Being vigilant about your eye health can help alert you to potential vision-threatening diseases and protect you from harmful conditions. For example, a sudden change in vision could indicate the presence of a larger problem — especially if you have other health conditions. However, what about the seemingly harmless things that tend to be missed, such as floaters? Also referred to as spots, eye floaters are small, often cloudy particles of debris that can be observed in your field of vision. The team at Mittleman Eye explains if floaters can pose a risk to your eye health.

What Are Floaters?

Eye floaters, also known as myodesopsias, can be described as specks that become noticeable when viewing a blank or plain object, such as a piece of paper or a beige wall. They can appear as black or grey strings, dots, or even cobwebs. Eye floaters may seem to drift as you move your eyes and appear to quickly move away if you attempt to look directly at them. Eye floaters may sometimes be associated with flashes of light, or photopsias.

Floaters are often caused by age-related changes to the eye. The fluid inside the eye contracts, and the scattered pieces of collagen fiber in the vitreous can cast small shadows on the retina. These shadows are observed as floaters.

Why You Might Be Seeing Floaters

Floaters may be related to certain eye conditions, such as:

• Certain eye infections
• Injury or trauma to the eye
• Eye inflammation (uveitis)
• Bleeding in the eye
• Vitreous detachment
• Retinal tears
• Retinal detachment

Are Floaters Dangerous?

Eye floaters are generally caused by normal changes in the eye, and they typically do not pose a threat to eye health or vision. However, if you have certain eye conditions, eye floaters could indicate there is a serious issue.

If you experience any of the following related to eye floaters, it may be time to visit one of our doctors to check things out:

• A sudden increase in the number of eye floaters you are seeing
• Flashes of light in addition to observing floaters
• A noticeable blurry region that obscures a significant part of your vision
• Peripheral vision loss

Schedule Your Eye Appointment in West Palm Beach & Jupiter, FL

If your eye floaters are becoming more prevalent or impacting your activities, do not wait to seek treatment. Our skilled experts are ready to help you navigate a number of eye issues, including floaters as well as any underlying conditions that may be causing them. To book your consultation, make an appointment directly online, or text or call 561-500-2020 to start a conversation today.