Reflected sun in my eyes, now floaters, dry eye?

[1234523]

I accidentally had sunlight reflected directly into my eyes from the screen of my phone in the middle of the afternoon. It was several seconds before I came to realization and changed the angle of the screen. While I haven't really had any trouble seeing since then I have had a large quantity of floaters appear in my vision on both eyes. I had my regular optometrist do a dilated eye exam about a week later due to the floaters but forgot to mention the sunlight incident. He said he did not see anything unusual with my retinas but it did not seem like he looked for very long either. Initially I didn't think they were related and was worried about a potential retina tear but now I'm realizing the floaters came on just a day or two after the sunlight episode.  I'm only 27 years old so I'm now worried that I may have damaged my eyes and will have complications down the road because of it. Should I be worried or am I just being paranoid? Also should mention that I had used some antihistamine drops (ketotifen fumarate) off and on in the months leading up to all of this due to allergies. I'm mildly myopic at -3.75 in both eyes and have astigmatism -1.00 cyl. I have worn contact lenses for 8 years now but can't anymore because since all of the floaters appeared my eyes have also been very dry. I feel like there should be a connection between all of them but maybe not. There are quite a few floaters and they swim around all the time as if in water. Do I need to be worried about damage done to my eyes? Should I be consulting a specialist? Any help please?

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

Make a list of the questions you want to ask the ophthalmologist and get all of them answered.  If you can't wear contacts then your choices are glasses or refractive surgery like LASIK.

[1234523]

Just to update, in short my condition has much improved. My eyesight seems just fine. The floaters are still there, more or less unchanged and my eyes still get dry although not as often. I still haven't been able to wear contacts which is pretty disappointing. Most of the light sensitivity and other issues seem to have resolved.

[JohnHaganMD]

Let me be direct: You are being paranoid if you think reflected light would cause all those symptoms. It won't.  Will not cause dry eyes. Will not cause floaters. Unless things change with the floaters i.e.  swarms of new floaters, flashes of light light lightening in your eye or loss of peripheral vision its not likely necessary to spend more money for an eye MD ophthalmologist to examine your eyes unless you think it would buy some more peace of mind.  Floaters don't interfer with contact lens wear but you have all the symptoms of dry eye which antihistimaine drops make worse. You should be using artificial tears/lubricants.

[1234523]

I now have sensitivity to light, glare and afterimages. All the symptoms seem worse some days than others but today was the worst yet. In the afternoon sun I could hardly see due to the parking lot reflecting sunlight. It was painful and nearly debilitating. The floaters seem to have gotten worse especially in my right eye. My pupils are also extremely small almost all the time. Even in the relative low light of the bathroom mirror they are pinpoints. They only open up in complete darkness. My vision also seems hazy and I feel like the floaters have gotten a little worse. I see fine at night when driving or otherwise but in the bright afternoon sun I can hardly function. Any ideas? Scheduling an appointment with ophthalmologist on Monday because today was rough. I had to drove 6 hours like this and now I'm exhausted.

[1234523]

Forgot to add there is also some sort of translucent film that sweeps the OPPOSITE direction of my eye movement in my right eye. Especially seen when moving left or right but also sometimes when moving up and down. Using Systane preservative free eye drops when they feel dry but it provides no relief for my light sensitivity or glare. I should note that I've never been sensitive to light or glare in the past. It was not uncommon for me to be outside, drive, go boating etc. without the need for sunglasses.

[JohnHaganMD]

Your discomfort most suggests a cornea problem and the thing that moves opposite in your eye a floater. You do need to see an eye MD ophthalmologist.

[1234523]

I have been doing much better. The doc didn't seem to find any issues with my eyes that he could see. Still dealing with what seems like clouds of floaters. The distortions and glare they produce when in a room with a lot of bright lights or windows can be a pain some days. What are the real risks of a vitrectomy? Probably wouldn't seriously consider it for a while but could see it at some point in the future. Nobody seems to be worried about floaters but it's very annoying to have a swirling mass of translucent garbage running around in there. Thoughts?

[JohnHaganMD]

Go to my home page and look through the articles posted there. One is on how much floaters bother people. The risks of vitrectomy: It will always cause a cataract, also possible infection, bleeding, retinal detachment, reduced vision and blindness, plus you might still see floaters after vitrectomy.   Laser treatment is also available, lower risk but not no risk and floaters may persist.

[1234523]

Not sure where to find said article. Perhaps you can post a link? Vitrectomy sounds like quite a lot of risk. Hoping medical science will create a less risky solution in the future or possibly my condition improves.

[JohnHaganMD]

This is a link   http://www.medhelp.org/user_journals/show/302133/MEDICAL-JOURNAL-DOCUMENTS-PEOPLES-CONCERNS-ABOUT-FLOATERS-

[1234523]

Thank you sir! Much appreciated.

[JohnHaganMD]

There are others like it that you can search on internet. I have floaters and have had since age 8 including a huge Weiss Ring in LE. I personally would not even consider a vitrectomy or even the yag laser vitreolysis procedures.