I got lucky

Last week my DW and I were involved in a three car collision so I have had
to keep a quieter profile (DW Orders). I was at an intersection waiting for
the light to change to green when a young lady way behind me crashed into a
vehicle that was ahead of her. The vehicle that she hit then crashed into
the back end on my van. My DW was ok and other than a bit of a sore neck I
seemed ok as well. After the accident dust had settled my DW and I proceeded
to a symphony concert and had a pretty good time.

The next day I started seeing this darn spot in front of my eyes - almost
like a fruit fly buzzing around face. I couldn't focus on the spot so I knew
it was either a particle in one of my eyes or a problem with the optic
noive. Yesterday I went to an eye specialist for a check up. Like I said I
go lucky. I have had a few particles or IIRC what is better know as floaters
in both eyes for years. The floaters have never posed a problem for me.
After a hour of looking at my eye balls the eye specialist tells me that in
a lot of accidents where one's head is subject to rapid de-acceleration
those floaters tend to want to leave one's eye ball and in the process they
can tear and or puncture holes in the retina of one's eye. Apparently I have
just a small bit of swelling, no holes or torn retina and the prognosis
looks good. Today that darn fruit fly speck is no longer buzzing in front of
my eyes. That was the last thing I needed bouncing around in front of my
eyes whenever I stitch or do some wood working.

What is a bit disconcerting is that NOBODY ever told me in the past that
those floaters could cause damage to one's eye ball when one's head had
received even minor head trauma such as I experienced. I had never heard of
such a thing before this and if it is all true, eye-ball docs. should be
telling their patients who have floaters to get check up after an accident.
Having said that I'm not sure what could be done after anyway.

Fred
http://www.stitchaway.com
Don't backstitch to email
just stitchit.

If you are on thin ice
you might as well dance!

W.I.P. - "Fiddler on the Roof",
"Oriental Maiden".
W.I.L. - "Romantic Venice",
"Ocean Princess", "Southwest Charm",
"Rainbow Trail", "Indian Pottery", "One Earth",
"Spirit of the Full Moon"
and "+?", "+?", "+?".

Fred wrote:
What is a bit disconcerting is that NOBODY ever told me in the past that
those floaters could cause damage to one's eye ball when one's head had
received even minor head trauma such as I experienced. I had never heard of
such a thing before this and if it is all true, eye-ball docs. should be
telling their patients who have floaters to get check up after an accident.
Having said that I'm not sure what could be done after anyway.

Fred, even unchecked (unknown) high blood pressure can cause pressure in
the eyeball which can cause floaters to disengage.

My husband has MS and quite a bit of inflammation in his eyeballs at
present. He has severe floaters as a result. He has just been seen by
a retinop (whatever you call them) and chances are good his floaters
will tear his retina. We have to be mindful.

My heart goes out to you. Try not to worry. Retinal tears are not
common. Your doctor was just being thorough in his explanations. I'm
sure he told you about watching for sudden onset of "flashing lights" or
a loss of peripheral vision.
Dianne

--
"The Journal of Needlework" - The E-zine for All Needleworkers
http://journal.heritageshoppe.com

On Tue, 25 Jan 2005 17:59:55 -0600, "Fred" wrote:

Last week my DW and I were involved in a three car collision so I have had
to keep a quieter profile (DW Orders).

Thank goodness you and DW were not seriously injured. That is
worrisome about the floaters potentially doing significant damage. I
wonder why eye doctors wouldn't warn patients that have floaters (like
everyone in my family) of that possibility.


Jenn L.
--
http://home.comcast.net/~sewunicorn/
http://community.webshots.com/user/jaliace

Current projects:
Terry's Garden (Lesa Steele Designs)
Nordic Needle Rose (Silver Lining)
Starry Night (Vincent van Gogh via Cross Stitch Collectibles)
Lady of the Flag (Mirabilia)
Weight loss to date: 18.5 lbs

"Fred" wrote in message
...
Last week my DW and I were involved in a three car collision so I have had
to keep a quieter profile (DW Orders). I was at an intersection waiting
for
the light to change to green when a young lady way behind me crashed into
a
vehicle that was ahead of her. The vehicle that she hit then crashed into
the back end on my van. My DW was ok and other than a bit of a sore neck I
seemed ok as well. After the accident dust had settled my DW and I
proceeded
to a symphony concert and had a pretty good time.

