Eye floaters are one of the issues our patients ask about most often. It’s understandable, as around 70% of people experience them at some point.
At Palm Beach Eye Center, our elite board-certified and fellowship-trained ophthalmologist Dr. George Khouri expertly evaluates and treats floaters in our state-of-the-art West Palm Beach office.
While floaters are often harmless, there are times when they signal a more serious issue. Knowing the difference is vital for protecting your vision. The first step is learning more about floaters and why they happen.
Understanding Eye Floaters
Eye floaters are specks, shapes, or threads that drift slowly through your field of vision. They’re more noticeable when you look at a bright, plain background, like a clear blue sky or a blank white wall.
Generally, people start seeing floaters as they age, usually around age 50-70. Sometime during those years, posterior vitreous detachment (PVD) begins. This process involves the clear gel in the eye (the vitreous body) shrinking.
As this happens, the gel can’t fill the eyeball fully, so it starts to separate from the retina at the back of your eye. As it pulls on the retina, you might see floaters. Many people also see flashes (lightning-like streaks of light) during PVD.
Everyone experiences PVD, which is why most people have floaters at some point.
Causes of Concerning Floaters
While PVD is the most common cause of floaters, other conditions can lead to concerning symptoms. These include:
Retinal tears or detachments
As PVD occurs, the vitreous can pull too hard on the retina, causing a tear or detachment. Other conditions, like eye injuries and diabetic retinopathy, may also cause retinal tears or detachments.
Eye infections or inflammation
Infections, such as conjunctivitis (pink eye) can cause floaters. Inflammation, for example, uveitis, can also trigger floaters. Infection and inflammation often happen together.
Hemorrhages
Bleeding within the eye, often due to damage from diabetes, can lead to the sudden appearance of floaters.
When to Seek Medical Attention
Although floaters are annoying, they’re usually harmless. Unfortunately, there are also situations in which floaters mean you need immediate medical attention. These include:
- A sudden increase in floaters: A sudden spike in the number of floaters could be a retinal tear or detachment.
- Flashes with floaters: Seeing flashes, especially in your peripheral (side) vision, can indicate that the vitreous is pulling on the retina, which could lead to a retinal tear or detachment.
- Loss of peripheral vision with floaters: A shadow or curtain-like effect over your peripheral vision may suggest a retinal detachment.
- Pain with floaters: Floaters are normally painless. However, when floaters bring pain with them, you may have serious inflammation or an infection.
The symptoms discussed above are strong warning signs from your body. Call our office ASAP if you experience these problems.
Got Floaters? We Can Help
Don’t float through life and ignore symptoms that could be serious. Reach out online or call us at (561) 366-8300 to schedule a visit now.
