What Are Eye Floaters?

Eye floatersare tiny specks or strings that float into your field of vision. While they may be a nuisance, eye floaters should not cause you any pain or discomfort.

Eye floaters can appear as black or gray dots, lines, cobwebs, or blobs. Occasionally, a large floater may cast a shadow over your vision and cause a large, dark spot in your sight. Because the floaters are inside the fluid of your eye, they will move as your eyes move. If you try to look right at them, they will dart out of your vision.

Eye floaters commonly appear when you stare at a bright, plain surface, such as the sky, a reflective object, or blank paper. Eye floaters may be present in only one eye, or they may be in both.

What Causes Eye Floaters?

Age-related changes to the eye are the most common cause of eye floaters. The cornea and lens at the front of the eye focus light onto the retina at the back of the eye. As the light passes from the front of the eye to the back, it passes through thevitreous humor,a jelly-like substance inside your eyeball.

Changes to the vitreous humor can lead to eye floaters. The thick vitreous begins to liquefy with age (a process called vitreous syneresis), and the inside of the eyeball becomes crowded with debris and deposits. The microscopic fibers inside the vitreous begin to clump together. As they do, the debris can be caught in the path of the light as it passes through your eye. This will cast shadows on your retina, causing eye floaters.

Less common causes of eye floaters include:

eye injury:if the eye is hit by an object or damaged during an accident, you may experience more eye floaters

nearsightedness:people who are nearsighted experience eye floaters more frequently. Vitreous syneresis also occurs at a faster pace in people who have nearsighted vision

inflammation:swelling and inflammation in the eye, often caused by infection, can cause eye floaters

deposits:crystal-like deposits may form in the vitreous and interfere with light passing from the front of the eye to the back

diabetic retinopathy: diabetes can damage the blood vessels that lead to the retina. When those vessels become damaged, the retina may not be able to interpret the images and light hitting it

intraocular tumors visual aura of a migraine headacheEye floaters are most common after age 50. By age 70, most people will have experienced eye floaters at least once in their lives. Babies are born with clear vitreous, so it is rare for children under the age of 16 to have eye floaters.

When Are Eye Floaters an Emergency?

Call your ophthalmologist or eye care provider immediately if you see eye floaters and:

they begin occurring more frequently

you also see flashes of light

you lose your peripheral (side) vision

you develop eye pain

Combined with eye floaters, these symptoms may be a sign of more dangerous conditions.

Vitreous Detachment.As the vitreous shrinks, it slowly pulls away from the retina. If it pulls away suddenly, it may become completely detached. You will likely see many new floaters all at once, but you are not likely to lose your vision because of the detachment.

Vitreous HemorrhageBleeding in the eye, also known as a vitreous hemorrhage, can cause eye floaters. The bleeding may be caused by an infection, injury, or blood vessel leak.

Retinal TearAs the vitreous turns to liquid, the sac of gel will begin to pull on the retina. Eventually the stress may be enough to tear the retina completely.

Retinal DetachmentIf a retinal tear is not treated quickly, the retina can become detached and separate from the eye. This can lead to complete and permanent vision loss.

How Are Eye Floaters Treated?

Most eye floaters dont need any type of treatment. They are often only a nuisance in otherwise healthy people, and they rarely signal a larger, more serious problem. If a floater is temporarily obstructing your vision, roll your eyes from side to side and up and down to move the debris. As the fluid in your eye shifts, so will the floaters.

However, eye floaters may begin to impair your vision, especially if the underlying condition worsens. The floaters may become so bothersome and numerous that you have difficulty seeing. If this occurs, in rare cases, your doctor may recommend treatment in the form of laser removal or surgery.

In laser removal, your ophthalmologist uses a laser to break up the eye floaters and make them less noticeable in your vision. Laser removal is not widely used because it is considered experimental and somewhat dangerous by many eye doctors.

