about 75 per cent of people over the age of 65. As people get older the vitreous, a jelly-like substance inside the eye changes and can cause Posterior Vitreous Detachment (PVD). The vitreous is attached to the retina, more strongly in some places than others and when PVD starts the jelly comes away from the retina as the central part of the vitreous becomes more liquid with age.

Symptoms include floaters or flashing lights. Floaters can take many forms from little dots, circles, lines, to clouds or cobwebs or sometimes people experience one large floater which can be distracting. Flashing lights can also be caused by the PVD.

Unfortunately nothing can be done medically for this condition at the moment. Usually people find that the symptoms calm down after about six months and people do eventually get used to living with the floaters because the brain tends to adapt to the floaters and eventually is able to ignore them.

PVD does not in itself cause any permanent loss of vision.

For more detailed information visit the RNIB website.