What Are Eye Floaters | Causes & Symptoms

What are eye floaters & how does it form? and what are the causes and symptoms of this condition?

How Our Eyes See The World

For us to see the world around us light enters the front of the eye and passes through the vitreous before it's focused on the retina. 

The vitreous is the clear gel-like fluid inside of the eye, the retina is the light-sensitive tissue, lining the back of the eye.

How Floaters Are Formed

Frequently tiny clumps of cells from inside the gel-like vitreous, the shadows these clumps cast on the retina what we perceive as floaters, they can appear as dots circles lines clouds or cobwebs in the field of vision, floaters are more common as we reach middle age.

This is a time in our life when the vitreous gel can start to thicken and shrink forming clumps or strands. Sometimes the shrinking of the vitreous can create tiny tears in the retina as it pulls away from the wall of the eye.

If these tears new floaters may appear with flashes, the vitreous gel is slightly rubbing or pulling at the retina moving it slightly from its normal position lining the back of the eye.

Flashes of light may appear in your vision intermittently and may be noticeable off and on for several weeks to months.

Trauma 

Trauma to the eye can often cause floaters and flashes also migraine headaches can cause flashes can also be caused by retinal detachment a serious condition requiring immediate attention.

Symptoms and Causes of Floaters

Warning signs of a retinal detachment or flashing lights, a sudden appearance of new floaters or shadows in the side or periphery of your vision, or a grey curtain moving across your field of vision these symptoms don't always mean you're experiencing a retinal detachment but you should see your ophthalmologist right away.

Treatment for Eye Floaters

Treatments for a detached retina vary but in general, the goal is to return the affected area of the retina to its correct position at the back of the eye. There are several techniques for doing this, for example, a flexible band called the scleral buckle is placed around the eyeball to counteract the force pulling the retina out of place. Fluid may be drained from under the detached retina allowing it to settle back into its normal position against the back of the eye.

Or a gas bubble may be placed in the eye to push the retina back in place. With pneumatic retinal Peck see a gas bubble is injected into the vitreous space inside the eye the bubble pushes the retinal tear closed against the back wall of the eye. With this procedure, the patient must maintain a certain head position for several days after surgery.

The gas bubble will eventually disappear, laser or cryotherapy is also added to seal the retinal tear back in place.

Vitrectomy

Vitrectomy is a surgery where the vitreous gel that is pulling on the retina is removed from the eye and replaced with a gas bubble.

Over time fluid naturally replaces this gas bubble in select cases silicone oil is used instead of gas this usually requires a second surgery to remove the oil once healing has occurred a vitrectomy is sometimes combined with a scleral buckle.

Some science museums have an exhibit which consists of a screen of blue light allowing you to see these blue sky sprites much more clearly than you normally would. While everybody's eyes experience these sort of effects the number and type vary greatly.

Brian Conditioned

In the case of eye floaters, they often go unnoticed as our brain learns to ignore them however abnormally numerous or large floaters that interfere with vision may be a sign of a more serious condition requiring immediate medical treatment.

Floaters and blue sky sprites are just a gentle reminder that what we think we see depends just as much on our biology and minds as it does on the external world.