Floaters occur because of changes in the vitreous, the clear, jelly-like substance that fills the inside of the eyeball.  The vitreous jelly shrinks as you get older, and slowly pulls away from the inside surface of the eye.

This shrinking and separation or detachment of the vitreous from the retina is a common phenomenon, particularly in people over 50 years of age, and causes no retinal damage in nine out of 10 patients.  It is known as a posterior vitreous detachment or PVD.

Floaters rarely lead to any serious problems, so you generally don’t need any treatment for them.  If they are troublesome, the effect of floaters might be minimised by wearing dark glasses.  This will help especially in bright sunlight or when looking at a brightly lit surface.  In many cases, the flashes disappear with time and the floaters get less noticeable as the brain adjusts to the changes in the vitreous.

If you develop flashes of light (seen as scintillating stars) or your floaters become much worse, you should consult  your optometrist (optician) or visit a specialist A&E department to exclude any serious retinal problems.  If you see a black shadow or a curtain effect or you suddenly lose vision, you should go to your nearest A&E Department without any delay.

Click below to read about coronavirus and your eyes

Coronavirus and Your Eyes

Always remember to protect your eyes when using tools or chemicals

Protective eyewear with seal

Protective eyewear

The same protective eyewear with dark lenses for outdoor use

Provided by Becky at Maloney Opticians Sale http://www.maloneyopticians.co.uk

What you want to avoid – a foreign body stuck under the upper eyelid (a subtarsal foreign body)

How is this removed – click here to see how to evert an upper eyelid

A chalazion (or meibomian cyst) is a common benign eyelid lump. It is commonly caused by blepharitis, an inflammatory condition of the eyelids. Visit https://www.faceandeye.co.uk/eye-conditions/eyelid-conditions/blepharitis/ to learn more about the self treatment of this condition. For patients whose chalazion persists in spite of these treatment measures, a quick day case surgical procedure (an incision and curettage under local anaesthesia) can be performed. We will soon be open and able to undertake this for patients who needs treatment.

Blocked meibomian gland orifices 

A typical upper lid chalazion 

Mr Saj Ataullah and our consultant colleague Mr Raman Malhotra in East Grinstead give a lecture about orbital cellulitis in an international webinar

Mr Cannon, Mr Ataullah and Mr Leatherbarrow have previously published a paper on this subject and concluded:

Empirical oral ciprofloxacin and clindamycin combination may be as safe and effective as i.v. therapy in the management of orbital cellulitis. Oral treatment can offer the advantages of rapid delivery of the first antibiotic dose, fewer interruptions in treatment, and simplified delivery of medication particularly in children

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18309335

A very happy patient following a transconjunctival lower lid blepharoplasty with fat repositioning, followed by a postoperative injection of a small amount of Restylane to the outer lid-cheek junction to enhance the result. Tear trough injections are not always undertaken as an alternative to surgery in appropriate patients, but also in addition to surgery for some patients.

We wish Robin a long and very happy retirement, richly deserved after many decades in his role as an expert ocularist. His practice is being taken over by his son and daughter team, Chris Brammar and Susan Walker, as Brammar & Walker Ocularists – https://www.brammarwalker.co.uk. His wife Julie is continuing to manage the practice.

As we have had to close Face & Eye temporarily because of the COVID-19 lockdown, EYE2C Optometry is offering an online service for patients needing replacement glasses and contact lenses, but Becky is available for emergency eye care and advice at her practice in Sale (Maloney Opticians click on link https://www.maloneyopticians.co.uk).

Optometrists are taking over primary eye care from GPs and are playing an increasingly vital role in the diagnosis and management of common eye problems e.g. a red eye from conjunctivitis and iritis, glaucoma screening,  forwarding patients to hospital for more complex or urgent disorders. Becky has a great deal of expertise and has the benefit and advantage of direct support for advice where needed from the consultant ophthalmologists at Face & Eye via secure video links.

Mr Leatherbarrow lecturing to GPs at Spire Manchester Hospital

Dr August, our consultant dermatologist has decided to retire after a long and distinguished career. We are very sorry to lose him from Face & Eye where he has practised for a number of years. Tuesdays at the clinic won’t be the same without him. The whole team at Face & Eye wish him all the very best for a long and happy retirement.