What Are Eye Floaters?
You’ve probably seen them before. Semi-transparent spots gently floating across your vision. You try to follow them as they glide by, but when you move your eyes to follow they quickly move away.
Those spots are eye floaters. They are actually small particles suspended in the vitreous in the back of your eye. You see the shadows of the floaters on your retina.
But how did floaters get inside your eye? When we are young, the vitreous is very much like a gel that inflates the back of the eye. As we age, the vitreous starts to liquefy – that is turn less like a gel and a little more like waters. During the liquification small particles are formed and are suspended in the vitreous.
Floaters are easiest to see when looking at the bright, blue sky. The even blue color is less distracting. The bright light makes your pupils smaller which increases the depth of focus and brings the floaters into focus.
Should I Be Concerned If I See Floaters?
In most cases, no. Eye floaters are generally very benign, especially if you notice them infrequently. However, sometimes floaters can be the sign of a more serious condition that requires urgent medical attention.
In particular, you should be on the lookout for newly onset eye floaters or spots in your vision, especially if they are accompanied by flashes of light. When the vitreous liquifies it might collapse and pull away from the retina.
In some cases, as it pulls away it might cause a tear or hole that allows the vitreous to get under the retina and pull it apart. This condition is called a retinal detachment and it deserves immediate professional attention.
Patients who experience a retinal detachment often describe their eye floaters as a “spider web” that doesn’t move very much. If you experience new floaters especially in the presence of flashes you should seek the care of an eye doctor within 24 hours.
Is There Treatment To Eliminate Eye Floaters?
Most people are not bothered very much by their floaters. However, some people experience floaters that might be very distracting to their vision even though there are no retinal detachments.
If your floaters are recent onset, most likely they will get less noticable with time. This may be due to you just “getting used to them” and don’t notice them as often. In other cases they might actually break up a bit or just sink lower into the eye due to gravity. Either way, the eye floaters may get less noticable.
For people whose floaters bother them severely, there are a few surgical options. Some retinal specialists may recommend using a laser to break up the floaters into smaller pieces. Other surgeons may opt for a procedure called a vitrectomy, which removes the vitreous entirely (floaters and all) and replaces with with an artificial vitreous.
