Why you need to be wary of eye floaters
Eye floaters are tiny specks, flecks or threads that seem to drift aimlessly in your field of vision. They are caused when tiny clumps form in the gel-like substance, called the vitreous humour, inside the eyeball. Floaters are more likely to develop with age as the vitreous humour pulls from the retina and begins to shrink, dissolving to a more watery and liquid centre. This separation can cause small undissolved gel particles to break off and form floaters of many different shapes and sizes. While irritating, floaters do not necessarily indicate anything is wrong. Most people learn to ignore them and floaters eventually tend to “settle” below line of sight. If they are troubling you, look up and down, and from side to side, to swish the vitreous humour and move the floater out of the way.
When floaters are an emergency
In most cases, floaters are normal and harmless. However, if there is a sudden increase in floaters or they are accompanied by light flashes, seek medical attention immediately.
A shower of floaters and light flashes could indicate that your vitreous is pulling away from your retina. This is not sight-threatening and requires no treatment. However, it can also indicate that the retina itself, the eye’s light-sensitive tissue, has pulled away from its normal position at the inner back of the eye. When the retina is torn, the vitreous can push out the retina leading to the serious condition of retinal detachment. This should be considered a medical emergency as if left untreated, it can lead to visual impairment and blindness within a few days. Action must be taken as soon as possible so the retina can be reattached before vision is lost permanently.
A study in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that the sudden presence of eye floaters and flashes means that one in seven people with these symptoms will have a retinal tear or detachment. And up to 50 per cent of people with a retinal tear will have a subsequent detachment.
People who are very nearsighted, have diabetes, or who have had a cataract operation are more at risk.