I read some studies a while back that showed taking a bromelain (pineapple enzyme) supplement on an empty stomach consistently each day will eventually reduce floaters fairly significantly by dissolving them.
EDIT: According the study linked below, roughly 200mg of bromelain taken 3 times per day, and done for 3 months, should give the best results. Most bromelain supplements on the market seem to start at 500mg, so I suppose just one per day should be okay, though it may take longer since it’s not spaced out to keep the dose more constant throughout the day. There is bromelain powder which you could dose out to 200mg, but this stuff has a very strong odor that may be difficult to swallow in a liquid.
Also, don’t take bromelain if you are allergic to Pineapple.
Floaters can vary drastically from barely noticeable (like in the meme), to extremely distracting (large black or gray dots floating around in the vision even when reading a book or using a computer), to limiting eyesight almost like cataracts.
In this study, one patient’s eyesight improved from 6/60 to 30/60 due to how severely the floaters obstructed vision.
And bear in mind, one of the physical alternatives to eliminating the floaters has a 7% chance of permanent blindness, whereas a single $16 bottle of concentrated pineapple enzyme can drastically reduce them with little to no side effects, and no chance of long-term harm.
… this sounds absurd to me, at least as stated wrt the enzymes “dissolving” the floaters. Your body does not like foreign proteases floating around. I am also skeptical that the enzymes would survive denaturing and pepsin et al. in the stomach and duodenum (empty stomach or not), get absorbed intact, and somehow not get inactivated by the immune system (again, rogue protease = bad). Not to say that your floaters weren’t reduced (though the brain sometimes will just learn to ignore them) or even that the supplement wasn’t responsible via metabolites. Just, action of an intact enzyme itself seems unlikely. Corrections welcome; I’m going off my gut here and am not a biologist.
I haven’t tried it yet, I was just mentioning the studies I’d come across. You can read this one here, which found that taking 3 pills a day reduced or completely removed floaters in 70% of patients after 3 months, with a B-scan ocular ultrasound and a visual inspection seeming to confirm the results (not placebo).
That study used 95 mg papain and 95 mg ficin enzymes in addition to bromelain, which makes it a bit more effective, but Bromelain alone also seems to work at reducing the floaters from what I’d read elsewhere.
According to the study (I may be interpreting this wrong, but I’ll take my best whack at it), matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) contained within the enzymes are able to reach and pass through the Blood-retinal barrier (BRB), and thus act upon the floaters (collegen).
Furthermore, matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs), which belong to the proteinases that could cut and absorb ECM, discorded collagens, and SVOs. In particular, MMP-2 and MMP-9 are primarily found in bromelain, papain, and ficin [57]. Free radical scavenging activities were found in bromelain (MMP-2), papain (MMP-2 and MMP-9), and ficin (MMP-2 and MMP-9). Simultaneously, MMPs could resect proliferative tissues and compromised collagens, which is beneficial for cleaning VH-induced SVOs under oxidase stress [58,59]. The blood-retinal barrier (BRB) consists of the inner and outer components and forms tight junctions between the retinal capillary endothelial cells and pigment epithelial cells that maintains a balanced microenvironment and prevents certain substances from entering the retina. Yang et al. found that MMP-2 and MMP-9 could reduce the tight junction proteins (i.e., claudin-5 and occlusion) and the integrity of BRB [60]. Thus, MFEs may cross BRB after taking and be absorbed by the small intestines.
AFAIK the enzymes only act upon ‘compromised collagens’ which floaters are made up of, not normal collagen in joints. If anything, based on this other study, there is some tentative evidence to suggest Bromelain potentially could be used to reduce the effects of some forms of osteoarthritis due to it being an anti-inflammatory.
From that study:
Bromelain has been used as treatment for a number of disease conditions, in addition to osteoarthritis of the knee and shoulder joints (Table 1). No serious adverse events have been reported with the consumption of either bromelain or pineapples in these studies. Adverse events that have been reported are mainly gastrointestinal (i.e. diarrhoea, nausea and flatulence), but have also included headache, tiredness, dry mouth, skin rash and allergic reactions (not specified).
Should be noted, however, that there was a conflict of interest announced at the end:
Dick Middleton is consultant to Lichtwer Pharma UK Ltd who manufacture bromelain. Steven Hicks was funded by Lichtwer for a post-graduate fellowship from 1998 to 2002.
