Floaters in my vision affecting my shooting

[Epaphroditus]

I even notice them when I close my eyes... just cant get away from em.

This is not floaters but a neurological or serious ophthalmological condition. Get thee to a doctor immediately!

[drdanno84]

vitreous floaters

There's a jelly-like substance called the "vitreous" that is between the lens and retina of the eye. As we age, the vitreous dissolves and protein strands form and move around, light hits them and causes shadows on the retina. The vitreous is attached to the retina in a few places and eventually separates and can cause "flashes of light", this is know as a PVD (posterior vitreous detachment). PVD'S are common in older folks, 75% have them after age 50.
No treatment is needed unless the PVD tugs on the retina causing a break, or tear, which requires surgical repair and can be sight threatening.
I dilate all of my patients over 40 yrs old, use a scanning instrument that checks for breaks, tears, or leaks in the retina, very few require treatment for floaters, just monitor them and see them annually. An increase in floaters and flashes of lights in any quadrant of the vision is considered an ocular emergency and cause for concern.

[TKM]

I've killed a lot of bugs that weren't really there.

Getting old takes longer than I thought.

[e-clip]

I rarely experience them but when I do I switch to 12GA double barrel......problem solved!

[1911R SSS]

I have them also I really noticed them when I'm looking up into the sky when I'm duck hunting.

[JLM Ranger]

I've had them for a while. Sad to say some of us are just getting older. I compare them to the wiggles I get when I shoot my rifles standing...I just need to time the wiggle right.

[Fizz]

I'm 24 and have had them forever, but more recently they start to bug me more. My floaters are all dots (no strings/rings, etc.)

I've heard the only treatment is replacing the fluid in the eye and zapping them with a special lens/laser.

[madsend81]

I've had them for as long as I can remember and I'm 32. Most of the time, though, I don't notice them. Well, at least until I read a thread about eye floaters, then they all start to appear in my vision.Usually I can ignore them and they don't affect me much when I'm shooting. My astigmatism affects me more!

[LittleOldLady]

Or torn retina's which are really bad too....
Better go to an eye specialist.

I can pretty much forget iron sights at this point.

Almost lost my vision totally!

[crackerman]

I've been making opthalmic drugs for 13 years and if you are worried book a visit to the eyedoc. Its not usually that big of a deal (infact you guys talking about it keeps making me notice the one in my right eye and I have had it for years.

Vitreal replacement is a gnarly surgery to watch and probably even more to do (the ophthamalogists we have talked to said its like takng wet toilet paper off the bottom of a shoe but you want to save the toilet paper).

Mine is persistent enough to merit me a disabled muzzleloader permit from DFW (I hate to call it disabled, but that is their term, cheapens it for others) sicen peep sights are damn near impossible for me to use.

[johnthomas]

Or torn retina's which are really bad too....
Better go to an eye specialist.

I can pretty much forget iron sights at this point.

Almost lost my vision totally!

I fell from 6 feet a couple of years ago, after I healed from the concussion one night I noticed a flash to the left, it was weird, it kept up for 2 days, come to find out, I tore something when my head hit the ground. The doc told me to take it easy and it might go away, it did. I have floaters once in a while, the trick is, when at the range, don't try to shoot them, lol.

[harmoniums]

heres a mockup of this page and how it looks to me to give you and idea of my floaters.
They are a bit more transparent, but the density and size is right

(btw I'm +/- a year or two of 40 years old)


floaters by harmoniums, on Flickr

[imtheomegaman]

Dude I was going to say, you are a bit young to be getting floaters. Go see a ophthalmologist pronto

[CessnaDriver]

[ElvenSoul]

It is 2014 where in da hell are my Zeiss Ikon Eyes with Smart Gun Link?