The anguish of a patient who comes to us with an urgent appointment and explains "I see a stain when I look".is understandable. Apart from the fact that eye spots can be very disabling, when they appear suddenly, as a result of trauma or without a clear cause, a emergency consultation with the ophthalmologist to determine the severity of the problem.
Yes, despite the fact that see spots in the eyes or in the field of vision is not a good sign, the severity depends on what has caused the dark area, some of them also known as floaters. With the recognition in situ and by answering a number of questions such as whether they are fixed or mobile spots, we can make an accurate diagnosis and proceed with treatment, where possible.
Why do you see spots when you look?
The vitreous humour is a transparent, gelatinous fluid that occupies the space between the back of the lens and the retina. In other words, a large part of the eyeball. Light must pass through this fluid to reach the retina and transmit the corresponding signals through the optic nerve until they reach the brain and are processed.
With age, it is common for the vitreous humour The vitreous becomes less viscous, becoming more liquid, and small conglomerates of cellular debris accumulate, which the phagocytic cells of the vitreous are unable to eliminate effectively enough. This is when the myodesopsies or hoverfliesThese are round or filamentous areas, always small, that appear in the field of vision. They may look like cobwebs, dust motes or darker spots, as if a fly were flying near our eyes.
But you may also perceive a region where everything looks black in the visual field of one or both eyes. In these cases, we are talking about blind spots or blind zones and you should not overlook this symptom, even if it disappears. It is also not a good sign when myodesopsias suddenly increase in number or are accompanied by flashes.
Possible causes and symptoms
Alterations in the vitreous humour
Floaters do not usually interfere with daily activities, but if one is increasing in size or the symptom suddenly worsens, there may be more to the vitreous humour than a natural age-related process.
Retinal damage
When there is a black or very dark area in the visual field and it is extensive, the damage is usually located in the retina. If the blind spot is in the central area of the field of vision, this usually indicates damage to the macula of the retina, such as the age-related macular degeneration (AMD) or an onset of detachment (so it is important to know if the problem has appeared after trauma).
If the black spot appears as a kind of curtain or curtain on one side, go immediately to the ophthalmologist or emergency department because it could be a retinal detachment, which requires an immediate surgical solution.
What should you do if you see spots when you look?
If you know that you suffer from migraines with aura and the visual disturbances appear as a prelude to migraine headache, except if you suddenly lose your vision, consult your doctor or neurologist. You can also go to an ophthalmologist to have your eyes checked to rule out other possible causes, but there is no need for alarm.
If the Floating flies appear accompanied by flashes, or you lose your vision for seconds, see your ophthalmologist immediately, regardless of whether your myodesopsias are the kind that look like black dots or cobwebs.
You should also be seen by an ophthalmologist when, following an eye trauma In the case of craniocerebral or cranioencephalic disorders, visual field disturbances appear.
Patients with this symptom due to a non-curable disease should undergo regular check-ups. The spots in the field of vision can be frequent in people with myopia magna, for example, although when they know "why I see spots when I look", they tend to come to the consultation more calmly, even with assimilated information about their pathology.
Remember that there are cases in which, if I see a spot when I look and yesterday I didn't, the vision of the affected eye may be in serious danger and you need an accurate diagnosis. At Clínica Dr. Nebro we are at your disposal both for monitoring chronic or degenerative diseases that affect your eyesight and for diagnoses that cannot wait, as in the case of some of these spots in the visual field..
Dr. Salvador Nebro Cobos