Are You Seeing Floaters?
January 7, 2022
Eye floaters look like grey and black specks, cobwebs, or strings that drift and shift throughout your vision. It seems that when you look right at them, floaters appear to dart away, then come to a slow stop.
Nearly everyone experiences floaters from time to time, and they can go away on their own or stick around, being an annoying part of your life when staring at a bright background. However, some concurrent symptoms may indicate that eye floaters are a part of a more serious eye condition, which would require immediate medical attention.
Causes of Eye Floaters
Floaters are caused by tiny strands of fibers within the vitreous humor, a clear, jelly-like substance that fills your eye, that occur as the vitreous humor becomes more watery. These tiny specks cast shadows on your retina, the part of your eye that collects light and allows you to see, leading to the sensation of floaters in your vision.
Most people who experience floaters have no need for concern and will get used to their appearance or notice them less over time. Certain conditions increase your risk of developing floaters, including nearsightedness, being over the age of 50, and previous eye surgery or injury.
Eye Floater Treatment
There is currently only a few treatment options for removing eye floaters that are bad enough to impair vision, including laser eye surgery to break up the fibers causing them. This technique may not remove all floaters, and cannot prevent new ones from forming after that, but it can help relieve serious floater symptoms for the time being.
Another option is through eye surgery that removes the vitreous with a small incision, replacing it with a solution of a similar viscosity to help the eye maintain its shape. There are no guarantees with this procedure either, which means that most people with non-symptommatic floaters may just have to live with them.
Symptoms of Something Serious
In rare cases, floaters can be associated with more serious symptoms that could require medical attention or risk permanent vision damage. These include:
- Suddenly seeing many more floaters than normal
- Seeing flashes of light in the same eye that has the floaters
- Loss of peripheral vision (darkness on the sides of your vision)
These symptoms could indicate that your retina has torn, which will need to be addressed immediately through eye surgery.
Eye Floater Treatment in Falls Church, VA
If your vision is becoming steadily disrupted by eye floaters, it may be time to seek help from the laser eye specialists at Anh Nguyen Ophthalmology. Equipped with the latest in laser eye surgery technology, our ophthalmologists are here to help you get the vision care you need, whether due to aging, injury, or previous surgery complications. Learn more about your options and risks with eye floaters by calling our office or contacting us online today. We are here to help.