Another treatment option is surgery.Your ophthalmologist can remove the vitreous during avitrectomyand replace it with a sterile salt solution that will help the eye maintain its natural shape. Over time, your body will replace the solution with its own natural fluid. A vitrectomy may not remove all the eye floaters, and it will also not prevent new eye floaters from developing. This procedure, which is also considered highly risky, can cause damage or tears to the retina and bleeding.

What Happens If Eye Floaters Are Not Treated?

Eye floaters are rarely troublesome enough to cause additional problems, unless they are a symptom of a more serious condition. Though they will never fully disappear, they often improve over the course of a few weeks or months.

How Can You Prevent Eye Floaters?

Most eye floaters occur as part of the natural aging process. While you cannot prevent eye floaters, you can make sure they are not the result of a larger problem. As soon as you begin noticing eye floaters, see your ophthalmologist. He or she will want to make sure your eye floaters are not a symptom of a more serious condition that could eventually jeopardize your vision entirely.

Written byKimberly HollandMedically Reviewed byGeorge Krucik, MDArticle Sources: Eye floaters (2012, Jan 24). Mayo Clinic. Retrieved July 9, 2012, fromhttp://www.mayoclinic.com/health/eye-floaters/DS01036/ Eye floaters (2011, Oct 22). National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health. Retrieved July 9, 2012, fromhttp://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/002085.htm Floaters and flashes (2007, Nov 22). University of Michigan Kellogg Eye Center. Retrieved July 9, 2012, fromhttp://www.kellogg.umich.edu/patientcare/conditions/floaters.html Facts about floaters (2009, October). National Eye Institute. Retrieved July 9, 2012, fromhttp://www.nei.nih.gov/health/floaters/floaters.asp#1Eye floaters arespecs or gel like fluid that surrounds your eyesalong withthe movementof theeye balls. In generaleye floaters are not harmful. They areannoyingat times. Theyappear like small dotsor they are like insects flying around your eyes.

They become more obvious when yousee the sky, computer monitor or any light colored surface. Formany peoplethey remain for more than a decade.Most people feel them as they grow older. When they have a cataract surgeryat that timethey can develop floaters.

Diabeticpatients are at ahigher risk of developing eye floaters.In shortsighted individuals when there is a variation in the eye vision power a vitreous fluid is formed in the eye and in some individuals the fluid dissolves but for some people the fluid forms as a gel and rotates around the eye.

It iscommon in pregnant womenwhen protein is seen in form of bits in the eyes.Some floaters are caused during the child birth. Some cells are formed in the vitreous humor which forms into a liquid in the later stage of life.

Eye Floaters Natural TreatmentWhen you discuss thisproblem with your doctor he may prescribe some eye dropsthat are formulated with omega fatty acids. But foreye floatersnatural cureis the best remedy. There are manynatural treatmentsavailable which can be done at home in an easier way.

Focus An ObjectHold a pen or a pencil in yourhand in front of your face and keep your arms straight. Now focus on the pencil lid and now slowly bring your pencil six inches ahead of you and again focus the pencil lid. Repeat this process ten times a day.

Organic Fruit JuicesDrink a lot of organic fruit juices.Garlic, beetroots, thyme, carrots, apple, parsnip, raspberries, celery are goodnatural remedies to cure floaters.Herbal TeaHerbal tea is a wellknown natural cure for eye floaters. You can consume them instead of milk, coffee, tea and alcohol.

Palming PracticeWarm youreyes withthe palms. Rub the palms before placing them in the eyes. Place the palm in the eyes for 10 seconds. Repeat this process for 5 times a day.

Eye ExerciseTake yourhead back seeing the ceilingand rotate your eye balls in the clockwise direction, repeat the process in the counter clockwise direction also. It is highly recommended that you move your eyeballs slowly. Repeat the process for 10 times daily in both the directions.

Yoga ExercisesYoga exercises for eyesare the excellent remedy toget rid of the stress in the eyes.MassageGently massage theforehead area between the temples and eyebrowsslowly in both the directions. Repeat this process for 20 times daily. This is considered as the best natural cure for eye floaters.

If you practice the above said methods then you may feel that there is a considerable amount of reduction in the floaters that is formed in the eyes.