Flashing – do not drive away. Why are flies in front of your eyes dangerous?

Various visual disorders make you think, and in some cases even visit a doctor. But there are those that appear sporadically, and they are preferred to be ignored time after time. At the same time, doctors note that the so-called flies before the eyes can indicate serious pathologies. Which ones, told candidate of medical sciences, ophthalmologist Lyubov Romanova.

“Flies in front of the eyes are a fairly common phenomenon. They can have a different shape: circles, threads, zigzags, commas, dots and others. The color is usually black or translucent. They can be permanent or temporary, appear suddenly and disappear after a while, ”says the ophthalmologist.

What are they pointing to?

“If flies appear from time to time, most likely they are associated with pathology of the cardiovascular, endocrine or nervous systems. Their occurrence is provoked by problems in the neck, diabetes mellitus and sudden changes in blood pressure, ”the doctor explains.

Flies can also be caused by:

• myopia;
• metabolic disorders;
• poisoning;
• stress
• traumatic brain and eye injuries, etc.

“If you see clouding before your eyes all the time, then most likely it is a disease of the vitreous body of the eye, but it can also be a pathology of the lens, retina, optic nerve, visual pathways and visual centers of the brain,” warns Lyubov Romanova.

The vitreous body is located between the retina and the lens, it is a gel-like mass consisting of an aqueous solution of hyaluronic acid, which contains soluble proteins, inorganic phosphorus, glucose, ascorbic, citric acid and other compounds present in human blood, says Lyubov Romanova. Normally, it is completely transparent.

“With age, as well as due to trauma or inflammatory diseases, the vitreous body undergoes biodegradation, synchisis (liquefaction) and syneresis (combination of collagen fibers into dense bundles) develops. The densified structures of the vitreous body are less transparent compared to the surrounding areas. The light falling on them does not fully reach the retina, forming shadows on it, which appear in the form of flies, ”says Lyubov Romanova’s mechanism.

Who is at risk?

Ophthalmologist Romanova notes that people over the age of 40 suffer from this pathology more often than others. However, this does not exclude the fact that flies can also flicker in young people.

How to treat?

“If you find flies in front of your eyes, this is a reason to see a doctor. First of all, you need to find out the cause of their appearance, since therapy will be aimed at treating the disease that has become the trigger of the problem. When the underlying disease is eliminated, the flies will either stop bothering you, or the process will stabilize and their number will stop growing, ”the specialist notes.

Treatment includes the use of vitamin preparations and antioxidants, in some cases it is advisable to use a laser, and in especially severe cases, vitrectomy can be performed – removal of the vitreous body.

In any case, you should not delay going to the doctor, otherwise the disease will progress, and the flies as a symptom will appear more and more often. The more advanced the disease is, the more difficult and expensive it will be to treat, the ophthalmologist warns.

Preventive measures

Prevention is always easier than fixing. And flies are no exception. They have their own means of prevention, says Lyubov Romanova.

“Wearing sunglasses outside to protect your eyes from ultraviolet radiation, a balanced diet, healthy sleep, adherence to a work and rest schedule, regular exercise, preventive examinations with a doctor will help with this,” sums up Lyubov Romanova.