The next day I started seeing this darn spot in front of my eyes - almost
like a fruit fly buzzing around face. I couldn't focus on the spot so I
knew
it was either a particle in one of my eyes or a problem with the optic
noive. Yesterday I went to an eye specialist for a check up. Like I said I
go lucky. I have had a few particles or IIRC what is better know as
floaters
in both eyes for years. The floaters have never posed a problem for me.
After a hour of looking at my eye balls the eye specialist tells me that
in
a lot of accidents where one's head is subject to rapid de-acceleration
those floaters tend to want to leave one's eye ball and in the process
they
can tear and or puncture holes in the retina of one's eye. Apparently I
have
just a small bit of swelling, no holes or torn retina and the prognosis
looks good. Today that darn fruit fly speck is no longer buzzing in front
of
my eyes. That was the last thing I needed bouncing around in front of my
eyes whenever I stitch or do some wood working.

What is a bit disconcerting is that NOBODY ever told me in the past that
those floaters could cause damage to one's eye ball when one's head had
received even minor head trauma such as I experienced. I had never heard
of
such a thing before this and if it is all true, eye-ball docs. should be
telling their patients who have floaters to get check up after an
accident.
Having said that I'm not sure what could be done after anyway.

Fred
http://www.stitchaway.com
Don't backstitch to email
just stitchit.

If you are on thin ice
you might as well dance!

W.I.P. - "Fiddler on the Roof",
"Oriental Maiden".
W.I.L. - "Romantic Venice",
"Ocean Princess", "Southwest Charm",
"Rainbow Trail", "Indian Pottery", "One Earth",
"Spirit of the Full Moon"
and "+?", "+?", "+?".

"Fred" wrote in message
...
Last week my DW and I were involved in a three car collision so I have had
to keep a quieter profile (DW Orders). I was at an intersection waiting
for
the light to change to green when a young lady way behind me crashed into
a
vehicle that was ahead of her. The vehicle that she hit then crashed into
the back end on my van. My DW was ok and other than a bit of a sore neck I
seemed ok as well. After the accident dust had settled my DW and I
proceeded
to a symphony concert and had a pretty good time.

The next day I started seeing this darn spot in front of my eyes - almost
like a fruit fly buzzing around face. I couldn't focus on the spot so I
knew
it was either a particle in one of my eyes or a problem with the optic
noive. Yesterday I went to an eye specialist for a check up. Like I said I
go lucky. I have had a few particles or IIRC what is better know as
floaters
in both eyes for years. The floaters have never posed a problem for me.
After a hour of looking at my eye balls the eye specialist tells me that
in
a lot of accidents where one's head is subject to rapid de-acceleration
those floaters tend to want to leave one's eye ball and in the process
they
can tear and or puncture holes in the retina of one's eye. Apparently I
have
just a small bit of swelling, no holes or torn retina and the prognosis
looks good. Today that darn fruit fly speck is no longer buzzing in front
of
my eyes. That was the last thing I needed bouncing around in front of my
eyes whenever I stitch or do some wood working.

What is a bit disconcerting is that NOBODY ever told me in the past that
those floaters could cause damage to one's eye ball when one's head had
received even minor head trauma such as I experienced. I had never heard
of
such a thing before this and if it is all true, eye-ball docs. should be
telling their patients who have floaters to get check up after an
accident.
Having said that I'm not sure what could be done after anyway.

Fred
http://www.stitchaway.com
Don't backstitch to email
just stitchit.

I'm so glad you're ok and you have no major problem from the accident.

I've had problems with my eyes and I can tell you from first hand
experience that you should always check with an ophthalmologist if you
notice new floaters in your eyes. It can be a very serious problem of a
tear in the retina that requires immediate laser repair. In my case I was
very lucky and caught it in time so I have no permanent damage to my eyes,
except for scars that are not detectable from the outside but need to be
check often to make sure nothing changes.

That can happen even without trauma so be aware that while floaters are
mostly nothing major, on occasion it can be a signal for a much more
serious problem that should be checked asap.

Lucille.

In a message dated 1/25/05 6:06:34 PM Pacific Standard Time, Fred writes:

Today that darn fruit fly speck is no longer buzzing in front of
my eyes. That was the last thing I needed bouncing around in front of my
eyes whenever I stitch or do some wood working.

