High cholesterol: Eye floaters in your vision could be a sign

Your body needs cholesterol, a type of fat, to function properly. However, having too much cholesterol in your blood can negatively affect your health.

High cholesterol is a known risk factor for severe health problems, ranging from heart disease to a stroke. Characterised by a lack of warning signs, high cholesterol is often described as a silent condition. However, leaving your levels undetected can put your cardiovascular health at risk.

One indicator of high cholesterol in your blood could be eye floaters.

Floaters are spots in your vision and usually look like black or grey specs or cobwebs that drift about when you move your eyes. Dark spots or lines in your vision (floaters) are a symptom of retinal vein occlusion.

The retina, a light-sensitive tissue in the back of your eye, receives its blood supply through the retinal artery and retinal vein. When the vein becomes blocked, it’s called a retinal vein occlusion. When the vein is blocked, blood and fluid spill out into the retina. When this happens, the area of the retina called the macula may become swollen. The swelling affects your central vision.

High cholesterol is common in people with retinal vein occlusion. A 2008 study found that high cholesterol was twice as common in people with central retinal vein occlusion compared to people who did not have the eye condition. Other symptoms of retinal vein occlusion include change in vision in one eye, blurry vision in one eye and pain in the affected eye.

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If you are unsure of whether you are experiencing eye floaters or not, there are some signs and symptoms which can help identify the floaters. Floaters can take different shapes such as small lines, rings, cobweb shapes or other irregular shapes. They can appear like threadlike strands, which can be knobby and almost see-through. They can also be in the form of dark specks or spots that move when you move your eyes. When you try to follow these floaters, they move quickly out of the visual field. Eye floaters often prop up on bright backgrounds such as screens, blue sky or a white wall. The intensity, size and shape of these floaters vary from person to person.

Retinal artery occlusion, also known as a stroke, is when the artery becomes blocked. This can lead to the death of nerve cells in the eye which can cause or worsen vision loss. People may regain vision within a year after retinal vein occlusion, but the quality of the vision may not be the same. To prevent another blockage, you’ll need to keep your cholesterol, blood sugar, and blood pressure levels under control. Your lifestyle, diet, fitness and family history plays a big role in maintaining these health conditions under control.

If you notice more eye floaters than usual, flashes of light in the eye or darkness on any side of your vision, you must get it looked at by a doctor. It is important to note that eye floaters need not necessarily be a symptom of high cholesterol only.

The most reliable way of finding out if you have high cholesterol is by getting tested for it. Your doctor will either take blood from your arm or do a finger-prick test to find out your cholesterol levels.

Read more: The warning signs in your body pointing to high cholesterol

From changing your lifestyle habits to medication, there are different ways that can help to drop your levels. As cholesterol can be caused by having too much fatty food, switching up your diet to healthier eating can aid your levels. Foods like oatmeal, apples, prunes, and beans are high in soluble fiber, which keeps your body from absorbing cholesterol. Exercising everyday plays a big role in bringing down those high levels of cholesterol. Avoid smoking and drinking and try to have a stress-free attitude. All these changes go a long way for a healthy and cholesterol-regulated body.