Flashes & Floaters

What are Eye Floaters?

Floaters are clumps of gel or cells inside the vitreous, the clear gel-like fluid that fills the inside of your eye.

They may look to you like black or grey specks, strings, or cobwebs that drift about when you move your eyes and appear to dart away when you try to look at them directly.

What Causes Floaters?

The vitreous gel may start to thicken or shrink, forming clumps or strands inside the eye. 

The vitreous gel pulls away from the back wall of the eye, causing a Posterior Vitreous Detachment. This is a common cause of floaters.

Other causes include:

• Inflammation in the back of the eye. 
• Retinal Tears 
• Eye Injury
• Diabetic Retinopathy
• Other Eye Diseases

What are the Symptoms of Floaters?

Symptoms of eye floaters may include:

• Small shapes in your vision that appear as dark specks or transparent strings of floating material
• Spots that move when you move your eyes and move quickly out of your visual field
• Spots that are most noticeable when you look at a plain bright background, such as a blue sky or a white wall
• Small shapes or strings that eventually settle down and drift out of the line of vision

When Should You See an Ophthalmologist?

Symptoms of Floaters in the vision should always be reviewed.

• Even if only one new Floater appears suddenly, or
• You see sudden flashes of light