

Flashes usually fade away, and over time most people don't notice floaters as often because the brain learns to filter out the visual interference. If you see a squiggle, dot, or other shape flitting around, then you have found an eye floater.Įye floaters and flashes normally require no treatment. Close one of your eyes and look at an empty wall, a blue sky, or a white background on a computer screen. In these instances, the eye flashes often will look like jagged lines or heat shimmers that last between 10 and 20 minutes.Įye floaters and flashes caused by the vitreous gel are most visible when you are looking at a plain, light-colored background. If you see flashes accompanied by floaters, you most likely are experiencing PVD.įlashes also can be caused by an oncoming migraine headache. These flashes may appear off and on for a few weeks or months, but normally fade over time. In most cases, the detachment occurs cleanly and the eye floaters become less noticeable after a few months.Įye flashes result from thickened vitreous gel pulling and rubbing on the retina, causing visual effects that look like lightning streaks or light flickers. Debris from the site of the detachment drifts into the vitreous gel and causes floaters that resemble cobwebs, mist, or a veil that obscures part of your field of vision. The vitreous gel actually pulling away from the retina is a condition known PVD. They usually resolve themselves as the blood is reabsorbed by the body, but can last for months. Eye floaters caused by this kind of minor hemorrhaging create little black dots in your field of vision, which can resemble smoke or a cloud of gnats. The bursting of blood vessels in the retina as the shrinking vitreous gel pulls on them.They remain in the vitreous gel permanently, and people tend to ignore them. These types of eye floaters tend to look like squiggles, cobwebs, tadpoles, or circles. The formation of protein clumps in the vitreous gel.The shadows are seen as floaters, which can be created by: These particles block the light passing through your eye, casting shadows on the retina. Eye floaters and flashes are caused by changes in the vitreous gel that occur as we get older.Įye floaters occur when the vitreous gel thickens or shrinks due to aging, causing particles to form in the gel. Our eyes are filled with a clear substance known as vitreous gel that helps the eyeball keep its shape while allowing light to pass through to the retina the retina is located on the eye's back wall and contains nerve cells that perceive visual signals from light. However, a rapid onset of many eye floaters and flashes could indicate that a retinal tear has occurred if not treated immediately, this could cost you your eyesight. They are a normal part of the aging process and, most of the time, not considered a medical problem.

The majority of people - 7 out of every 10, in fact - will experience eye floaters and flashes at some point in their lives. Have you ever spotted a small speck, dot, or squiggle floating in the air, only to have it flit away when you tried to look at it directly? Or have you noticed flickering lights or lightning streaks that you knew weren't really there? If so, you are one of many people who have experienced the common vision phenomenon known as eye floaters and flashes.
