Getting older brings all kinds of life changes. Some are serious and some are merely an irritation. Some are both, like belly fat; that spare tire. Others are eye floaters.
Eye floaters are usually one of those later-in-life unpleasantries but they can really show up at any age. For example, I noticed them in my late teens. Why so early? I suspect it might have had something to do with a mishap I had with a coffee pot as a baby.
I somehow managed to grab the electrical cord of a coffee percolator (the predecessor to modern drip coffee pots for all you young whippersnappers). They tell me the scalding liquid went all over me, including my face, although the only evidence today is a burn scar on about 50 % of my right arm.
This eye condition is also called vitreous floaters because it's rather simple - what you see are the shadows of debris like damaged tissue or bits of blood vessels floating lazily in the vitreous. This is the gel-like liquid that fills the eyeball.
The progression happens because when we're born, the vitreous is completely gel-like. As we age, the center of the eye becomes more of a liquid state. This change brings with it a bit of degradation.
My eye doctor offers an add-on service to my annual check-up. It's kind of a detailed close-up photo of the interior of the eye. This way, since I get it done every year, he can make a comparative analysis each year and spot potential trouble. Well worth the $20 or so that it costs.
Having this condition doesn't mean you're in any risk of going blind, any more than indulging in that other habit that teenage boys are warned about. But if you see a sudden shower of floaters, especially when accompanied by flashes of light, bad things might be going on and you need an ophthalmologist quick, fast, and in a hurry.
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