Floaters and Flashes

Floaters and flashes are common eye conditions affecting people above the age of 50. While they are frequently not a cause for concern, in severe cases they may cause or be indicative of retinal damage.

Floaters look like small specks moving around in your visual field. Often, they are noticeable when looking at a plain background and may be mistaken for insects or dust particles. Floaters will appear to move along with your eyes as you move them.

Flashes look like tiny lightning streaks. They often accompany floaters when they first appear and are most easily seen in the dark.

Causes of Floaters and Flashes

Floaters are tiny clumps of gel floating around in the vitreous, the clear jelly-like fluid in the back chamber of your eye. As you age, the vitreous gel in your eye may thicken and shrink, creating clumps in your eye. When the vitreous gel pulls away from the back wall of your eye, it results in a posterior vitreous detachment. This is what you experience as a floater.

Flashes occur when the vitreous gel pulls on your retina. It is important to consult an ophthalmologist if you start to experience flashes, since they may result in a retinal tear.

You are at an increased risk of developing floaters and flashes if you:

Have Myopia
Have undergone cataract surgery
Have had an inflammation inside your eye

Symptoms of Floaters and Flashes

Floaters will cause you to see the following shapes in your vision:

Specks
Clouds
Dots
Circles
Lines
Cobwebs

They are most noticeable when looking at a plain background, such as a blank wall. Flashes will look like lightning streaks or flashing lights in your visual field. Sometimes, flashes will last for 10-20 minutes and look like jagged lines or “heat waves” occurring in both eyes simultaneously. These are most likely due to a spasm of blood vessels in your brain, called a migraine.

Diagnosis of Floaters and Flashes

Your ophthalmologist will dilate your pupils and then perform an eye exam focusing on your retina and vitreous gel. Your doctor will use an ophthalmoscope to look for the formation of clumps in your vitreous gel or damage to your retina, particularly tears or a retinal detachment.

Treatment of Floaters and Flashes

Often, floaters will not require treatment. However, it is important to have any new floaters or flashes evaluated by your ophthalmologist to make sure you have not torn your retina. If a torn retina is not treated, you run the risk of a detached retina, which will require surgery. If caught early, a torn retina can be fixed with a laser.

Generally, floaters will lessen over time. In severe cases where your floater is large enough to seriously impede your vision, vitrectomy surgery may be required. In this procedure, your vitreous is removed and replaced with a clear fluid. However, this is serious surgery which eye doctors only recommend for severe cases. If you are only mildly annoyed by your floaters and flashes, it is best to just leave them alone.

Please contact an eye doctor in your area today to have your floaters and flashes evaluated.