Ophthalmologists remind young people to be alert to this eye disease when "dancing with mosquitoes"

Today's office workers have to face the computer for eight or nine hours a day. Sometimes when you stare at the computer for a long time, you will feel something like "mosquitoes" or "cotton wool" flying in front of your eyes, and then it disappears after a while. This situation is more obvious when facing a white wall or looking at a clear sky. Director Zhao Yan, a specialist in fundus diseases at the Aier Eye Hospital Affiliated to Wuhan University (Aier Eye Hospital Group Hubei General Hospital), reminds everyone that these may be symptoms of floaters.

The origin of floaters

As the name suggests, floaters are a visual symptom similar to floaters in front of the eyes, not real mosquitoes. The eyeball has a large component called "vitreous body", which is like a large transparent jelly. Normal vitreous body is a transparent gel. Therefore, when suspended objects appear in the vitreous body, the shadow is projected onto the retina, and many dot-shaped, line-shaped, plankton-shaped and other objects similar to floaters will appear in our sight. This is the origin of floaters.

Office workers need to be wary of "dancing with mosquitoes"

Floaters are caused by vitreous liquefaction and posterior detachment, and are common in two groups of people: the elderly over 40 years old and those with severe myopia. However, as electronic products such as mobile phones and computers gradually penetrate into our lives and long-term use of electronic products, the number of floaters patients is getting younger and younger, and many office workers and students have also joined the army of floaters early.

Distinguishing between “good mosquitoes” and “bad mosquitoes”

So, what should we do when floaters appear? Should we seek medical attention immediately?

Director Zhao Yan said: Floaters can be divided into physiological and pathological. If they only appear occasionally and do not affect vision, they are generally physiological floaters and do not require special treatment.

Director Zhao Yan reminds that if floaters occur frequently, the number of floaters continues to increase, there is a feeling that the vision is blocked, things appear distorted, there are flashes, etc., if any of the above symptoms occur, you should see a doctor immediately and undergo a comprehensive fundus examination.