Floaters

Floaters are small specks or clouds moving in your field of vision. You may see them more clearly when looking at a plain background, like a blank wall or blue sky. Floaters are actually tiny clumps of gel or cells inside the vitreous, the clear jelly-like fluid that fills the inside of your eye.

Causes

While these objects look like they are in front of your eye, they are actually floating inside it. What you see are the shadows they cast on the retina, the layer of cells lining the back of the eye that senses light and allows you to see. Floaters can appear as different shapes, such as little dots, circles, lines, clouds, or cobwebs.

Symptoms

The symptoms of floaters can include:

• Small shapes in your vision that appear as dark specks or knobby, transparent strings of floating material
• Spots that move when you move your eyes, so when you try to look at them, they move quickly out of your visual field
• Spots that are most noticeable when you look at a plain bright background, such as a blue sky or a white wall
• Small shapes or strings that eventually settle down and drift out of the line of vision

Treatment

Most floaters are not dangerous and are a normal part of aging. If a floater appears directly in your line of vision, this can be highly annoying and might interfere with reading or other detailed close work. However, even if the floaters become annoying, most people learn to cope with them. If the floaters become so numerous they impair your vision, your eye doctor might suggest a surgical procedure called a vitrectomy to remove them.

See also

• Eye health
• Vision problems
• Vitrectomy

References

Floaters Resources
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