Eye Floaters: Treatment, Procedure, Cost and Side Effects

Eye floaters are deposits that are formed in the vitreous humour, a viscous material which fills up in the posterior part of the human eye and occupies almost two-third of the volume of eye. People having the problem of eye floaters see spots within their vision that move around or seem to float as they move their eyeballs around. Eye floaters can be present either in one eye or both eyes.

The cornea and the lens of the human eye focus rays of light onto the retina, and the light entering the eye focused onto the retina allows people to see. This light, before passing through the retina, has to go through the vitreous humour, which is absolutely clear and transparent at birth and early years of childhood. But as a person grows older, deposits may develop in this chamber. Each of such deposits cast a small shadow on the surface of the retina, which is seen as floating objects by the person who is having this problem. Generally black or greyish in colour, these floaters are seen moving up and down as well as sideways, or they move according to a person’s movement of eyeballs. They are of various shapes i.e. some are circular, some elongated while others are spiral.

If a person develops eye floaters then he or she should be treated by a trained opthalmologists and optometrists. They diagnose the level of floaters that have accommodated in the eye before treatment.

There is a particular surgery called vitrectomy that can be done in case a person wants to get rid of these eye floaters permanently. Another way to treat eye floaters is the usage of YAG laser. Both these surgical methods have not yet been proven to be highly successful.

The opthamologists use atropine to dilate the pupils and use powerful light to look into the matter closely in order to see the floaters themselves before giving proper medication. But there are no medicines for treating floaters till now, certain herbs like bilberry, gardenia, gingko and milk thistle and vitamins like Vitamin A and vitamin C can both decrease and prevent floaters.

There are mainly two surgical methods to treat floaters. Vitrectomy involves the removal of the vitreous humour where the floaters are formed. The surgeon inserts a hollow needle and takes out the vitreous humour which is replaced by salt water solution. After the surgery, the doctor injects an oil bubble that pushes the retina against the wall of the eye. Although this process might not remove the floaters completely but the number of floaters will get reduced.

The breaking up of the floaters by laser treatment has been recommended by many opthamologists. The laser is called yttrium-aluminium-garnet laser and is used in the process called vitreolysis, to vapourise the floaters within the eye. Before the surgery takes place, an eye drop is provided to bring numbness in the eye, and a special contact lens is placed over the eye. Then the laser beam is used to vapourise the floaters.

However, it is highly recommended to maintain a healthy diet and do physical exercise for preventing the growth of floaters in the vitreous humour than going through various surgical treatments.

No person is born with this disease. Also, no child below the age of ten years gets this problem. The deposits start accumulating within the vitreous chamber only after the person grows older, say around fifteen years. But at such an early age, this problem can be treated with intake of proper and healthy diet only. Only if the patient is getting too much of these floaters that is making them stressed and anxious about seeing things around can go for either of these surgical treatments.

Not everyone gets this problem of eye floaters. Though maximum people are subjected to such problems, there are some people as well who do not have it. They are not subjected to this treatment. However, preventive measures like maintaining healthy diet can be taken by those who do not have this problem.

There are no side effects for maintaining proper diet and eating various types of food that helps in reducing the amount of floaters in the eye. But the surgical methods are still not proven to be absolutely safe and secure. The usage of laser into the eye can lead to serious threat to a safe eye with a proper vision. Also, laser treatment is unable to remove the tiny floater deposits completely and so this method of treatment might not be absolutely successful. In case of removal of the vitreous humour, there can be possibility of development of cataract, retinal detachment and small chances of infection and bleeding in the eye.

After the vitrectomy surgery has been completed, he or she needs to keep the head in a certain position for a while. This is done so that the oil bubble injected can hold the retina in position better. The patient should sleep well for a longer time and take prescribed eye drops in order to give the eye proper rest and to avoid further infections or harmful side effects.

The laser surgery also involves rest for about a month. It should be seen that no water enters the eye during that time. No dust particle should be allowed to enter the operated eye/eyes to avoid further risk. Spectacles that don’t allow entry of dust into the eye can be worn if required. Also, giving the eyes a proper rest can allow the patient lead his/her normal life once again after recovery from this surgery.

Recovery from the surgeries involved in the treatment of eye floaters do not take a very long time. Proper rest can let people lead their normal lifestyle once again. Maximum avoidance of risks would allow the patients to recover by a maximum of two months.

The price of treatment for the problem of eye floaters varies in different parts of India. The cost of surgical treatment for this problem ranges from Rs. 65,000 to Rs. 1,80,000. This treatment is available in all leading eye hospitals in different cities and towns of India.

The result of the surgery to remove eye floaters is different in different people. The people above 55 years of age who have undergone this surgery can be cured up to 98%. Below that age limit if patients undergo the surgeries, the probability of getting fully cured would reduce to 50%. Therefore, treatment in this case would be more effective if it is done after a person is at least 55 years old.

Alternative treatments of eye floater surgery involve intake of proper and healthy food in diet and practising exercises regularly. Nutritious food containing vitamins can prevent the growth of eye floaters.