Eye Floaters: Everything You Need to Know

If you have ever noticed drifting bits in vision that resemble cobwebs, strings, or grey or black specks, you have likely experienced the pesky problem of eye floaters. While floaters can be a common problem associated with getting older, it can indicate a problem in some cases. Read on to learn more about eye floaters and what you do about this aggravating condition.

When Are Floaters Worthy of an Eye Doctor Visit?

If you notice a significant change in your eye floaters or begin to lose some of your peripheral vision or notice light flashes, it’s time to see an ophthalmologist in Sylvania, immediately. However, even if your eye floaters haven’t increased expediently, they can be very bothersome, prompting a visit to our offices at Romanoff Vision for an eye doctor examination.

What Causes Eye Floaters?

In some cases, your eye floaters might be the result of a retinal tear, which can lead to permanent vision loss and demands emergency attention. However, this is not the most common cause of the condition. The following are the most frequent suspects leading to eye floaters:

• Inflammation: In some cases, eye floaters can be the result of inflammation around the back of the eye. Due to inflammation, the body produces various inflammatory debris, which causes floaters.
• Eye Bleeding: There are various causes of bleeding in the eyes, such as injury, blocked blood vessels, hypertension, and diabetes. These blood cells appear as eye floaters.
• Eye Medications/Eye Surgeries: In some cases, your eye floaters could be the result of an eye surgery or eye medications.
• Age Related Eye Changes: As mentioned above, eye floaters are often a result of the natural aging process. When you are younger, your eyes are filled with a jelly-like substance. As you age, this jelly-like substance liquefies. This process results in this substance pulling away from the interior surface of the eye. During this process, this substance becomes stringy and clumpy. This can cause tiny shadows to form, which can result in floaters.

Your Next Step

In many cases, eye floaters do not require any treatment at all. Once the cause of the floaters has been determined as harmless, you can simply adjust to this pesky condition. However, if your floaters are a result of the some of the treatable conditions listed above, such as the bleeding from inflammation or disease, the underlying condition can be treated, which will subsequently treat the floaters. In some extreme cases where floaters have begun to interfere with your vision, surgery or laser treatment might be in order. Contact us at Romanoff Vision to learn more about eye floaters, identify their cause, and to determine what can be done to treat this annoying condition.