Many older adults complain about obstructions in their vision. These are called floaters in the eyes—something like tiny specks, threads, spiderwebs, or a ring-like shape drifting across your field of vision – which can be caused by a whole lot of problems, and diabetic retinopathy is one among them. “The common cause of floaters is a posterior vitreous detachment. Eye inflammation, retinal tears or trauma, post-surgery changes, bleeding, and natural aging can also lead to floaters,” said Dr Thomas Cherian, senior consultant ophthalmologist at Little Flower Hospital & Research Centre in Angamaly.
The commonest cause of floaters is posterior vitreous detachment in which the gel that fills your eyeball separates from your retina. “Most of the time, floaters are harmless. However, it is important to get the eyes checked because, along with floaters, the patient might get a retinal tear or break or even some bleeding inside the eye.
“Some eye diseases, like uveitis, and some inflammation can all cause floaters at an early age. So in diabetic retinopathy, if you find floaters, that means there is every likelihood that the patient has gone into a stage of proliferative diabetic retinopathy. Thus, whenever there is a floater, the patient should see an eye doctor or a retina specialist. If it is a proliferative diabetic retinopathy, most of the time we treat the eye with lasers,” he said, emphasising that diabetic patients experiencing floaters should undergo a dilated retinal examination. Uveitis is a form of eye inflammation that affects the middle layer of tissue in the eye, called the uvea
According to Cherian, management of diabetes and diabetic retinopathy can help prevent floaters. “Ignoring treatment can cause serious complications, leading to vision loss. Thus, frequent retinal examination rather than mere eye tests can help identify the condition and treat it. Early diagnosis and timely treatment including laser treatment and multiple anti-VEGF injections can help in managing the condition,” he said.