PVD - Posterior Vitreous Detachment

My husband has something similar, his vision is blurred in one eye. he went to the opticion who referred him to the eye hospital. he had an urgent appointment as macular degeneration was suspected but luckily, like your husband, this was not the case. They have now made him an appointment for an operation next week.
Did your optician not refer your husband to hospital?

I have had this in one eye only. I could see a flashing cobweb type thing when I moved my eye. I also developed a very large, opaque floater. The optician I saw told me that it is often age related, and that both eyes would most likely be affected. As for the floater, she told me to try and ignore it, and my brain would eventually cancel it out. I don't see the floater now, only if I really look for it!
It's to do with the liquefying of the vitreous humour in the eye, and quite common.

I have this too. When it happened in one eye, I spoke to my optician who sent me to the eye hospital for checking. When it happened in the other eye, I thought I knew what it was and ignored it, thus earning a dressing down from the optician who said I should have had it checked in case it was more serious.

My PVD symptoms consist of flashes of light in the corners of my eyes sometimes when it's dark, a bit like a car headlight going past. Also, black 'blobs' floating in front of my eyes, not very big but quite a few. I really don't notice them now, my brain filters them out although they are there if I look for them.

I'm told it's age related, the brain soon learns to ignore them, but when it happens suddenly, it should always be checked. My eyesight is still very good, I only need reading glasses and, until I saw this thread, had completely forgotten about it.

The optician didn't refer him to the hospital - she did say if it became a problem they could do an operation but at that time (only about a month ago) it only affected one eye . He's got another appointment on Friday so will see what that brings. Looking on the net it does say it's quite common and I often have floaters myself having extremely bad eyesight and very thin retinas so know in themselves they're not too serious. I guess as he's always had A1 vision these issues come as a reminder of age

Yes, I have PVD in both eyes too, they happened within 6 weeks of each other. The first sign was a cascade of floaters one day, and the flashing lights in the peripheral vision in the dark - same as NanaMacGeek. I went to Boots opticians, who made an appt. at the local eye hospital to have it checked out ( it should always be checked out at the hospital) and they confirmed PVD. 6 weeks later the other eye went too. It doesn't affect my vision, just notice the floaters when looking at bright surfaces or the sky, but your brain soon gets used to them. It is quite common in older people but quite harmless.

As far as I know he hasn't noticed any flashing lights or actual floaters just this greasy mark - he blamed the cleaner at work to start with I think I will ask if he should go to the hospital when he goes back on Fri just to be on the safe side.

I've had this in both eyes, aboutv12 months apart. The first time I ended up with a small hole where the vitreous stuff had pulled away from the retina. They 'heat sealed it to stop the edges fraying' , according to the very lovely opthamologist at the eye hospital. I think this is why it's always worth getting it checked out. The second time I knew what was happening and just took myself off there (our local a&e has an eye unit within it)

Like you Willow I have very poor eyesight had torn retinas which the consultant said they would darn up ( they did ) also astigmatism, cataracts and loads of floaters You do get used to all of it I only see the floaters if I really think about them or if I get a new one I think if someone with A1 sight suddenly had any of these things they would go bananas but we get so used to then that you adapt don’t you ? Sometimes in bright sunlight it gets sparkly like tiny cascade of sprinkles quite pretty really a long time ago I decided to make a friend of all my eye faults so if I shut my eyes and see lots of patterns I try to enjoy it like a kaleidoscope
Annoying when your trying to read though

Willow

Very similar to other posters.

I have PVD , it started with a black cobweb effect in my right eye and then a swamp green octopus, it has now turned into a sort of frog spawn / vaseline coated feeling covering my eye but whilst annoying I can now live with it. I still have one black floater.

I was diagnosed by Specsavers who were brilliant and arranged a hospital appointment the following day as it could have been PVD or a detached retina.

You ask. "There's some suggestion it rights itself after so long so I wondered if anyone had had it and it has gone away? "

Obviously my answer is yes and the opticians explained that eventually our brain eventually learns to cope with it and it eases over time, which has happened in my case. It is very annoying though .

Yes, I've got it in both eyes, and Specsavers were brilliant with me too. Mine started with a cascade of lights in one eye towards the end of a long day at work. I took me off to S/S who sent me straight on to the hospital that afternoon. The specialist told me it's common amongst very short-sighted people as they get older - I am indeed blind as a bat - and that I should head for A & E if I ever get another shower of lights. It could indicate the start of a retinal detachment, and the sooner they treat that the better. I've always had a lot of floaters and have learned to live with them - I used to think I was just seeing my own eyelashes! They bother me more when I'm tired or on a sunny day, when they can get really annoying. Dark glasses help.

