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Dealing with "floaters"

garandman

garandman

Bolt Gun Bodacious
Im *not* talking about "fliers"... those claimed erratic shots that open a nice 0.25" group up to half inch + .

Also not talking about ppl who forget to flush.

I'm talking about those little spots / squiggly lines that "float" around in a shooters eye... especially when sighting thru a rifle scope.

You young guys...got it SOOO easy, don't hafta deal with this crap. ;) I now know why old people are cranky...everything hurts, everything is annoying. :)

Anyway, I read one good way of dealing with them is to sorta rotate your eyeball around, that will cause them to move from in bwtween they eye iris and the scope reticle.

Especailly movement of the eye up and down.

So for each shot, along with my breathing control, I look up at the celiing / sky as I have my cheek on the cheek rest, to make the floaters move. Usually they'll then settle down thru the eyeball, passing right thru the eyeball iris - scope reticle path, to below it, and everythng will be clear again.

Anyone dealt with this / found a better solution / seen a doctor / got gooder advice for me?

Some light reading....

http://www.calguns.net/calgunforum/archive/index.php/t-881430.html
 
What you describe affects us match sight adherents too, believe it!

There’s little to be done though (short of medical remedies I’ll touch on next) other than what you’ve described, which works for me; I roll my eyes up or to the side quickly then bring my sighting eye slowly back to regain sight picture.

I’ve heard it rumored that there is a laser ablation technique out there. And a procedure (vitrectomy) where the eye’s vitreous humor is removed then replaced with a saline solution to retain eyeball shape.

But those are medical interventions and likely come with side effects (besides the wallet-draw) you might rather avoid.

Hydration can play a role too. Make sure you’re staying hydrated, including 36-48 hours before you expect to be behind a scope.
 
Last edited:
spclark said:
What you describe affects us match sight adherents too, believe it!

There’s nothing to be done though - other than what you’ve described, which works for me. I roll my eyes up or to the side quickly then bring sighting eye slowly back to regain sight picture.

I’ve heard it rumored that there is a laser ablation technique out there. But that’s medical intervention and likely comes with side effects (besides the wallet-draw) you might rather avoid.

Hydration can play a role too. Make sure you’re staying hydrated, including 36-48 hours before you expect to be behind a scope.
Click to expand...

Down the bottom of the link they suggest a "remedy" - Omega 3 oils and anti oxidants. Not saying its true... just repeating what I read....

Interesting how looking thru a diopter / scope makes floaters suddenly appear.... guess full light washes them out, normally.
 
garandman said:
Interesting how looking thru a diopter / scope makes floaters suddenly appear.... guess full light washes them out, normally.
Click to expand...

I think it’s more likely the aperture effect that alters depth of field. That works on both sides of the smallest aperture in the optical path, we just don’t consider the ‘behind’ part as much as the ‘in front’ part when we’re looking to improve our sight pictures.

Oh and I edited my post while you were adding yours it seems. As I indicate, there are medical procedures that can be of help. A medical professional is your best source of info as you look to doing anything beyond just getting along with it.
 
Floaters are usually a problem in near-sighted people, whose eyeballs are actually longer from front to back than the eyeballs of people with normal visual acuity. In extreme form, they get worse when the retina begins to detach from its base. There is no treatment except for vitrectomy and laser/cryotherapy to attach the retina more securely. Vitrectomy is not a "routine" procedure such that you simply walk in to the retina specialist and tell him/her that you want your vitrectomy. It is done quite often, just not until it's absolutely necessary, since there is a risk that the affected eye will be be worse instead of better. And the post-operative recovery is challenging and prolonged (facedown at every moment for up to 2 weeks, then months of limited positioning, while the vision slowly returns). So, for dealing with floaters, the only viable option is "dealing with it." Moving the eyeball can move the floater temporarily, unless the floater is prominent, and sits directly in front of the visual focus. Scope shooters will do much better than peep shooters, since the floater redirects the light coming through a peep sight, sometimes making the target almost disappear. Another viable option is to use offset sights, which can be obtained from Doan Trevor, for both iron sights and scope mounts (doantrevor.com). You will also be meeting one of the finest people working in the industry, BTW. No medication will change this problem. And I want to caution you against another dangerous practice. Some people hit themselves in the head hard enough to "see stars," in an attempt to move the floater out of the way. Don't do that! When you "see stars" you are temporarily (hopefully it's temporary) separating part of the retina from the eyeball, or at least tugging the retina by rapid movement of the vitreous in front of it. That's very undesirable. If your other eye does not have floaters, get the offset sights. If you can switch and shoot from the other side, get used to that. Otherwise, just shoot with a scope. Recoil is not thought to be a factor, but I would shoot the cartridge with the least recoil that would still do the job.
 
I think my eye surgeon had cat hair on him !
Near sighted ppl have em more than farsighted ppl I believe.
I can almost name em & I'm useless on a spotting scope at 600+yds
 
garandman said:
Im *not* talking about "fliers"... those claimed erratic shots that open a nice 0.25" group up to half inch + .

Also not talking about ppl who forget to flush.

I'm talking about those little spots / squiggly lines that "float" around in a shooters eye... especially when sighting thru a rifle scope.

You young guys...got it SOOO easy, don't hafta deal with this crap. ;) I now know why old people are cranky...everything hurts, everything is annoying. :)

Anyway, I read one good way of dealing with them is to sorta rotate your eyeball around, that will cause them to move from in bwtween they eye iris and the scope reticle.

Especailly movement of the eye up and down.

So for each shot, along with my breathing control, I look up at the celiing / sky as I have my cheek on the cheek rest, to make the floaters move. Usually they'll then settle down thru the eyeball, passing right thru the eyeball iris - scope reticle path, to below it, and everythng will be clear again.

Anyone dealt with this / found a better solution / seen a doctor / got gooder advice for me?

Some light reading....

http://www.calguns.net/calgunforum/archive/index.php/t-881430.html
Click to expand...
I definitely understand I’m getting old and cranky too and I will try what you were doing sounds like it may work for me
 
I have had the same familiar floater for as long as I can remember... it looks like a reclining, well built woman with long braided hair. I can usually get her to appear by tilting my head down an squinting my right eye and closing my left.
 
fyrewall said:
I have had the same familiar floater for as long as I can remember... it looks like a reclining, well built woman with long braided hair. I can usually get her to appear by tilting my head down an squinting my right eye and closing my left.
Click to expand...
Lol ! o_O
 
In my experience there is a way to get rid of those pesky floaters. I used to have them in a moderate amount until I started eating lots of leafy green vegetables. I went all the way and went on a plant based diet for other reasons but one of the upsides that I didn't expect was to lose the floaters completely. If you don't want to go the route that I did, at least eat alot of those type vegetables. (kale, spinach, collard greens, etc.)

Dan
 
fyrewall said:
I have had the same familiar floater for as long as I can remember... it looks like a reclining, well built woman with long braided hair. I can usually get her to appear by tilting my head down an squinting my right eye and closing my left.
Click to expand...
If mine looked like that I wouldn’t mind so much
 
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