Man. Eyesight. I feel like I dodged a bullet today...

[Totem Polar]

Deal is, April 2016, I had a detached retina in my dominant eye driving to a festival gig. It's come up here before, in threads about switching eyes, etc. long story short, I was able to adjust to doing everything worth doing with my off side (left) eye. ECQC this summer was the first "shooting class" I'd taken since surgery—shooting cross-dominant—and, while not exactly the shooting of my late 20s, things worked well enough. I've been getting around with one clear eye just fine.

So today, I'm getting into the shower, and it's flashing lights and floaters in my other eye. Holy shit.

I guess those sorts of flashes can be caused by vitreous fluid contracting and tuggng on the retina, and vitreous fluid contracting and tugging on the retina until it peels, strips or detaches, and it looks a whole lot the same from behind your eyelids. Only way to know for sure is to get in, get dialated and get scoped. One possibility indicates emergency surgery, and the other indicates a pat on the back, a lolipop, and a "good job for getting in right away, that's exactly what we need you to do if ever you see those flashes again."

Today, I drew the pat on the back and the lolipop, and off I went to the rest of the work day.

[Erik]

You're lucky. You're probably already doing it, but if you're not, get your good eye checked more frequently than other people do. Apparently it's not unusual to get a torn or detached retina in the other eye not long after the first. I just had a tear in the retina of my remaining eye repaired and it was an anxious (short) time between discovery and repair, let me tell you.

[Totem Polar]

^^^judas effing priest. I"m sure it was.

[blues]

Glad you're okay. Even I was nervous reading the OP...

[MistWolf]

Another subject I don't know enough about. What caused the tears/detachments to happen and what does the viscous fluids have to do with it?

[theJanitor]

Awesome work Sidheshooter. Glad you caught it early. I didn't catch the break in my left eye fast enough, and lost vision in it. Same with my right eye last august, except I actually went to an eye doctor and told him about the flashing lights. He looked in my eye and said it looked OK. a month later, I'm in surgery trying to save my remaining retina.

Guys, take your eye health seriously. Until you go blind, you can't really imagine how hard it is. My surgeon has been telling me since I lost my first retina in '82, "WEAR GLASSES". I'm preaching this to anyone who will listen. Even if you don't need glasses, find a frame that looks good on you, ask for polycarbonate safety lenses with UV protection. Place a safety shield between your eyes and the harsh world. and you might even look smarter.....

[Erik]

Another subject I don't know enough about. What caused the tears/detachments to happen and what does the viscous fluids have to do with it?

This is a really good, succinct, description of the mechanism, including what the vitreous fluid has to so with it.



I guess those sorts of flashes can be caused by vitreous fluid contracting and tuggng on the retina, and vitreous fluid contracting and tugging on the retina until it peels, strips or detaches, and it looks a whole lot the same from behind your eyelids.


It can happen to anyone, but it doesn't happen to everyone. If you start getting a lot of floaters or spots, get one floater or spot that stays put, start seeing flashing lights that aren't really there, lose a section of your vision or otherwise experience an unusual change from your normal vision, get it checked out ASAP. Don't fuck around with it.

[Totem Polar]

Don't fuck around with it.
^^^And, this is a really good, succinct description of the indicated actions if you have any of the above symptoms. Get in and get checked, ASAP. Take the morning off. Eye clinics are like most places in that the appointments can be weeks or months out. Unless you have an emergent injury or use the term "flashing lights," in which case the triage doc will see you the same day.





Another subject I don't know enough about. What caused the tears/detachments to happen and what does the viscous fluids have to do with it?

As you age, the fluid in your eye ages. As it contracts, it can pull on the retina--and the best simile I've heard is that the retina is like wallpaper on the inside of a geodesic dome or some such--causing latticing, distortions and atrophic holes (incidentally, the location of these holes, around the edges of your "geodesic dome" as it shrinks, can either be a big deal or no big deal, depending if they are at the top or the bottom, because: fluid, gravity.. I shit you not, that's what I've been told).

Sometimes, the fluid sticks enough to the retina that it can literally peel it, like masking tape on ancient wall paper, and that is one form of detachment. That will give you a real fireworks show at the edge of your vision.

