What causes a blind spot in one eye for close up reading?

[Lynny1966]

Hi ,

Please could you give me some information to help me understand what has happened to my eye?

I noticed an increase in floaters in my right eye after a holiday in Spain. (My eye is very  slightly short sighted with a +1.75 for reading). After a week or so I noticed  small blind spots when I did close up reading without my glasses-  eg .in a word, the letter I’m looking at is only half there. Very annoying. I had a an optician look at my eye but they couldn’t see anything wrong so I had an OCT examination which showed a very tiny dip in the vitreous in front of the macular area of my retina- hence the blind spots in my central vision.
The optician said my sight is good and it’s nothing to worry about – as it is so small but it bothers me and makes me feel anxious as I work in a school.  I think he said it is just the vitreous pulled away in front of the macular.  However, I find it really distressing to keep seeing part of words – it reminds me of migraine with aura which I suffer from.  This is what I thought I had when it first happened to me but it didn’t develop and was only in one eye. It is not so noticeable when I put my reading glasses on. My left eye is slightly long sighted so it doesn’t seem to bother me with distance. ( I had laser on both eyes about 15 years ago and my vision has been brilliant since this- My prescription was  -7!)

Will the vitreous move back by itself with time? I know it moves all the time. If so , how long can it take to do this?  I am hoping I am not going to be stuck with this forever now.  Which is the best supplement to buy for keeping the vitreous healthy. I am confused reading about Bilberry, Lutein and Zeaxanthin because these all mention about the keeping the macular and retina healthy- my problem seems to be with the vitreous.

Is there a name for this condition? Is it PVD?

Please can you explain it and make any suggestions to me?  I would just like to understand it more, I’m not sure if my optician will refer me to a hospital after seeing my OCT pictures, the fella that did the images wasn’t sure but explained it all to me but there was so much to take in and I was anxious at the time so haven’t understood it all.

Thank you for your time  in advance.

Best wishes

Lynn

[JohnHaganMD]

I’m always confused by the terminology for eye care professionals in the UK.    You should have seen an Eye MD ophthalmologist not an optometrist. (OD).  If you saw and OD then you need to see an Eye MD.  If you did see an Eye MD you need to see an Eye MD that specializes in vitreous-retinal surgery.  It sounds like you have vitreous-macular traction and that can lead to a macular hole.  There is treatment available including an medication that is injected to dissolve the vitreous band. There is no specific diet for the vitreous. In all of us it goes from being a gel to a solution as a normal aging change (like Jello getting old and liquefying).     All the supplements and diets you mention are for prevention of age related macular degeneration.

[Lynny1966]

Thank you for your help. My optician is going to refer me, so I will find out exactly from someone more qualified in this field. Thanks for the advice.

[JohnHaganMD]

Best of luck

[MrPresley]

Did your optician perform the OCT? If so he/she should refer you to an ophthalmologist if there’s something there that warrants further examination. When I had my first OCT about three years ago, it was performed by my optometrist and it clearly showed a problem but he referred me to a retinal specialist rather than speculate himself about the proper course of action.

[Lynny1966]

Thanks for your advice- i just found out today that my optician is going to refer me. So i should find out more when I go to the referral. Thank you.

[JohnHaganMD]

Best of luck.  What is an optician? Optometrist? Ophthalmologist? Someone that fits glasses?

[kingofvarden]

Lynn, hope all goes OK and you get a more definitive answer from the consultant. It sounds as if the optician has been conscientious and done his duty in referring you.

Dr. Hagan, this will be an optometrist (which is still the correct term for it in the UK) but virtually everyone colloquially just calls them opticians, including, interestingly, all the medical staff I've spoken to, probably just because they reckon patients will understand that term better). Unless you go private, you can't just make an appointment to see a consultant ophthalmologist (the equivalent of "eye MD") - you usually have to be referred to one, and it's often the optometrist who does the referring (same day if necessary) but can also be GP or through a visit to A&E (the emergency room). Mine is always very quick to refer, particularly given my history and risk of RD and glaucoma, but I am also seeing my glaucoma consultant and retinal consultant for yearly follow-up (they have not discharged me). If there's any doubt about anything, I find that it is the hospital consultants who are really the best people at distilling and explaining what is most important - as well, of course, as being the best people to actually deal with any pressing or complex eye issues such as the one Lynn is facing.

[JohnHaganMD]

Thank you for the information. I’m glad you can get in quickly to Eye MD-Consultant Ophthalmologist. That seems to be the biggest and most frequent complaint of people from UK that visit and post here.