> Floaters are commonly caused by a (mostly) benign aging phenomenon called posterior vitreous detachment, where the vitriol gel liquefies as a person ages.
And, the longer your eye is (the higher your myopia is), the earlier this happens.
Retinal detachment is rare though, even with tons of floaters and high myopia.
Very true, if it were very common you'd see retinal surgery centers in every hospital or more blind folks in rural communities. Thankfully it's not so rare that we don't have decent treatment for it. Like the article pointed out, rising myope rates are concerning for the implication on how many people will experience retinal issues. Sight is the last sense I want to give up, maybe the warning signs of RD should be as common as knowing the warning signs of strokes.
That might not be the case, given what the others have already mentioned about lifestyle --- I imagine most rural people will be outside a lot more and looking farther than city people.
and yet whenever I leave the city to go out to a rural area it seems like the people there are in much worse shape than the city dwellers. The obesity rate seems markedly higher. I think you would be right 50 or 100 years ago but not now.
And, the longer your eye is (the higher your myopia is), the earlier this happens.
Retinal detachment is rare though, even with tons of floaters and high myopia.