You can detach a retina in other traditional ways: a finger in the eye during an aggressive game of hoops; a CP trainer in the eye if you're a dipshit and don't use eye pro during your FMA training, and lots of other ways I'm sure. But even if your hobby is knitting, and not hoops or combatives, age has a way of mocking us all. Being over 50 is one marker of increased likelihood for random, fate gives you the finger, detachment for no reason other than you've been breathing air a half-century.

I am not a doc. I am just a guy that likes to read things, shoot and ogle women in their 20's. FWIW.

[Totem Polar]

^^^Note to self: Oxford comma. I do not shoot women in their 20's. I mean, they'd have to really, really need shooting... just saying.

[GJM]

If you are mid 50's and nearsighted, you have an elevated risk of retina tears and detachments. I am not a doctor but I did have a retina tear three years ago, so I have experience. Here is a simplified version -- mid 50's, normal aging may involve a posterior vitreous detachment:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Posterior_vitreous_detachment

Depending upon how the vitreous detachment goes, it can result in a retinal tear or detachment. I actually had a retinal tear, when out in remote AK, followed by two posterior vitreous detachments. The last one took a month to resolve, and left a bunch of floaters which I have to this day. I believe that a lifetime of shooting heavy caliber rifles played a part in my issue.

Hopefully this PVD is the last one for you.

[Maple Syrup Actual]

Jesus, yikes. That's a never-wrackingly close call, or near miss, or...not really sure how to put it. I would not want to live in a world without ogling, that's for sure.

[Totem Polar]

If you are mid 50's and nearsighted, you have an elevated risk of retina tears and detachments. I am not a doctor but I did have a retina tear three years ago, so I have experience. Here is a simplified version -- mid 50's, normal aging may involve a posterior vitreous detachment:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Posterior_vitreous_detachment

Depending upon how the vitreous detachment goes, it can result in a retinal tear or detachment. I actually had a retinal tear, when out in remote AK, followed by two posterior vitreous detachments. The last one took a month to resolve, and left a bunch of floaters which I have to this day. I believe that a lifetime of shooting heavy caliber rifles played a part in my issue.

Hopefully this PVD is the last one for you.

Nailed it, GJM. That wiki article describes my experience to a T.

[Joe in PNG]

Two different co-workers had theirs detach in the past 3 months. And they weren't really doing anything out of the ordinary, either.

[Robinson]

Glad you got the lollipop and not the emergency surgery.

[mmc45414]

Gads, glad I read this. Calling the Dr now....

I think PF is my Life Coach!

ETA: Appointment at 12:30ET. The symptoms have been diminishing, but this was still a good heads up.

[TheCarl]

... Even if you don't need glasses, find a frame that looks good on you, ask for polycarbonate safety lenses with UV protection. Place a safety shield between your eyes and the harsh world. and you might even look smarter.....

Polycarbonate lenses inherently block uv. In Optician terms, poly is considered the most impact-resistant material, because it tends to bend, not shatter under impact. You cannot get safety thickness lenses without a safety rated frame, which are heavier, sturdier, and must bear the ANSI Z87.1 stamp.

Off the shelf sunglasses, especially wrap-around, are good for protecting vs uh and small flying objects. If you're machining anything, or close to anyone else who is, take the steps to protect yourself.

Consider that there's about 2 million nerves in each eye, and I don't know that medical science can successfully repair as many as 1. You have no more than 2. Plan accordingly.

[theJanitor]

Yes, I don't mean to say that the lenses need to be safety rated. Just get poly lenses that are more "safe" than glass, or nothing at all. I've lived 34 years on one eye. Losing the remaining one last year was ROUGH. Thankfully the surgery team got my vision back to where living normally is possible

ETA: I haven't seen a front sight since my last August :(

[Totem Polar]

^^^Red dot time?

[theJanitor]

^^^Red dot time?

