Springfield News-Sun

Bothersome transparen­t floater remains in the eye

- Keith Roach Dr. Roach regrets that he is unable to answer individual letters, but will incorporat­e them in the column whenever possible. Readers may email questions to Toyourgood­health@med. cornell.edu or send mail to 628 Virginia Dr., Orlando, FL 32803.

Dear Dr. Roach: I have a transparen­t floater in one eye that stays in the same general area. I went to an optometris­t who dilated and took retinal photos of that eye, and they saw nothing. They just told me if I started seeing “curtains, light flashes, changes” to return. Nothing different has occurred yet. My brother swears that eating fresh pineapple daily worked for him. What are your profession­al thoughts on this “cure”? — L.M.

Answer: Floaters are bits of protein in the jelly-like fluid in the back of the eye, called the vitreous humor, which cast a shadow on the retina. Most people know what they are — they are transparen­t grey specks that seem to float in the visual field. They are most noticeable when looking at something uniform and light in color, like a white wall. Floaters can be normal, but a sudden increase in the number of floaters, especially with any visual change of the type your optometris­t mentioned, should cause you to see your eye specialist immediatel­y, as it can indicate a serious eye problem, such as a detached retina.

The body doesn’t have a good way to get rid of these, so they stay in the eye. I think I can guess why your brother thought pineapple might help. Pineapple contains an enzyme that digests protein; unfortunat­ely, the enzyme is broken down in the gut and doesn’t make it into the blood, let alone into the vitreous humor of your eyeballs.

A handful of readers have written me about their experience with getting a vitrectomy, where the vitreous humor is surgically removed, along with the floaters. A person would need to be very bothered indeed to undergo vitrectomy just for the floaters, but some people do see changes in their vision due to a large amount of floaters.

Dear Dr. Roach: I am a 67-year-old healthy, active woman. Recently, I was in the hospital for a case of transient global amnesia that was diagnosed as a fluke phenomenon. Nonetheles­s, in an MRI, it was discovered that I have a 3-mm aneurysm on the anterior communicat­ing artery. The neuro team has suggested watching it with scans, starting at six months. I am on baby aspirin, 40 mg of Lipitor and 25 mg of metoprolol. I’m having a very hard time adjusting to this. I think about it constantly. I have lost my appetite and am worried about everything. I’m wondering what I can do. (Hoping not to worry to death.) — T.W.

Answer: An arterial aneurysm is a weakening in the wall of an artery, leading the artery to swell like a balloon, which can eventually lead to rupture of the blood vessel. In the brain, this is likely to result in a stroke, sometimes a severe stroke, so I completely understand why you are worried.

However, you don’t need to be so worried. Most aneurysms like these that are discovered incidental­ly are never destined to rupture. It is likely that even without treatment, this will never bother you, and if they hadn’t done that MRI scan, you would have continued to enjoy good health.

About 3% of the population has an aneurysm, but only 0.5% of people will die from one. Size is the major risk factor. Below 7 mm, they are very unlikely to rupture. Between 7 and 12 mm, the risk of rupture is about 2.6% in five years. As the aneurysm gets bigger, the risk of rupture increases.

I think checking on the size in six months is a good idea. If it hasn’t grown, most experts recommend a yearly test for a few years, and then every two to five years after that.

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