I simply went in to get my eye glass prescription updated by Washington state law.

[SkyAisling]

Yes, I too am suffering because of separated vitreous (floaters) appearing in my eye directly after having the eyes dilated for routine eye glass exam.   My vision is now considerably compromised and I am fearful of every having an exam again.
The interesting thing in my case was as I left the exam and got into the car to go home, I noticed the veins on the palm side of my hands were about three times larger than normal and the webbing of my fingers were all black and bruised.  I was told without question by the retina specialist that dilation does not cause floaters.  I beg to differ.   I went to my primary care physician and explained about the veins in my hands becoming extra large and black, like bruised.  She said that the eye dilation solution is a vascular dilator and it effects other parts of the body besides the eye.  The retina specialist showed me a diagram of the eye and how all the little blood vessels feed through and about the retina.  If those vessels become enlarged what is stopping them from expanding between the vitreous sack and the retina and then causing a separation of the vitreous (floaters)?  

[vickielynned]

My eyes have not been the same after the eye doc dilated my eyes what the heck, I feel like there buldging out of my head just like the feeling after being dilated and 1 eye waters all the time????? So after reading alot of post I still don't see an answer to alot of the question?? O and so much more sensetive to sunlight...

[Betonaster]

You have included addition effects like those I am experiencing.  It has been two months.

[eyefloats]

I am experiencing the same problem.  Had my exam with eye dilation fluid on Sep. 30, '13 the next couple of days a couple of floaters became evident in my right eye.  I'm thinking this is really strange- before the exam i'd never had this problem so i went back to the same office Nov. 27, 13 since the doctor wanted to make sure there was no other problems associated with these floaters although everything had checked out fine a month earlier. She dilated my right eye only again and said everything looked fine. She commented that the floaters may get worse do to my age and gave me her cell phone number since it was the holiday and asked me to call if they did.  She also said the floaters could get word in 2 weeks or could improve.  My vision checked out the same and has not changed in a few years and I am 53.  The very next day after opening my eyes the floaters covered my entire right eye. I definitely believe there is a connection between the dilation fluid that is used these floaters.  This is so very irritating - and I'm praying they will go away.