Floaters in Eye can be serious too!

Have you noticed tiny spots, specks and flecks that drift aimlessly around in your field of vision? Those cobwebs! They are known as eye floaters. Eye floaters in the eye are very common. Generally, they are not any cause for alarm that you should start seeking medical attention. Typically, they appear when tiny pieces of the eye's gel-like vitreous break and loose within the inner back portion of the eye. Throughout a person’s youth-phase, the vitreous has a gel-like consistency. By aging, that vitreous begins to dissolve and liquefy to create a watery center. And, there are some un-dissolved gel-particles left rarely. They will float around in the more liquid center of the vitreous. And they can take on many shapes. They can be of different sizes too. A person having floaters in the eye notices these types of spots and floaters particularly pronounced when he/she peers at a bright, clear sky or a white computer screen. These can be visible while looking at something brighter!  Actually the shadow-kind-image is visible to a person. Also, these cobwebs or specks never seem to stay still if a person tries to focus on them. They move when eye moves. They just create an impression that they are drifting. And that is why they are called as eye-floaters.

As mentioned generally, their appearance is not a cause to alarm to seek medical attention but a person need to/ should seek medical attention immediately, if he sees a shower of floaters and spots. They may be, sometimes, accompanied by light flashes. The sudden appearance of these symptoms is associated with that the vitreous is pulling away from retina or that the retina itself is becoming dislodged from the inner back of the eye that contains blood, nutrients and oxygen vital to healthy function. This may cause severe eye-diseases or problems, vision-problems. Vitreous can invade the opening of retina, if retina is torn. Vitreous can push out the retina that leads to a detachment. There is a treatment for eye-floaters. The treatment is performed by expert eye-surgeons and is based on laser technique. Well, even in cases of retinal tear or detachment, patient must take action as soon as possible. This would help patient and an eye surgeon as well to reattach the retina and restore function before vision is lost permanently.

Eye Floaters - Causes, Symptoms and Medical Attention

What is Eye Floater?

Eye floater is actually an image formed by a deposit of protein drifting about in the vitreous, the clear, jelly-like substance that fills the middle of the eye. It comes and keeps moving in front of the eye, but it does not block vision.

What causes eye-floaters?

The floater is a result of debris from the vitreous casting a shadow on the retina. As we age, the vitreous and its millions of fine collagen fibers shrink and become shred-like. Shreds can accumulate in the vitreous. This can cause a change in the amount of light that hits the retina. This change causes the symptoms of eye floaters. It is described by people as spots, strands, or little flies. Rarely, floaters are caused from a separation of the vitreous gel from the retina, called posterior vitreous detachment. This is generally not a serious condition. But it can be if it is interrupting in vision and there are more numbers of floaters in the eye . Generally, floaters in the eye occur between age of 50 and 75. Especially people, who are very nearsighted or have had cataract surgery, can get floaters in eye, but it is not restricted to it. They can appear or happen at any age. Also, occasionally they can result from other eye surgery or eye disease, eye injury. Some health and medical conditions can be associated with them too, like diabetic retinopathy and crystal-like deposits that form in the vitreous and eye tumors such as lymphoma.

Eye disorders associated with eye floaters

There can serious eye-disorders coupled with eye-floaters like, Retinal detachment, Retinal tear, Vitreous hemorrhage (bleeding) and Vitreous and retinal inflammation caused by viral infections, fungal infections, or auto-immune inflammation. There can be eye tumors as well. For information, there is a unique form of eye floaters which is linked with the visual aura of migraine headaches.

Need of Medical Attention for Eye Floaters

You must see a doctor and seek a medical attention to treat eye floaters in the eye, if they seem to worsen over time, especially if the changes are sudden in onset. You might experience flashes of light or any vision loss accompanied by eye floaters then it is a call that you need to go to see a doctor. If you find eye floaters are developed after any eye surgery or eye trauma, you have just undergone. You need a medical attention if you have eye pain along with eye floaters.