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Featured Treatments

SLT (Selective Laser Trabeculoplasty) for Glaucoma

Laser surgery has become increasingly popular as an alternative method of treating pressure.

 

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IPL (Intense Pulsed Light) For Dry Eyes

New revolutionary device for the treatment of dry eyes due to Blepharitis/Meibomian gland dysfunction (MGD), the E-Eye IPL machine.

 

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Anti Veg-F Intravitreal Injections

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Flashes and Floaters

What are flashes and floaters?

You may sometimes see small specks or clouds moving in your field of vision. These are called floaters. You can often see them when looking at a plain background, like a blank wall or blue sky.

Floaters are actually tiny clumps of cells or material inside the vitreous, the clear gel like fluid that fills the inside of your eye.

While these objects look like they are in front of your eye, they are actually floating inside it. What you see are the shadows they cast on the retina, the layer of cells lining the back of the eye that senses light and allows you to see. Floaters can appear as different shapes, such as little dots, circles, lines, clouds or cobwebs.

When the vitreous gel pulls on the retina you may see what looks like flashing lights or lightning streaks. These are called flashes. You may have experienced this same sensation if you have ever been hit in the eye and seen "stars". The flashes of light can appear off and on for several weeks or months.

As we grow older, it is more common to experience floaters and flashes as the vitreous gel changes with age gradually pulling away from the inside surface of the eye.

Vitreous Detachment

 

Causes of Flashes and Floaters.

When people reach middle age, the vitreous gel may start to shrink, forming clumps or strands inside the eye. The vitreous gel pulls away from the back wall of the eye, causing a posterior vitreous detachment. This is a common cause of floaters.

Floaters and flashes are also caused by posterior vitreous detachment, where the vitreous gel pulls away from the back of the eye.

This condition is more common in people who:

  • Are near sighted;
  • Have undergone cataract operations;
  • Have had YAG laser surgery of the eye;
  • Have had inflammation (swelling) inside the eye.
  • Have had an injury to the eye.

The appearance of floaters and flashes may be alarming, especially if they develop very suddenly. To find out if a retinal tear or detachment is occurring, you should call Mr. Golchin right away if you notice the following symptoms, especially if you are over 45 years of age, have had an injury to your eyes or head or if you have substantial near sightedness:

  • A sudden increase in size and number of floaters
  • A sudden appearance of flashes
  • Having a shadow or curtain appear in the periphery (side) of your field of vision
  • Seeing a grey curtain moving across your field of vision
  • Having a sudden decrease in your vision


Flashes and floaters treatment

Vitreous floaters may be a symptom of a tear in the retina which is a serious problem. If a retinal tear is not treated the retina may detach from the back of the eye. The only treatments for a detached retina are a laser procedure or surgery.

Other floaters are harmless and fade over time or become less bothersome, requiring no treatment. Surgery to remove floaters is almost never required.

 

 

 

Clinic Location 

Cork Eye Clinic

Suite 7/8, Clinic A,
Cork Clinic, Western Road,
Cork, T12 VY83.

 

cork eye clinic

Tel:  021 434 1030
Fax: 021 434 1033
Email: bgolchin@corkeyeclinic.ie

 

 

Meet the Surgeon

Mr. Behrooz Golchin
MB, Bch, BAO, FRCOpth


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VIEW ALLWhat Our Patients Say

For most people 2020 was a terrible year, nothing but Covid and lockdowns, for me it was the year I got my eyesight back. I've been wearing reading glasses since I was 7 years old. The optic nerve in my right eye never really developed so I had to rely on my left eye to provide me with adequate sight, with a prescription in my right eye to help balance it. This continued right through my childhood, adolescence, then through adulthood until my 40's. At that stage, my left eye had also began to fail, so, "call it vanity", I decided to opt for laser surgery. This unfortunately only lead to further complications and so was back to wearing glasses, 18 months after the treatment, with an eye prescription worse than ever. I knew by my early 50's my eyesight was in a serious state. Even with glasses everything was a blur and going in the wrong direction. I decided to seek further help, so for 3 years I visited eye specialists in Cork and Dublin hoping for a solution. Nobody wanted to know me after my failed eye operations and poor sight, except one man, MR Behrooz Golchin, a man I credit for saving my eyesight. Within 3 months I got synthetic lenses for both eyes. 12 months later I am still in disbelief of what he was able to do to correct my eyesight. Thank you Mr Golchin

John Lynch (March 2021)

 
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