Eye Floaters
Also known as Vitreous Floaters, Muscae Volitantes, Mouches Volantes, Vitreous Opacities, Posterior Vitreous Detachment, PVD, Weiss Ring
Bottom Line
Eye floaters are tiny shapes that drift across your vision. Most are harmless, but a sudden shower of new floaters, flashes of light, or a curtain in your vision can mean a torn or detached retina — go to the emergency room or call your eye doctor right now.
Eye floaters are small clumps inside the clear gel that fills the back of the eye. The gel is called the vitreous. As the vitreous shrinks and pulls away from the retina with age, it casts little shadows on the back of the eye that you see as dots, threads, or cobwebs 1.
Most floaters are part of a normal, age-related change called posterior vitreous detachment. Posterior vitreous detachment is very common — by age 70, most people have had one in at least one eye 2.
The problem is that a posterior vitreous detachment can also tear the retina. About 1 in 7 people who suddenly notice new floaters and flashes during an acute posterior vitreous detachment turn out to have a retinal tear that needs treatment 3. That is why any sudden shower of floaters or flashes should be checked by an eye doctor the same day.
Symptoms & Warning Signs
Most floaters are harmless and look like:
- Dots, threads, or cobwebs drifting across your vision
- A small ring or C-shape (often a Weiss ring after a posterior vitreous detachment)
- Specks that follow your eye movement and seem to dart away when you look right at them
- Easier to see against a bright background like a blue sky, a white wall, or a computer screen
- A sudden shower of many new floaters or a cloud of black dots like a spider web
- Flashes of light — like camera flashes or lightning at the side of your vision
- A dark curtain or shadow creeping across your vision from one side
- Sudden blurry vision or sudden vision loss in one eye
- New floaters after an eye injury or recent eye surgery
What Causes Floaters
Most floaters come from normal age-related changes in the vitreous gel 1:
- Vitreous syneresis — the gel liquefies with age and collagen clumps form inside it.
- Posterior vitreous detachment — the vitreous pulls away from the retina. This is the most common cause of new floaters after age 50 2.
Less common but more serious causes include:
- Retinal tear or detachment — a tear lets fluid lift the retina off the back of the eye. This is a medical emergency.
- Vitreous hemorrhage — bleeding into the gel, often from diabetic retinopathy, a torn vessel during posterior vitreous detachment, or eye injury.
- Uveitis — inflammation inside the eye that releases cells into the vitreous.
- Asteroid hyalosis — small calcium clumps in the vitreous, usually harmless and found by chance on an eye exam.
- Eye injury — a blow to the eye or head can trigger a posterior vitreous detachment or a tear.
Things that raise your risk of having floaters earlier or more often:
- Age 50 and older — the most common single risk factor.
- High myopia (very nearsighted) — the eye is longer, and the vitreous changes start sooner. Posterior vitreous detachment is also more common after cataract surgery 6.
- Past cataract surgery or YAG capsulotomy.
- Diabetes with eye changes (diabetic retinopathy).
- Past eye injury or eye inflammation.
- Past retinal tear or detachment in the other eye.
Treatment
Most floaters do not need treatment. They are usually harmless, and the brain learns to ignore them over weeks to months. The first step for any new floaters is a dilated eye exam to rule out a retinal tear or other serious cause 7.
If a retinal tear is found, it is usually sealed in the office with laser or freezing (cryotherapy). This greatly lowers the chance of a retinal detachment.
If the floaters are very bothersome and have been stable for several months, two treatments are sometimes offered for symptomatic vitreous floaters:
- Pars plana vitrectomy. A retina surgeon removes the vitreous gel and the floaters with it. It works very well at clearing floaters, but it carries real risks — cataract (very common), retinal tear or detachment, infection, and bleeding 8.
- YAG laser vitreolysis. A laser breaks up the floater into smaller pieces. The evidence is still limited, and not every floater is a good target for laser 9.
Common Questions About Eye Floaters
Next Steps
- 1If you have a sudden shower of new floaters, flashes of light, or a curtain or shadow in your vision, go to the emergency room or call your eye doctor's emergency line right now.
- 2If your floaters are long-standing and unchanged, book a routine dilated eye exam in the next 6-12 months and mention them to the doctor.
- 3Learn the warning signs of a torn or detached retina (new floaters, flashes, curtain) and tell family members.
- 4If you are very nearsighted or have had cataract surgery, ask your eye doctor how often to come in for a dilated exam.
- 5Skip eye drops, vitamins, or supplements that claim to dissolve floaters — none are proven to work.
- 6If floaters are getting in the way of reading, driving, or daily life after several months, ask a retina specialist about vitrectomy and YAG laser vitreolysis, including their risks.
Find specialists for Eye Floaters
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