Floaters: symptoms, causes and treatment

Definition of floaters

Eye floaters or eye floaters (vitreous opacities) is a condition when your eye is blocked by visible black patches hovering in your view. These black spots are called floaters .

Floaters eyes come in all sizes and shapes. These patches can look like black or gray spots, strings, or cobwebs, which float around when you move your eye and appear to streak if you try to look closely

Most of these conditions are caused by increasing age. Inside the eye, there is a substance called vitreous with a texture that resembles jelly. The vitreous gives and maintains the shape of the eyeball. As we age, this vitreous becomes more fluid.

Microscopic fibers in the liquid vitreous tend to clump together and can cast tiny shadows on your retina. That shadow is called floaters .

If you suddenly notice additional black patches in your eyes, contact your doctor immediately. If you see flashing lights or lose your peripheral vision, go to the Emergency Room immediately. It could be a symptom of an emergency that requires immediate attention.

How common is this condition?

This condition can occur in patients of any age. This condition can be treated by reducing risk factors. Talk to your doctor for more information.

Signs and symptoms of floaters

Common symptoms of floaters is:

• Spotting on sight that looks like dark spots or a series of floating material.
• The patches move when you move your eye, so that when you try to see them, they move quickly outside of your field of vision.
• Spots are most noticeable when you look at something against a light, plain background, such as a blue sky or a white wall.
• The patches that eventually fade and disappear from your view.

This shadow moves around your eye. These shadows tend to dodge when you try to focus. Once you have this condition, it usually doesn't go away, but it can get better over time.

There may be signs and symptoms not listed above. If you have concerns about a particular symptom, consult your doctor.

When should I see a doctor?

You don't have to worry if you only have a few floaters which doesn't change over time. However, you should see an eye doctor immediately if:

• amount floaters increased suddenly
• Look flashes or flashes of light, which are signs of detachment or tearing of the retina
• Loss of sight
• Changes that occur in a short period of time and get worse over time
• The formation floaters after eye surgery or eye injury
• Eye pain

Causes of floaters

Most of them floaters are tiny specks of a protein called collagen. These tiny spots are part of a gel-like substance at the back of the eye called the vitreous.

As you age, the quality of your vision tends to decline. The protein fibers that make up the vitreous shrink into small, lumpy pieces.

This small, lumpy part then shows the shadow on the retina. This is what is called floaters . If you see flashes, it is because the vitreous has been pulled from the retina.

Quoted from the Mayo Clinic, here are some of the causes floaters eye:

1. Age

Eye floaters are the most common changes in the vitreous with age. Over time, the vitreous partially melts and shrinks. The remains of the lumpy vitreous block some of the light that enters the eye, creating a small shadow on the retina.

2. Inflammation behind the eyes

Posterior uveitis is inflammation of the uvea layer behind the eye. Posterior uveitis, which can cause shadows in the eye, can be caused by infection or inflammatory disease.

3. Bleeding in the eye

Bleeding in the vitreous can cause injury and irritation of the blood vessels.

4. The retina is torn

Tears in the retina can occur when the shrinking vitreous becomes stuck on the retina and tears it. Without treatment, a tear in the retina can cause it retinal detachment, that is, the accumulation of fluid behind the retina that causes the retina to separate from the eye. Retinal detachment left untreated can lead to permanent vision loss.

5. Eye surgery and medication

Certain drugs that are injected into the vitreous can cause air bubbles. These bubbles are seen as shadows until your eyes absorb them. Certain surgeries add a silicone oil gel to the vitreous which can also be seen as tiny shadows or spots on the eye.

6. Diabetic retinopathy

Diabetes can damage the blood vessels that lead to the retina. When these vessels are damaged, the retina may not be able to show images and light.

Risk factors

There are several conditions that increase your risk of experiencing floaters , that is:

• Age over 50 years
• Nearsightedness (minus eyes)
• Eye injury
• Complications from cataract surgery
• Diabetic retinopathy
• Eye disease

Diagnosis & Treatment

The information provided is not a substitute for medical advice. ALWAYS consult your doctor.

How is this condition diagnosed?

The doctor will perform a complete eye exam including eye dilation to see the back of the eye more clearly.

How are eye floaters treated?

Floaters benign does not require medical treatment. If black shadows in vision are distracting, try to get them out of your field of view by moving your eyes up and down, this can shift the fluid in your eyes.

If floaters interfere with vision, although which is rare, you and your eye doctor may consider treatments, such as:

1. Laser

Using a laser can be one way to deal with dark spots that interfere with your vision. The doctor will aim a special laser that can break up the floaters and make them less visible.

Some people who have had this treatment have experienced improved vision, but some have felt little or no difference.

The risks of laser therapy include damage to the retina if the laser is directed inappropriately. Laser surgery to treat this condition is rarely performed.

2. Vitrectomy

Another way to treat floaters is through surgery to remove the vitreous. The eye doctor will remove the vitreous through a small incision and replace it with fluid to keep the eye ball in shape.

The surgery probably won't lift all of it floaters , and floaters can only appear after surgery. The risks of vitrectomy include bleeding and retinal tears.

Floaters The eye rarely causes additional problems, unless it is a symptom of a more serious condition. Although it doesn't go away completely, it can get better over the course of a few weeks or months.

Prevention of eye floaters

Most of them floaters appears as part of the natural aging process. Even if you can't prevent it, you can be sure that this condition is not the result of a more serious problem.

Once started to notice floaters , visit your eye doctor. The doctor can confirm that floaters is not a symptom of a more serious condition that could harm your vision.