Seeing Things

Yesterday I suddenly saw a thread-like thing right in front of my right eye. Only it wasn't actually floating in the air, it was inside my eye, but the illusion that it was four inches in front of me was so realistic that I waved my hand up there trying to brush it way. It looked a lot like the line in this picture with some vague blotches around it:


Effects added in Adobe Photoshop(R)
Fortunately we were in Winchester so we were close to my opthalmologist's office. (At home it is over an hour to his office but Frank had been to an appointment in Stephen's City so I had driven us to Popeye's for lunch.) Now this was not the first time I had seen "floaters." I recalled that when it happened a few years ago, I called my eye doctor in Woodbridge and he said to come in right away. (This was before we moved to the Shenandoah Valley.) Floaters are usually harmless but occasionally they are a warning of a detached retina.

Well, yesterday Dr. Viti was out of his office but he was due back soon so Sue in his office said to come on over. Frank drove (glad he was with me!) and before long the doctor dilated my eyes and examined them using an uncomfortably strong light. He explained that floaters often occur as the eyes age but he asked a couple of times if I have diabetes. (As far as I know, no, but my dad and his sister had it in their later years so it is something I should get tested for.)

I won't go into the explanation but you can read about it at aboutfloaters.com. If you suddenly get floaters, you should see an eye doctor promptly. Their office should get you in right away for this.

While looking for a good site to share I also found a Pubmed article that mentions carnosine used to treat eye disorders. Those eye drops were available over the internet until recently but last time I looked they had been recalled. The FDA doesn't like supplements that are as effective as drugs because they can't require the testing that prescriptions are subject to. (I am choosing words carefully here; don't want to sound like Kevin Trudeau, although some of what he writes makes sense.) No doubt the carnosine eyedrops will come back some day as expensive prescription items. (Sigh!) In the meantime you can buy carnosine capsules and take them daily to benefit in hopes of preserving your eyesight.

Funny thing, I first found out about carnosine being good for eyes when I was researching a treatment for my dog's cataracts. Then I learned that it was also good for healing the digestive system. It's a natural supplement made up of two amino acids, but if you search Pubmed.gov or Google Scholar you learn that it holds the promise of being a wonder drug.