It sounds like Chinese kung fu but it has nothing to do with martial arts.
It’s less glamorous than that.
Flying Mosquito Disease (飞蚊症) is the Chinese colloquial term for eye floaters.
Last Tuesday, I noticed there are exceptionally more flying objects in front of my eyes.
I thought they were mosquitoes or flies. Upon closer look, they are not.
In fact, they look like dark or grayish threads, cobwebs, and spots. They are flying in front of my eyes. If you try to focus on them, they move away.
Worried that FMD would lead to other complications or symptom of a more serious sickness, I made an appointment with an Ophthalmologist – a professional name for eye doctor.
After a short but thorough check, the eye doctor told me there’s nothing to worry about. Clumps occur when the vitreous gel (in the eye ball) begins to liquefy or shrink.
The reason?
“It’s caused by aging”, the doctor said.
Duh.
But in some cases, the floaters could be the sign of other more serious problems, such as retinal detachment. This usually comes with sudden increase of floaters or flashes of light.
Based on this fact, if you see floaters, it shall not be taken lightly.
If you never heard of this, I hope my experience can shed some light on FMD for “aging” parents.
Or at least you know what to do.
P.S. Check out “The Nonconformist’s Guide to Parenting” at:
