Dr. Moyle What causes eye floaters in the context of an active Hiv infection?

Floaters are tiny, dark, shadowy spots that appear in front of your eye. They are quite common and are more likely to develop as the eyes get older. Floaters may appear as small dots or strands. You may notice lots of floaters in your vision or just one or two, and they may appear to move when your eyes move. Floaters look as though they are in front of your eye, but they are in fact shadows from tissue particles in the back of the eye. They are distinct for phosporenes seen after looking at lights or rubbing the eyes.

Floaters are usually harmless and often don't affect vision. Although they may be annoying at first, your brain slowly learns to ignore them, and you may not even notice them after a few months. There is no specific treatment for floaters - eye drops and other medication do not make floaters go away.

Less commonly floaters or flashes are symptoms of more serious eye conditions such are retinal detachment (most common in older age, myopics or after trauma), CMV retinitis (typically with CD4 <100) or other neurological conditions. If they are persistent or increasing discuss them with our Doctor or see your Dctor sooner and arrange an eye exam.

I hope this helps

Kind regards Dr Moyle