Eye floaters – Are these small spots in your vision dangerous?

Spots in your eyes are called eye floaters. If you move your eyes, they may appear as black or grey specks, strings, or cobwebs that move around and seem to dart away when you glance at them directly. The majority of eye floaters are brought on by aging-related changes as the liquid vitreous (the jelly-like substance inside your eyes) becomes more prominent. Your retina may be somewhat shadowed by microscopic fibers that collect together in the vitreous.

How do eye floaters appear?

Eye floaters can be described in a variety of ways. Some people contend with having seen spiders, medusas, clouds, or amoebas. Floaters could cause you to see:

• Squiggly lines
• Spots
• Spherical forms
• Strands resembling thread
• Dark, little shapes
• Dark or black dots

Causes of eye floaters

Some common causes of eye floaters include:

• Eye impairment:

You may notice more eye floaters if the eye is injured by an object or sustains damage in an accident.

• Nearsightedness:

Nearsighted people are more likely to have eye floaters. Nearsighted individuals also experience a faster rate of vitreous syneresis.

• Inflammation:

Eye floaters may be brought on by swelling and inflammation in the eye, which is frequently a result of an illness.

• Diabetic retinal disease:

The blood arteries that supply the retina might become damaged by diabetes. The retina may not be capable of processing the images and light striking it if those vessels are destroyed.

• Deposits:

The vitreous can develop crystal-like deposits that block light from reaching the back of the eye from the front.

Different types of eye floaters

Small bits of material called floaters float in the eye’s vitreous fluid. This debris obscures the retina with shadows (the light-sensitive tissue layer at the back of the eye). These shadows are what you see floating around your field of vision if you experience floaters. There are many types of floaters in your eyes.

Eye floaters can appear in various ways, depending on the individual, such as different shapes and tints, wiggly or wavy lines, or tiny black spots in your field of vision. Although two people with eye floaters may seem to be “seeing spots,” they actually see quite different things. There are different kinds of floaters in eyes, including:

• Fibrous strand, squiggly or cobweb floater:

This thin, dense floater, which is most prevalent in young people, may look as several dots or as string-like cobwebs. These are the result of the collagen fibers in the vitreous clumping together. These eye floaters are also known as squiggly types of eye floaters.

• Ring shaped floaters:

larger ring shaped floaters are known as Weiss rings. When the vitreous cortex pulls away from the posterior wall, and some of the fibrous vitreous cortex surrounding the optic nerve head is lost, this condition is known as PVD and results in Weiss ring shaped floaters. 

• Cloud-Like Floater:

The aging process naturally results in this floating object that resembles a cloud. 

• Floaters are transparent, shadowy, or black:

Just like their shapes, floaters can come in various colors. Eye floaters might appear almost entirely transparent, somewhat shadowed, or virtually black. While some floaters appear longer and more worm-like, others may only appear as small black spots or dots in your field of vision.

Eye floaters: how are they diagnosed?

During an eye checkup, your eye doctor will typically identify eye floaters. Your eyes will be dilated so that your healthcare professional can see the inside of your eye clearly. This enables the medical professional to check your retina and find any floaters. An essential component of your eye exam is ensuring that your retina is healthy and showing no signs of a tear or detachment. If your doctor discovers eye floaters, you might need regular eye exams. This serves as a preventative measure and enables your doctor to monitor the gradual shrinkage of your vitreous over time.

What about the treatment for eye floaters?

Treatment for most eye floaters is not necessary. When a person is generally healthy, they are frequently merely an annoyance and rarely indicate a more serious issue. If any person experiences sudden increase in floaters, he/she should visit an ophthalmologist immediately and get a dilated retinal examination done to rule out any retinal pathology.

Depending on the cause of floaters and related retinal pathology, your doctor might advise laser surgery or Vitrectomy surgery for floaters. 

WHY CFS?

Center for Sight eye care center that offers various options for eye floaters treatment, including the use of steroids, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, laser or surgical treatment of new blood vessels, injections into the vitreous (steroids, anti-VEGF agents, etc.), and surgery such as vitrectomy surgery for retinal detachment, etc.

Article: Eye floaters – Are these small spots in your vision dangerous?
Author: CFS Editorial Team   |   Sep 10 2022 | UPDATED 05:57 IST

*The views expressed here are solely those of the author in his private capacity and do not in any way represent the views of Centre for Sight.