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Floaters

Vitreous Eye Floaters

Floaters are what appear to be small specks or clouds moving in your field of vision. But they are actually small clumps of gel or cells inside the vitreous, the clear jelly-like fluid that fills the inside of your eye. They may look like strands, webs, specks, or other shapes, but they are shadows cast on the retina.

Floaters are inside your eye, so they move with your eyes when you try to see them. You may see flashes of light, but these occur more in older people as the vitreous humor thickens and pulls on the retina. These flashes could be a warning sign of a detached retina.

People may experience flashes that look like jagged lines or heat waves, they may last 10-20 minutes. These kinds of flashes are typically caused by a spasm of blood vessels in the brain, called a migraine. A headache following the flashes, is a migraine headache.

Most floaters are merely annoying, yet harmless, and many fade over time. If you suddenly see floaters, or if they are accompanied by flashes of light or peripheral vision loss, it could be a sign of serious conditions such as diabetic retinopathy or the beginning of a retinal detachment. The retina can tear if the shrinking vitreous gel pulls away from the wall of the eye, causing a tiny amount of bleeding in the eye that may appear as new floaters.

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