*sigh* Tell me about it. I've had that darn speck floating around for a couple
of years, and the best treatment the eye doctor can suggest is
windshield-wipering my eyes with the side of my finger on a regular basis
(which works out to about every 5 minutes). Having punctuation disappear into
the black spot is a *real* challenge to working as a proofreader! And
sometimes I have a whole family of fruit flies buzzing around at the same time.
Grrrrrrr

Glad to hear you're otherwise OK.
--
Finished 12/8/04 -- Army bear ornament
WIP: Fireman's Prayer (#2), Amid Amish Life, Angel of Autumn, Calif Sampler,
Holiday Snowglobe

Paralegal - Writer - Editor - Researcher
http://hometown.aol.com/kmc528/KMC.html

Thank you all for your comments. I NEVER knew floaters could be a serious
problem. As a result of some of the meds. I take on occasion I have to be
mindful of glaucoma so I go for an eye exam at least once a year. Over the
years I was seen by two top specialists and they never said a word other
than I had them in the left eye. I have seen my present specialist at least
five times and this was the first time she ever mentioned that they could
cause major problems. I'm thinking that if I hadn't mentioned anything about
the accident she might not have told me that floaters can tear loose due to
trauma.

I know that if I rub my eyes with too much pressure it can cause fireworks
similar to what suffers of migraines get but the fireworks usually go away
in a minute or two. Also applying too much pressure on the eyes or other
optic nerve disruptions seems to cause seeing "other things" on the
peripheral for short periods of time. There are people who claim to see
"shadow people" or "shadow animals" (when there is nothing there) but IMHO
they are having optic nerve disruptions - like when you have stitched for a
long time and you "think" you saw a mouse run across the room - which is
unlikely because the cat never moved a muscle.

Actually one of my floaters is kind of entertaining. When I'm waiting for my
DW to get out of the mall I usually read business journals but to exercise
the eyes I will look away to distance objects for a few seconds and I will
sometimes try to focus on the floater. This is quite difficult because as
one moves the eye to chase the floater it moves with the eye. I can usually
get a good looksee by just staring straight ahead and not moving the eye,
but blink and the sucker moves left, right, up or down.

My vision is kind of weird (eye balls bent funny??). I need bifocals in
order to see what's ahead or the dash of the van when I drive, other than
that I seldom wear my glasses. Thank goodness I don't need them for
stitching or woodworking and I'm not sure I would need them for watching TV
as I very seldom watch TV. Sometimes I need them if we go to see a movie
sometimes I don't.

I strongly believe that when one is doing close up work they should exercise
their eyes by looking at something that is at a distance. A mechanics
calendar with pictures of pretty tool boxes works just great for me! g

Fred
http://www.stitchaway.com
Don't backstitch to email
just stitchit.

If you are on thin ice
you might as well dance!

W.I.P. - "Fiddler on the Roof",
"Oriental Maiden".
W.I.L. - "Romantic Venice",
"Ocean Princess", "Southwest Charm",
"Rainbow Trail", "Indian Pottery", "One Earth",
"Spirit of the Full Moon"
and "+?", "+?", "+?".

Karen,

I never would have dreamed that punctuations would blend into that speck.
Talk about a learning experience! I noticed the speck darting across my tape
measure a few times which was aggravating but I coped. As I said, what
bothered me was that it appeared the day after the accident and for all
intensive purposes I didn't think that I had been injured.

I have to take my van into the insurance people to have it looked at. There
doesn't appear to be any damage on the outside but I want them to look
underneath for any problems as it looks like the bumper absorbed most of the
shock. The vehicle (b) that was pushed into me was a right-off. The vehicle
(a) that started the whole affair had about $4k to it's front end. I felt
sorry for the young lady that caused the accident. It wasn't really her
fault as the street for a couple of blocks before the intersection was
covered with black ice which couldn't be seen. The street prior to the black
ice was clean as a whistle. Everybody was just in the wrong place at the
wrong time.

We is rattlin but a rollin. BTW the symphony concert didn't really measure
up to what I had expected - accident or no accident.

Fred
http://www.stitchaway.com
Don't backstitch to email
just stitchit.

If you are on thin ice
you might as well dance!

W.I.P. - "Fiddler on the Roof",
"Oriental Maiden".
W.I.L. - "Romantic Venice",
"Ocean Princess", "Southwest Charm",
"Rainbow Trail", "Indian Pottery", "One Earth",
"Spirit of the Full Moon"
and "+?", "+?", "+?".

