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What Causes A Black Spot In The Left Corner Of The Eye?
I have what appears to be a broken blood vessel in my left eye. It looks like the brown branches of a dead vine. A week ago I noticed a miniscule black dot in the upper left corner that moved as my eye did. It disappeared the next morning. Then yesterday a small squiggly fleck appeared in the same place. Nothing was different today since I woke at 8am. However, when I went outside about 6 hrs later it was much larger & now is floating in my line of vision. There is no pain or discomfort, only the distraction. I ve had no injury, headache or anything that I can point to as a trigger. Please advise.
Thu, 31 Aug 2017
Hello,welcome to HCM.
What you are experiencing is a Vitreous floater in your eye.This is a very common condition due to clumping of the Vitreous gel inside the eye which is normally clear and smooth.Due to aging, the clumps when formed cast a tiny shadow in your Retina(the deep most nerve layer of the eye).So when you move your eye in any direction they tend to move around and comes in your visual area.Its very interesting that each patient sees them in a different shape like squiggly line/worm/amoeba/strings/round black dots/spider web.....they are harmless and disappears after a while if small.Sometimes I have had patients say that they ignore them.
However,if they are associated with increase in size/number and if you experience any visual disturbances as blurred vision/frequent flashes of light,then I woud suggest you to have a dilated eye exam at the earliest possible.Especially if you have short sight/diabetic/hypertensive I would suggest a retinal exam to rule out Retinal hole/tear or any blood vessel issues.
If no such additional symptoms,you can observe for a week or two and check its progression.There is no specific treatment for the same if the vitreous floater is a small one.If its big and bothersome it can be surgically removed after a detailed evaluation.
Hope this helps.Take care.
What you are experiencing is a Vitreous floater in your eye.This is a very common condition due to clumping of the Vitreous gel inside the eye which is normally clear and smooth.Due to aging, the clumps when formed cast a tiny shadow in your Retina(the deep most nerve layer of the eye).So when you move your eye in any direction they tend to move around and comes in your visual area.Its very interesting that each patient sees them in a different shape like squiggly line/worm/amoeba/strings/round black dots/spider web.....they are harmless and disappears after a while if small.Sometimes I have had patients say that they ignore them.
However,if they are associated with increase in size/number and if you experience any visual disturbances as blurred vision/frequent flashes of light,then I woud suggest you to have a dilated eye exam at the earliest possible.Especially if you have short sight/diabetic/hypertensive I would suggest a retinal exam to rule out Retinal hole/tear or any blood vessel issues.
If no such additional symptoms,you can observe for a week or two and check its progression.There is no specific treatment for the same if the vitreous floater is a small one.If its big and bothersome it can be surgically removed after a detailed evaluation.
Hope this helps.Take care.
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