That's where I might be headed. It's put a serious damper on my 1911 use. Making the jump from old school custom 1911's to Roland Specials will not be easy

[mmc45414]

ETA: Appointment at 12:30ET

So, after interrogating the guy more than probably any of his other patients I have a better understanding of this. The gel that holds your retina onto the wall gets old and less resilient, at the same time the retina shrinks a bit. The gel leaks out a little and causes these symptoms and is normal and nothing is done about it. But if the retina gets any holes or tears in it in the process, then it is straight forward to cauterize it with a laser to stop the process, something that is done in the office. But if the process isn't halted then it can separate and require immediate specialized surgery that the guy that did my cataract surgeries doesn't even do.

In my case he says it is all good, and is just part of getting old and I can't blame it on shooting 100 skeet targets a week.

[GJM]

Interestingly, about two years before my retina tear, I was at a Randy Cain AK class, where we shot near a thousand rounds of 7.62x39 over the weekend. The first evening, I had light flashes in my right eye. Had it checked out back home, and the doc told me that those flashes are a classic sign of an actual or impending retina tear. Took two years, but I got it in that same eye.

[theJanitor]

Both of my eyes have had these repairs:

Scleral Buckle
A flexible silicone band will be permanently stitched to the outside surface of the back of the eye. This is done underneath the skin of the eye. You would never see the band. This band acts like a belt. It buckles the area of the detachment or retinal tear to the wall of the eye. This procedure has a high success rate in re-attaching the retina. Local or general anesthesia is used.

Pneumatic Retinopexy
A gas bubble will be injected into the cavity of the eye. The pressure will force the retina back into position. You will often need to lie in a special position to keep the gas bubble in place. The retina will usually re-attach within several days. A laser (heat) or cryotherapy (cold) will help seal the retina back into place.

This method generally has a high success rate. It is not suitable for all types of detachment. Local anesthesia is sometimes used. The main benefit of this procedure is that it can be done in the office with anesthetic eye drops.

Vitrectomy (Removal of the Vitreous Humor)
This method may be needed for more complicated retinal detachments. It may also be used if the procedures described above are not successful. The fluid in the eye as well as any scar tissue will be removed. The fluid will then be replaced with a gas bubble or specialized oil known as silicone oil. The bubble or oil will help push the retina back against the eye wall. Retinal breaks will then be sealed with a laser or cryotherapy. A scleral buckle procedure is often done at the same time. Local or general anesthesia is used.

copied from here: https://advsurgery.secure.ehc.com/hl/?/14857/Retinal-Detachment-Repair

The Gas bubble touching the lens of my newly repaired eye caused severe cataract clouding. That was addressed a few months after the retina surgery.

Bottom line is: Get the lollipop, not the surgery

[NETim]

This appears to be a good place to inject my glaucoma sermon.

Glaucoma is another one of those nasty little diseases that aren't typically noticeable until it's too late. It causes nerve damage, which is of course, irreversible. So, get your pressures checked on an annual basis. I don't care what age you may be. My eye doc sez as soon as a person is old enough to cooperate with the "air puff" test, get it done!

Some forms of glaucoma can crank up at a young age.

[That Guy]

That's where I might be headed. It's put a serious damper on my 1911 use. Making the jump from old school custom 1911's to Roland Specials will not be easyCrimson Trace laser grips?

Sent from my Infernal Contraption using Tapatalk

[theJanitor]

Crimson Trace laser grips?

Sent from my Infernal Contraption using Tapatalk

those would probably only work for 15-20 yards, beyond that, there's no guarantee that I could see the dot that far away, or in bright light.

[That Guy]

those would probably only work for 15-20 yards, beyond that, there's no guarantee that I could see the dot that far away, or in bright light.

Well yeah, but if you can't see your front sight now at all or barely, a laser ought to be an improvement? An improvement that's easier to make than having a slide custom milled.

Although, if you're okay with a dove tail mount, then mounting a red dot would be the same difficulty level as changing a rear sight. Not the best possible mounting solution, but again, thinking about possible improvements over not seeing your sights that cost lest than a custom option.

[mmc45414]

theJanitor: I do not have your issues, and my sight after cataracts is the best it had been for a long time, but I am still transitioning to the TFO sights. They are ugly and clunky and probably fragile, but have the yellow-green versions and it looks like somebody took a traffic signal and laid it down on top of my pistols.