If you’re seeing spots — and squiggles, threads, cobwebs or dots — it may be more than a mere optical illusion. You may have eye floaters, specks of the protein collagen, that cast shadows upon your retina.
Floaters, (also called myodaeopsia), lodge in a jello-like substance called the vitreous. The vitreous fills approximately 80 percent of your eyeball and helps it keep its shape. From birth through childhood, the vitreous is clear and transparent. During aging it shrivels into tiny clusters called eye floaters. People over the age of 50 comprise a quarter of the people who develop floaters, escalating to two-thirds of 80 year-olds. However, floaters occasionally develop earlier — some people are born with them.
Eye floaters are suspended in the vitreous, so when your eyeball moves, they do too. On the other hand, you can’t see blood vessels in your eyeball because veins are fixed. When you attempt to look directly at an eye floater it seems to follow your eye’s movement, then vanish. Floaters hovering within your peripheral vision are inconspicuous, but they may travel from the sidelines to your central vision.
Floaters’ visibility depends upon lighting and background. They may be apparent if you’re looking at a bright light, such as a sunny window or your smartphone. Unlike the rest of the vitreous, an eye floater is not transparent, so it becomes more obvious when contrasted with light. Conversely, it becomes invisible in dimness or darkness. This is why ophthalmologists completely dilate the eye when they’re examining a patient for floaters.
Eye floaters are often prevalent in people who are nearsighted, have suffered eye trauma or experienced complications from eye surgery, have diabetic retinopathy and those with eye inflammation. Look out for your eyes’ health by reading our 6 Risk Factors of Eye Floaters:
1. PEOPLE OVER THE AGE OF 50
With advancing age, there is a higher risk factor for people over the age of 50 to develop eye floaters. At this point in life, the vitreous starts drying out, forming blobs and strings. Aging also produces eye debris, such as retinal fibers and bits of blood vessels, that can become floaters. As you get older, there is also a possibility of strings in the vitreous fluid stretching and pulling away from the retina. Typically, this is not an issue.
In people over 50, however, these fibers may tug hard and tear the eye’s retina or its central portion (called the macula). The eye’s fluid then seeps through the tear, causing the vitreous to separate (also called a vitreous detachment).
If a torn retina or macula goes untreated, it will cause permanent vision loss. This impairment can happen within many days, or even a few hours. If you have several floaters or a moderate amount, this is normal. But if they suddenly multiply, see your healthcare provider immediately. Since the retina has no pain receptors, a dramatic increase in eye floaters can be a vital clue that the eye is becoming damaged in a way that could cause permanent deterioration.
[nextpage title=“Next” ]2. NEARSIGHTEDNESS
Some people are more susceptible to floaters, including those who are nearsighted (myopic). Their vitreous fluid has a unique consistency, making them vulnerable to eye floaters.
The shape of a myopic eye may also correlate with floaters. Nearsightedness produces an abundance of floaters due to the increased length of the eye from front to back. This shape creates changes in the vitreous, and more floaters. The vitreous of these individuals usually degenerates earlier than those of people without nearsightedness, so many myopic people develop floaters as youths. This deterioration can accelerate the condition, starting as early as one’s 30s or 40s.
[nextpage title=“Next” ]3. EYE TRAUMA
An eye floater can materialize from a blunt eye trauma, such as being struck by a baseball. Floaters can also emerge from the sudden jolt of a car accident. The eyeball gets shaken, dislodging floaters. The victim may experience a single spot or a cloudburst of floaters. Floaters can occur from the eye trauma of a head injury or whiplash. Floaters resulting from an accident occur in at least 10 percent of head injuries. Unfortunately, many people brush off their eye damage as literally “seeing spots.” If the injury is serious, it’s more likely that vitreous matter will be released.
[nextpage title=“Next” ]4. COMPLICATIONS FROM EYE SURGERY
As with any surgery, an eye surgery can potentially cause complications. Cataract surgery is a procedure involving removing the eye’s original lens and replacing it with an artificial one.
This type of surgery can result in complications that cause floaters. The vitreous may separate from the retina, releasing floaters. Floaters that were already present in the eye often become more visible after the hazy cataract is removed.
Retinal detachment is a rare but serious eye surgery complication. During cataract surgery, pressure changes within the eye may create tiny tears in the retina’s edge. New floaters often result from these tears.
[nextpage title=“Next” ]5. DIABETIC RETINOPATHY
Diabetic retinopathy is a sight-threatening condition occurring in people who have diabetes. It progressively damages the retina, the light-sensitive lining of the eye.
Over time, high blood sugar levels can erode the tiny retinal blood vessels. Diabetic retinopathy occurs when those vessels leak blood and other fluids. The expelled particles can cause floaters. When the bleeding is diminished, individuals may see dark floaters. However, vision may be obstructed by floaters when bleeding intensifies.
Typically, floaters are prevalent in the full-blown stages of diabetes. Their sudden appearance may signify a retinal tear or detachment. If untreated, this condition can cause blindness.
[nextpage title=“Next” ]6. EYE INFLAMMATION
Certain forms of eye inflammation can cause an eye floater. These substances are actually white cells in the vitreous and retina that look like floaters. Posterior uveitis, inflammation of the uvea layers in the back of the eye, can trigger the release of irritants into the vitreous, resulting in floaters.
The most common form of uveitis, anterior uveitis, affects only one eye, generating floaters in that eye, alone. Uveitis, however, does not only affect the uvea, but can also harm the lens, retina and optic nerve, creating diminished vision or blindness. Most people with uveitis are in their teens, 20s or 30s.
