![]() ![]() While doing yard work, a tiny pebble struck Bumpus’s right eye. Kleinman explains that “patients can usually adapt to floaters over time” because “the brain has amazing plasticity and can learn to ‘filter out’ the floaters.” That’s exactly what happened with Bumpus - until 2015. Though most floaters (or the less typical flashers) are the benign effects of aging eyes, their first appearance, or a fresh wave of them, always warrants a prompt appointment for an eye exam to rule out a serious medical situation such as a retinal tear or detachment.īumpus, who lives in Canandaigua and was 60 at the time, did have his eyes examined, and his retina was healthy. The brain misinterprets them as flashes of actual light. ![]() The presence of perceived flashes or streaks of light can occur when fluid in the eye liquefies or shrinks and pulls away from the retina, causing the retina to discharge electrical impulses. ![]() The flashers - little bursts of light that Bumpus saw occasionally at night - are known medically as photopsia. Medically known as myodesopsia, floaters are common as people age and, in most cases, merely a nuisance. David Kleinman, a retina specialist with UR Medicine’s Flaum Eye Institute in Rochester. “Almost all adults can see floaters under certain lighting conditions,” says Dr. The debris actually casts shadows on the retina.įloater shadows are most noticeable when looking at white backgrounds or in bright light. They appear when tiny clumps of gel or cells break down inside the clear, jelly-like fluid (called vitreous) in the back of the eye. At first, he tried to wave away what he thought were fruit flies flying near his eyes.īut what he thought were in front of his eyes were actually inside them.įloaters and flashers are a phenomenon many people experience, but few really understand.įloaters appear as drifting dark specks, spots, threads or cobwebs. About five years ago, John Bumpus started seeing something strange. ![]()
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