However, this claim is backed up in the floater study as well:
In clinics, bromelain is used to treat patients with osteoarthritis, sinusitis, and post-operative swelling.
So research seems to indicate that as long as the daily dose is 600mg or lower per day, it should be well tolerated as long as you’re not allergic to pineapple (definitely don’t do this if you are). Even above that, there should be no long-term negative health effects, only potentially acute side effects.
I had a detached cornearetina (had my cousin proofread) that I had to get lasered back together, which is a “fun” story in and of itself. But after I had this really bad “curtain” is the best I can describe it. Had it for years. Got on a pineapple kick for a little while and it disappeared!
I honestly can’t tell you how long it took. I’m actually only just now noticing that I haven’t had it in months!
I read some studies a while back that showed taking a bromelain (pineapple enzyme) supplement on an empty stomach consistently each day will eventually reduce floaters fairly significantly by dissolving them.
EDIT: According the study linked below, roughly 200mg of bromelain taken 3 times per day, and done for 3 months, should give the best results. Most bromelain supplements on the market seem to start at 500mg, so I suppose just one per day should be okay, though it may take longer since it’s not spaced out to keep the dose more constant throughout the day. There is bromelain powder which you could dose out to 200mg, but this stuff has a very strong odor that may be difficult to swallow in a liquid.
Also, don’t take bromelain if you are allergic to Pineapple.
Buying supplements for this harmless a phenomenon is kinda crazy.
Floaters can vary drastically from barely noticeable (like in the meme), to extremely distracting (large black or gray dots floating around in the vision even when reading a book or using a computer), to limiting eyesight almost like cataracts.
In this study, one patient’s eyesight improved from 6/60 to 30/60 due to how severely the floaters obstructed vision.
And bear in mind, one of the physical alternatives to eliminating the floaters has a 7% chance of permanent blindness, whereas a single $16 bottle of concentrated pineapple enzyme can drastically reduce them with little to no side effects, and no chance of long-term harm.
… this sounds absurd to me, at least as stated wrt the enzymes “dissolving” the floaters. Your body does not like foreign proteases floating around. I am also skeptical that the enzymes would survive denaturing and pepsin et al. in the stomach and duodenum (empty stomach or not), get absorbed intact, and somehow not get inactivated by the immune system (again, rogue protease = bad). Not to say that your floaters weren’t reduced (though the brain sometimes will just learn to ignore them) or even that the supplement wasn’t responsible via metabolites. Just, action of an intact enzyme itself seems unlikely. Corrections welcome; I’m going off my gut here and am not a biologist.
I haven’t tried it yet, I was just mentioning the studies I’d come across. You can read this one here, which found that taking 3 pills a day reduced or completely removed floaters in 70% of patients after 3 months, with a B-scan ocular ultrasound and a visual inspection seeming to confirm the results (not placebo).
That study used 95 mg papain and 95 mg ficin enzymes in addition to bromelain, which makes it a bit more effective, but Bromelain alone also seems to work at reducing the floaters from what I’d read elsewhere.
According to the study (I may be interpreting this wrong, but I’ll take my best whack at it), matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) contained within the enzymes are able to reach and pass through the Blood-retinal barrier (BRB), and thus act upon the floaters (collegen).
Wow! I’m really tempted to try this myself. I’ve had bad floaters for as long as I can remember.
I am curious about side effects, though. If these enzymes degrade collagen, that means they could induce or exacerbate arthritis, right?
AFAIK the enzymes only act upon ‘compromised collagens’ which floaters are made up of, not normal collagen in joints. If anything, based on this other study, there is some tentative evidence to suggest Bromelain potentially could be used to reduce the effects of some forms of osteoarthritis due to it being an anti-inflammatory.
From that study:
Should be noted, however, that there was a conflict of interest announced at the end:
However, this claim is backed up in the floater study as well:
So research seems to indicate that as long as the daily dose is 600mg or lower per day, it should be well tolerated as long as you’re not allergic to pineapple (definitely don’t do this if you are). Even above that, there should be no long-term negative health effects, only potentially acute side effects.
This is absolutely true!
I had a detached
cornearetina (had my cousin proofread) that I had to get lasered back together, which is a “fun” story in and of itself. But after I had this really bad “curtain” is the best I can describe it. Had it for years. Got on a pineapple kick for a little while and it disappeared!I honestly can’t tell you how long it took. I’m actually only just now noticing that I haven’t had it in months!
I googled and there’s evidence of this working so I will try this out.