What Are Eye Floaters?
Eye floaters are small spots or shapes that drift across your vision. According to Mayo Clinic, “Eye floaters are spots in your vision. They may look to you like black or gray specks, strings, or cobwebs. They may drift about when you move your eyes.” They are common and often harmless, affecting about seven in ten people.
What Causes Them?
Floaters occur due to age-related changes in the eye’s vitreous, a gel-like substance that liquefies over time. “As you age, the protein fibers that make up the vitreous shrink into little shreds that clump together,” explains WebMD’s Rick Ansorge. These clumps cast shadows on the retina, creating the floaters you see.
When to Seek Help
The NHS advises that floaters are typically not a concern unless they appear suddenly, increase in number, or are accompanied by flashes, blurred vision, or pain. Serious symptoms may indicate retinal detachment or other eye issues and require immediate medical attention.
Managing Floaters
Most floaters fade with time, but if they’re bothersome, try shifting your eye fluid by looking up and down. Maintaining a healthy diet with omega-3, zinc, and Vitamin A can also support eye health.
Eye Doctor Explains What To Do If You Start Seeing Floaters
Floaters — those little specks, cobwebs, or squiggly lines drifting across your vision — are usually harmless and part of aging. They happen when the gel-like substance inside your eye (the vitreous) changes and shrinks.
But here’s the catch: sudden floaters can also signal serious problems.
👁 What to do:
If you suddenly notice a bunch of new floaters, flashes of light, or a dark shadow (like a curtain) across your vision, see an eye doctor immediately. These can be signs of a retinal tear or detachment, which needs urgent treatment to prevent permanent vision loss.
🩺 During the exam:
An eye doctor will dilate your pupils to check the retina. If everything’s fine, you’ll just be monitored. If there’s a tear, laser surgery can often fix it before it worsens.
✅ Bottom line:
A few floaters = usually normal.
Sudden, many floaters + flashes = emergency.
When in doubt, check it out! Your eyes are too important to risk.
