Eye Floaters: Causes, Symptoms, Risks and Treatment

Eye floaters are quite frequent. In addition, most people will go through them at some point in their life. So, if you are willing to learn more about these floaters in the eye, continue reading.

Eye floaters are specks or spots in someone's eyesight that appear to float away when the person is trying to stare directly at them. They could also resemble spots, threads, wavy lines, or even tiny cobwebs.

Additionally, most people experience intermittent floaters, which frequently don't require medical attention. However, floaters occasionally may indicate a more serious eye problem. So, it is crucial to inform your eye doctor if new floaters arise abruptly and persist in your vision.

As mentioned earlier, floaters appear to move away when you try to gaze directly at them because they move in tandem with your eye movements. Also, floaters continue to move across your field of vision when your eyes are still.

Moreover, they could also be perceived as a brighter or darker patch of vision. Sometimes, compared to the rest of the field of vision, the area where the floater is will appear slightly hazy.

Above all, despite their small size and proximity to the eye's input, floaters have a big impact on vision. Also, symptoms of eye floater are known to appear to dart back and forth across the field of vision. A floater will retreat in the direction one stares if one tries to look directly at it, but they usually vanish when they rest their eyes.

Eye floaters are a typical side effect of ageing. The American Society of Retina Specialists notes that after the age of 60, disorders like vitreous detachment, which results in increased floaters, become increasingly prevalent.

Regardless of age, eye floaters are pretty common, but most people choose to ignore them. Many people might only be aware of them when gazing at a clear, bright region or surface, like the sky. Also, most eye floaters tend to settle to the bottom of the eye, below the field of vision, despite the fact that they can initially be bothersome.

To check for any indications of more serious conditions, the American Society of Retina Specialists advise anyone who experiences sudden symptoms like floaters to visit an ophthalmologist for a check-up within the first few months after the symptom's onset.

Retinal Detachment

A sudden increase in eye floaters may indicate another problem, such as retinal detachment. In addition to eye floaters, retinal detachment frequently causes other symptoms in sufferers, especially at the side of their fields of vision, where they could see flashes of light that aren't there. They might also lose vision in the sides of one or both of their eyes.

Without treatment, retinal detachment can be a dangerous condition and may lead to blindness. So, anyone who experiences a sudden, obvious rise in floaters in addition to other symptoms should consult a medical professional.

Other Causes

A few other causes of eye floaters include –

• Uveitis
• Haemorrhaging
• Traumatic injury in the eye
• Infection
• Diabetic retinopathy
• Eye tumours
• Tearing or trauma in the retina

A few of the risk factors associated with eye floaters and flashes include –

• Undergoing cataract surgery
• Being near-sighted (myopia)
• Getting YAG laser surgery
• Developing eye inflammation (uveitis)
• Injuring your eye

Floaters can be inspected as part of a dilated eye check-up by an ophthalmologist. After administering eye medications to expand the pupil, the doctor will examine both eyes for floaters and other eye issues.

Typically, this check-up is painless. To check for retinal tears, the ophthalmologist could also press eyelids, which some patients may find irritating.

In most circumstances, eye floaters don't need to be treated. They also do not directly endanger sight, even though they may be annoying when someone notices them.

Most of the time, floaters locate themselves near the base of the eye, below the field of vision. According to the Columbia University Department of Ophthalmology, a person's initial floater may take up to three months to fully detach.

1. Surgery

Rarely, floaters may develop into highly dense masses that could impair eyesight and surgery is occasionally chosen as an eye floater treatment. In such situations, a doctor might advise having a vitrectomy done.

A healthcare provider will surgically remove the vitreous gel that is the cause of the floater during a vitrectomy. This vitreous gel will then be swapped out for a saline solution or a bubble that is filled with oil or gas. After surgery, a majority of people don't distinguish between the vitreous and the saline solution.

Since it has a unique set of potentially serious consequences, doctors typically save this surgery for serious situations. These include retinal detachment and cataracts.

2. Alternative Remedy

For the removal of floaters, there are also some alternatives to surgery. For instance, larger floaters may be broken up or dissolved using a laser therapy technique called laser vitreolysis, which would lessen their visibility. However, this treatment might not be suitable for everyone.

So, each instance requires a thorough diagnosis by an ophthalmologist to determine whether the patient may benefit from laser therapy.

Hence floaters in the eye are a common problem that affects many people occasionally. Although they are usually considered safe, they can be unpleasant at times. Also, eye floaters may occasionally impair eyesight and necessitate surgical correction. So, a comprehensive diagnosis should be obtained from a medical professional by anyone who sees a sudden increase in eye floaters.