Are Eye Floaters clearly a Result of Lyme Disease or not Necessarily ?
I have seen them be attributed to Lyme while others says its just dead tissue in your eyes...
Anyone know ???
Posted by nan (Member # 63) on :
Many Lymies have these floaters...more than likely due to Lyme!
Posted by Starfall1969 (Member # 17353) on :
I'm not a doctor (and I don't play one on TV), so I can't say for sure.
But I too have heard that various visual disturbances (floaters included) can be a symptom of Lyme or co-infections.
Yes, it can just be dead tissue or whatever floating in your eyes.
What I think may signal Lyme or some other problem is if there is a significant increase in the number or types of floaters, which is what I've been experiencing.
Posted by Keebler (Member # 12673) on :
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You can do a search for "floaters" and "EyeBob" with the above search function and find lots of great threads.
Floaters are not all all unique to lyme but lyme patients frequently have floaters.
Be sure to see your eye doctor, though, to rule out the cause.
There can be many causes but, generally, most adults get floaters. I had them in my 20's. Most get them when a bit older than that, though. They can take various shapes.
Again, be sure to see your eye doctor as they can be a sign of a very serious problem and you need to rule that out.
Antioxidants can help. But, first, see your eye doctor.
Floaters are deposits of various size, shape, consistency, refractive index, and motility within the eye's vitreous humour, which is normally transparent.[1][2] They may be of embryonic origin or acquired due to degenerative changes of the vitreous humour or retina.[1]
The perception of floaters is known as myodesopsia, or less commonly as myiodeopsia, myiodesopsia, or myodeopsia.[1]
Floaters appear as shadow-like shapes that appear alone or together with several others in one's field of vision. They may appear as spots, threads, or fragments of cobwebs, which float slowly before the sufferer's eyes.[2]
Since these objects exist within the eye itself, they are not optical illusions but are entoptic phenomena.
. . .
Vitreous syneresis
The most common cause of floaters is shrinkage of the vitreous humour[6]: this gel-like substance consists of 99% water and 1% solid elements.
The solid portion consists of a network of collagen and hyaluronic acid, with the latter retaining water molecules.
Depolymerization of this network makes the hyaluronic acid release its trapped water, thereby liquefying the gel.
The collagen breaks down into fibrils, which ultimately are the floaters that plague the patient. Floaters caused in this way tend to be few in number and of a linear form.
. . . .
- MUCH more at this link - and a good photo.
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Posted by Keebler (Member # 12673) on :
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(As I recall from past posts that smoking is on-going for you right now) I forgot to mention that, in smokers, circulation is greatly decreased and toxins are greatly increased.
Smoking tremendously raises the risk of eye damage, in general. So, it's even more important to have your doctor take a look at your eyes.
You might also ask about eye supplements for those who are still smokers and what can help as you quit. Expert eye care during this time is vital.
(For newcomers, patients who smoke are strongly advised to quit if they expect lyme treatment to be successful. However, for some, that can take a bit of time to complete the process of quitting. Extra support helps.)
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Posted by groovy2 (Member # 6304) on :
I had about 15 Floaters in each os my eyes after getting sick -- could barely see --
Doxi seemed to be the ABX that got rid of them for me --
After treatment 99% of floaters are gone-Jay-
[ 10. January 2009, 04:35 PM: Message edited by: groovy2 ]
Posted by blinkie (Member # 14470) on :
Jay- thanks for the info on doxy. I have floaters bad and I did do doxy for 5 weeks. I got a lot of overall improvement from it but did not notice if the floaters got better.
I do know that floaters were my first symptom...then fatigue. Floaters were my hubby's first symptom as well.
I know that mine are lyme spirochetes because they move and they change shape. Real "floaters" that are caused by damage to the viterous fluid of the eye should not move or change shape.
Posted by FancyRatFan (Member # 3088) on :
Hi Eric,
I have the floaters too. They were the first thing I noticed too but I didn't give it much thought.
I thought it was just getting older. I thought that way about all my symptoms. Which started to be noticeable when I was 30.
Having floaters was on the symptom list my LLMD gave to me.
Posted by Topper (Member # 18568) on :
Occassionally I had floaters prior to lyme-particularly noticeable in bright sunlight-and usually after a night of partying!
20 years later there was a marked increase in floaters when i was diagnosed and treated for Lyme Disease.
Eye Doctor could see them, but didn't seem that concerned.
I am now post treatment with only an occasional, really occasional, floater-so occasional I forgot about them until someone mentions them.
I believe we all develop floaters with age to some degree-but i think the Lyme Disease had something to do with the increase in their occurance.
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