Eye floatersare formed when some of thevitreous(the jelly inside of your eye) clumps together.
While eye floaters are common as you get older, they are usually nothing to worry about.
At other times, though, they may be a sign of something serious that requires immediate attention.
RapidEye / Getty Images
RapidEye / Getty Images
Symptoms of Eye Floaters
Every floater tends to be unique in shape.
You may particularly notice them on a bright clear day.
Symptoms of floaters include:
Causes of Eye Floaters
Floaters don’t just come out of nowhere.
Eye floaters occur when the vitreous inside the eye starts to shrink due to aging.
Some of the strands of vitreous may then clump together.
When these strands drift across the eye, they create shadows on the retina, they are called floaters.
This is called a posterior vitreous detachment.
Floaters can occur if a posterior vitreous detachment doesn’t happen cleanly, as well.
If blood cells are released into the vitreous jelly, that can cause new floaters.
When a retinal detachment happens, there can be a large number of new floaters and flashes of light.
Complications and Risk Factors Associated With Eye Floaters
Floaters occur most often in people over age 50.
These are signs that you may have experienced a retinal tear or detachment.
But if you wait, it may be too late and you may permanently lose vision in the eye.
If the retina is either torn or detached, you may have broken blood vessels.
Bleeding can be a sign of a vitreous hemorrhage.
Blood in the vitreous can block light from reaching the retina, and vision will be poor.
If there is enough blood, it may even block vision completely.
Floaters can develop with age; often they are simply be annoying and go away with time.
But at other times, they can threaten your vision.
American Academy of Ophthalmology.What are floaters and flashes?
University of Michigan Kellogg Eye Center.Floaters and flashes.
National Health Service.Floaters and flashes in the eyes.
Harvard Health Publishing.What you might do about floaters and flashes in the eye.
NVISION Eye Centers.Do natural treatments for eye floaters work?
University of Utah Health.How to get rid of floaters in my eyes?
American Academy of Ophthalmology.To treator not to treatvitreous floaters.
University of Michigan Kellogg Eye Center.Vitreous hemorrhage.
Moorfields Eye Hospital (NHS).Flashes and floaters.
National Eye Institute.Retinal detachment.
