Eye floaters

What are they?

We all have floaters in our eyes, perfectly harmless but sometimes irritating. They’re those ghostly looking bits of “gossamer” that float in front of your vision and move as your eyes move.

How do they look?

Small shapes that swim about but eventually sink out of your field of vision

Spots you can see moving about when you look at a bright background

Spots that move with the movement of your eyes

How do they arise?

Most commonly with age. When you get older, the vitreous – the jelly-like substance filling your eyeballs – shrinks and sags so it gets clumpy and stringy.

These irregularities cast tiny shadows on your retina as they block the light and are then seen as floaters.

With inflammation in the back of the eye. Debris can collect in the vitreous and it is seen as floaters.

Bleeding may occur into the vitreous due to diabetes, hypertension, blocked blood vessels and injury. Blood cells are seen as floaters.

When some medications are injected into the vitreous it can cause air bubbles and they are seen as shadows until they are absorbed by your eye.

A torn retina can occur when the vitreous pulls on the retina. An untreated retinal detachment could cause permanent vision loss.

Do they need treatment?

They usually do not, although an underlying cause such as diabetes should be treated.

If your eye floaters impair your vision, then surgery to remove the vitreous might be recommended.

Another option is using a laser to disrupt the floaters, though it’s used infrequently.