When I was having a routine eye examination, my young optician (optometrist) said that he could see all my floaters, but that I had nowhere near as many as him!

The good news is that it only added a tenner to my annual, world-wide travel insurance cover.

By the way.

I find it very annoying having eye tests now as my vision can vary a tad day to day so it can be very difficult to get the right prescription from the perspective of not only myself but the opticians also.

All round ruddy nuisance but better than some poor souls with other eye conditions.

I have glaucoma and macular degeneration which have been treated and monitored for years. I also had lots of floaters but then started to see flashes in my peripheral vision. I looked it up and self diagnosed with PVD. I was not too worried when I found out it was quite common as we age. Then my vision suddenly distorted in my right eye and I went straight to the hospital as advised, thinking the macular degeneration had worsened.

It transpired that as the vitreous pulled away it had caused a macular tear and I needed vitrectomy to repair it. I had to contact the hospital after 7 months when I heard nothing and I knew the chances of success were diminishing as time passed. They then treated it as an emergency and the whole process was completed in two weeks. This improved my vision. Though there is still some distortion my left eye compensates. The specialist told me that the vitreous had already separated in the left eye so it would not happen again.

I did need a cataract operation a year later though! Isn't it amazing what can be done these days to maintain our sight. My grandfather who appears to have passed these problems on to me, went blind by my age.

Husband had another scan at the opticians last week and we heard yesterday that they have referred him to the eye hospital which is both worrying and a relief. He's finally decided it's just one eye which is affected but still seems to come and go so we're hoping it's either nothing serious or something treatable.

While in the opticians which is a different branch to our local one my old optician happened to be in there and said they would like to scan my eyes on this new machine - as a bench mark for future tests he said. Kind of wish they hadn't - it showed just how damaged my retinas are and the left macular in particular looks like a shrivelled up pea It's not really anything I didn't already know but reinforced just how precious your eyesight is!

It is horrible as we age that all these issues start with our eyes.I had similar problems start last Sept/Oct and had the cascade of floaters followed by a black blob which is still there.Recently I noticed when on the PC or watching TV late at night when tired my vision is somewhat blurred.Off toSpecSavers again for an eyetest to be told that my vision had deteriorated due to cataracts in both eyes, and have been advised that i may need to stop having varifocal glasses and just use distance ones as i now actually dont need glasses for reading and close work like sewing and knitting any longer???? In just under 5 months such a drastic change. Its scary!!!

POGS Tue 30-Jan-18 18:01:32

Very similar to other posters.

I have PVD , it started with a black cobweb effect in my right eye and then a swamp green octopus, it has now turned into a sort of frog spawn / vaseline coated feeling covering my eye but whilst annoying I can now live with it. I still have one black floater.

I was diagnosed by Specsavers who were brilliant and arranged a hospital appointment the following day as it could have been PVD or a detached retina.

You ask. "There's some suggestion it rights itself after so long so I wondered if anyone had had it and it has gone away? "

Obviously my answer is yes and the opticians explained that eventually our brain eventually learns to cope with it and it eases over time, which has happened in my case. It is very annoying though .

Bugger

Oops wrong thread IGNORE PLEASE there is a thread titled 'floaters to which I was trying to be helpful!

Coincidentally my husband saw the eye specialist at the hospital yesterday who was extremely nice. Husband hasn't noticed the PVD for a few weeks and the eye exam showed nothing at all wrong apart from the very early start of a cataract which is nothing to worry about at the moment. As his mother had AMD and was registered blind it was a relief to know all was well. As the optician suggested the PVD had 'snapped' and his vision had returned to normal.

I've had it in one eye for several months and am waiting for the other one - as it's a function of ageing, and both your eyes are the same age... It was diagnosed by our very thorough optician, who said that I should come straight back (or phone NHS24 out of hours) if I got new flashing lights in case it was retinal detachment.

Maggiemaybe, consider looking at your travel insurance. Aviva (Europe cover) said they wouldn't cover me for it, even at an increased premium, whereas Saga (worldwide cover) took a note of it, expressed amazement that anyone would increase a premium for it, and carried on as before.

Willow

What a coincidence. I'm interested to hear that update so maybe my 'error' in putting this thread back on active was not all doomed as a senior moment.

I have never heard of 'As the optician suggested the PVD had 'snapped' and his vision had returned to normal.'