Clouding of the vitreous humor
Do you know that? It is a beautiful sunny day, you look at the blue sky and suddenly you see a black spot in front of your eye. Or you are very concentrated working behind the computer and you spontaneously have black wires in your field of view. We call that mouches volantes. Often innocent, but sometimes not.
Sleeves volantes is French and literally means ‘flying flies’. The medical name is myodesopsia, but the term vitreous clouding is also widely used. These are black flies that seem to float or fly before your eye, hence the name.
vitreous clouding
In the eye is the space between the lens and the retina filled with vitreous humor. The vitreous humor is a kind of clear jelly. Clouds in the vitreous, such as protein or blood residue, are seen as floating spots because the cloudiness casts a shadow on the retina. Dots, circles, strings, flies, clouds or cobwebs. This can take many forms.
The turbidity moves along with the eye movement and often also move when the eye is still. Usually the vitreous cloudiness is not noticeable, but with a lot of light the spots are clearly visible. In some cases it can even seriously impair vision.
Causes
The origin of the mouches volantes is not always clear. The most common cause is aging. The vitreous humor contains thin fibers that provide elasticity and firmness. Over time, the elasticity of these fibers decreases and the structure changes. As a result, lumps often appear around the age of 50: cloudiness.
Other possible causes of vitreous clouding include:
- myopia
- vitreous detachment
- vitreous haemorrhage, for example in diabetes
- retinal tear or retinal detachment
- internal inflammation of the eye (uveitis)
Innocent
In most cases, mouches volantes are a harmless phenomenon. You get used to the complaints and the floating spots become less annoying. Due to gravity, the spots often also disappear from the field of view or the brain ‘thinks’ them away.
With tired eyes, there is a good chance that the spots will reappear. It is then important to give your eyes some extra rest, but otherwise no action is usually necessary. If you have the feeling that the complaints are getting worse or if the cloudiness is too disturbing or is accompanied by flashes of light, it is wise to contact your doctor.
Therapy
If there are many or disturbing turbidities, you can consider surgery. During the operation, as much vitreous humor as possible is removed and replaced with a special liquid. We call this surgery a vitrectomy. In most cases, the ophthalmologist succeeds in removing all the annoying clouding, but sometimes small inconspicuous spots remain.
Flashes of light or a sudden increase in symptoms can indicate a serious eye condition such as retinal detachment or blood leakage into the vitreous body. In this case, the GP will probably refer you directly to an ophthalmologist.