"Karen C - California" wrote in message
...
In a message dated 1/25/05 6:06:34 PM Pacific Standard Time, Fred writes:

Today that darn fruit fly speck is no longer buzzing in front of
my eyes. That was the last thing I needed bouncing around in front of my
eyes whenever I stitch or do some wood working.

*sigh* Tell me about it. I've had that darn speck floating around for a
couple
of years, and the best treatment the eye doctor can suggest is
windshield-wipering my eyes with the side of my finger on a regular basis
(which works out to about every 5 minutes). Having punctuation disappear
into
the black spot is a *real* challenge to working as a proofreader! And
sometimes I have a whole family of fruit flies buzzing around at the same
time.
Grrrrrrr

Glad to hear you're otherwise OK.
--
Finished 12/8/04 -- Army bear ornament
WIP: Fireman's Prayer (#2), Amid Amish Life, Angel of Autumn, Calif
Sampler,
Holiday Snowglobe

Paralegal - Writer - Editor - Researcher
http://hometown.aol.com/kmc528/KMC.html

Scary, Fred! I think that most people have floaters to one degree or
another - perfectly harmless in the general run of things. Thanks for the
warning - I bet a lot of us didn`t know about that.

Those rear shunts can be nasty - lucky you didn`t get whiplash too. It
happened to us when on holiday in Devon - we stopped at some lights on our
way back from Dartmoor and were shunted hard. We were a bit taken aback
when four prison officers climbed out of the car that had done the damage!!!
Just come off duty from Dartmoor Prison, of course.

It could have been worse - it could have been some unemployed yob driving
without insurance! I hope your perpetrator was insured - and that you soon
get back to your old self. Good thing you didn`t have Chilkoot in the back,
I reckon - or I assume you didn`t!!! I`ve heard of several cases when a dog
was hurled through the windscreen on such occasions.

Pat P

"Fred" wrote in message
...
Last week my DW and I were involved in a three car collision so I have had
to keep a quieter profile (DW Orders). I was at an intersection waiting
for
the light to change to green when a young lady way behind me crashed into
a
vehicle that was ahead of her. The vehicle that she hit then crashed into
the back end on my van. My DW was ok and other than a bit of a sore neck I
seemed ok as well. After the accident dust had settled my DW and I
proceeded
to a symphony concert and had a pretty good time.

The next day I started seeing this darn spot in front of my eyes - almost
like a fruit fly buzzing around face. I couldn't focus on the spot so I
knew
it was either a particle in one of my eyes or a problem with the optic
noive. Yesterday I went to an eye specialist for a check up. Like I said I
go lucky. I have had a few particles or IIRC what is better know as
floaters
in both eyes for years. The floaters have never posed a problem for me.
After a hour of looking at my eye balls the eye specialist tells me that
in
a lot of accidents where one's head is subject to rapid de-acceleration
those floaters tend to want to leave one's eye ball and in the process
they
can tear and or puncture holes in the retina of one's eye. Apparently I
have
just a small bit of swelling, no holes or torn retina and the prognosis
looks good. Today that darn fruit fly speck is no longer buzzing in front
of
my eyes. That was the last thing I needed bouncing around in front of my
eyes whenever I stitch or do some wood working.

What is a bit disconcerting is that NOBODY ever told me in the past that
those floaters could cause damage to one's eye ball when one's head had
received even minor head trauma such as I experienced. I had never heard
of
such a thing before this and if it is all true, eye-ball docs. should be
telling their patients who have floaters to get check up after an
accident.
Having said that I'm not sure what could be done after anyway.

Fred
http://www.stitchaway.com
Don't backstitch to email
just stitchit.

If you are on thin ice
you might as well dance!

W.I.P. - "Fiddler on the Roof",
"Oriental Maiden".
W.I.L. - "Romantic Venice",
"Ocean Princess", "Southwest Charm",
"Rainbow Trail", "Indian Pottery", "One Earth",
"Spirit of the Full Moon"
and "+?", "+?", "+?".

"Fred" wrote in message
news

I strongly believe that when one is doing close up work they should
exercise
their eyes by looking at something that is at a distance. A mechanics
calendar with pictures of pretty tool boxes works just great for me! g

Fred

That`s why I see s much tv! I have it on all the time I`m stitching for
that very reason. I treat it more like a radio - if anything sounds
interesting - then I look.

Pat P