Eye Floaters: Causes and What You Should Know About Treatment (1)

If you have noticed the presence of small specks that aimlessly drift around inside your eyes, you probably have myodesopsia, or more commonly known as eye floaters. Eye floaters can be alarming, especially if they appear suddenly or in conjunction with other symptoms. While eye floaters are occasionally associated with serious eye disorders, most eye floaters are harmless.

Below is more information about eye floaters, including their causes and treatment options.

The human eye is mostly filled with a transparent gel known as vitreous humor. The vitreous helps provide physical support for the eye and prevents it from being unduly compressed. If something causes the vitreous composition to change, either on a microscopic or wider level, fragments of gel can become visible to affected individuals in the form of floaters.

Eye floaters can take on a wide range of shapes and sizes and are variously described as cobwebs, strands, flecks and threads. Floaters can cast shadows on the retina or become directly visible due to the changes in light passing through them.

Eye floaters affect almost all people at some point in their lives, though their frequency increases with age. However, a number of causes can bring about the onset of eye floaters, some of which can occur at any age. Here are a few of the most common causes of eye floaters.

As people age, the vitreous tends to break down into its component parts, which are water, collagen and other materials. Bits of collagen then become suspended inside the eye and appear as floaters. The problem is rarely serious, as the brain is capable of adapting and learns to ignore these insignificant floaters.

For some individuals, the onset of eye floaters begins when the vitreous pulls away from the retina. This process can occur naturally due to shrinkage of the vitreous, but its appearance can be dramatic and sudden if the sticky vitreous tugs at the retina as it falls away. The physical disturbance of the retina causes a number of symptoms, including light flashes and floaters.

While vitreous detachment isn't usually serious, it can cause tearing of the delicate retina and bleeding inside the eye in some instances. If this occurs, the number of floaters increases greatly in the form of bubbles of blood. Tearing of the retina is a medical emergency and should be addressed immediately to prevent blindness or permanently impaired vision.

The retina lies along the back of the eye and is a highly sensitive layer of tissues that collect light energy. If the retina is pulled away from the back of the eye, known as a retinal detachment, then individuals may quickly lose their ability to see.

Fortunately, retinal detachment doesn't usually occur without symptoms, as the movement brings about a large number of eye floaters, light flashes and dark spots in the field of vision. Like the tearing of the retina, retinal detachment is an extremely serious condition and requires medical care to correct. Surgery is often necessary, though lasers are also used to treat retinal detachment.

For most people, eye floaters are nothing more than a nuisance, so treatment isn't usually necessary. However, some individuals develop severe floaters that interfere with their quality of life and work activities. In those situations, treatment may be necessary.

Eye floaters can be treated using both surgery and laser techniques. Traditional surgery involves the replacement of the vitreous humor with saline solution in order to restore the transparency of the eye. This surgery can present risks, especially if an infection occurs as a consequence.

Laser surgery is another treatment option for eye floaters, and its less-invasive nature means the recovery time after the treatment is much less. To reduce eye floaters, ophthalmologists use yttrium aluminum garnet (YAG) lasers to destroy collagen strands by converting them to a gas.

If you have questions or concerns about your eye floaters, it is important to contact a qualified medical professional for help. Hummel Eye Associates is available to assist you with any eye care needs, so please contact them soon for an appointment.