Are eye floaters an early sign of potential blindness?

The eyes are the windows to our soul, the organ that allows us to see the wondrous world. Yet, most people often overlook such an essential part of our body. When we have issues with our eyes, our first thoughts to overcome the problem are to use an eyedrop or consult an optometrist. However, the eyes consist of tons of nerves and blood vessels, which makes consulting an optometrist not the best option.

Eye floaters are the vision spots that usually occur when we hit a certain age. They might look like black or grey specks, strings, or cobwebs that drift about when we move our eyes and appear to dart away when we look at them directly. Although this typically happens in people aged 60 and above, it can also occur in people with other eye issues such as eye disease, an eye tumour, etc.

To provide a better understanding of eye floaters, the common factors that increase the risk of this condition as well as the actions that one can take if this occurs, we invited Dr Mushawiahti Mustapha, an ophthalmologist and vitreo retinal surgeon at KPJ Ampang Puteri Specialist Hospital as a guest on our Health & Wellness Show.

During the conversation, Dr Mushawiahti also talks about:

The differences between an ophthalmologist and a virtual retinal surgeon.
The complete explanation of what an eye floater is.
How to tell if it’s floaters and whether it would happen on both eyes.
The impacts of eye floaters and ways to deal with it
Surgical and non-surgical options for an eye disease
Contributions and investment of KPJ Ampang Puteri Specialist Hospital in ophthalmology and retinal surgery.
Practice and advice on taking care of our eyes.