Vision degrading myodesopsia from vitreous floaters in the young: An important aspect of myopia

Vitreous floaters are visual phenomena resulting from floating opacities inside the eye that disturb vision. The opacities consist of microscopic collagen fibers that aggregate in myopia and during aging. These collagen fibers are then seen as irregular, sometimes worm-like shadows or structures of a translucent to black color. Because of the floating aspect, they tend to follow the movements of the eye, causing distress and having a negative impact on a patient's quality of life due to degradation in contrast sensitivity function. This is referred to as vision degrading myodesopsia (VDM). The overall importance of floaters and their effect on quality of life gained attention in recent years. While the existence of floaters alone is labeled as harmless, there is an increasing group of young people suffering from VDM. This coincides with the growing prevalence of myopia. Indeed, myopia and myopic vitreopathy are the major causes of VDM in the young. This aspect of myopia, however, is often overlooked. We review the current research status in floater formation, quality of life impact, symptom assessment, localization and therapeutic options for vitreous floaters from the perspective of a myopic, potentially younger patient group.