Learn what eye floaters are, why they happen, and when they signal something serious. Covers causes, treatment options, and warning signs to watch for.

Eye Floaters: What Are They, What Causes Them, and When to See a Doctor

What Are Eye Floaters?

Eye floaters appear to people who have them as dark spots, shadows, squiggly lines, or spiderwebs, like dust on a lens.

How Common are Eye Floaters?

Eye floaters are very common, particularly among older people. They typically occur as a natural part of aging and usually go away on their own. However, floaters that appear suddenly, in great numbers, or are accompanied by flashes of light or worsening vision can indicate serious conditions requiring immediate medical attention.

What Floaters Look Like

Floaters look like dark specks but are actually transparent clumps of breakaway collagen fibers from the vitreous (also called vitreous humor)—the gel-like substance that fills your eye and is attached by millions of microscopic fibers to the retina. Floaters are so named because they float inside the eyeball—not on the surface of the eye—creating a shadow as they drift across the light-sensitive retina. What the person with floaters sees as black specks, spots, or lines are in fact shadows. Floaters are painless and most noticeable when we look at a bright, solid surface. Access an illustrated diagram of an eye with floaters.

Why Floaters Move When You Try to Look at Them

Because floaters drift around in the vitreous that fills your eyeball, they move when your eye moves. They continue to move in the vitreous fluid even after eye movement has ceased.

Who Is Most Likely to Get Eye Floaters?

People in the 50-70 age group are most likely to get floaters. Nearsighted people of any age are also at greater risk, as are people with diabetes, inflammatory eye conditions, or have experienced physical eye trauma. Floaters also sometimes occur—both temporarily and permanently—after procedures including cataract surgery, LASIK surgery, retinal surgery, vitrectomy, and YAG laser surgery.

What Causes Eye Floaters?

Age-Related Vitreous Changes: The Most Common Cause

Around age 40, the “gel” within the eyeball—the vitreous humor, comprised of hyaluronic acid and collagen—begins to break down and liquify. Collagen clumps form and float within the eyeball, casting a shadow across the retina, which the brain interprets as dark lines, spots, or shadows.

Nearsightedness and Elevated Risk

Nearsightedness (myopia) is caused by an elongated eye (front to back), which increases physical strain on the vitreous, causing it to break down sooner than in a normally shaped eye.

Eye Inflammation and Infection

Eye inflammation causes floaters by releasing cells, debris, and proteins into the vitreous. Viral, bacterial, and fungal Infections including toxoplasmosis, herpes (simplex and shingles), cytomegalovirus (CMV), endophthalmitis, tuberculosis, Lyme disease and others can cause an inflammatory response that can, if untreated, sometimes lead to vision loss.

Posterior Vitreous Detachment and What It Means

As the vitreous liquifies, it shrinks and pulls away from the retina, resulting in posterior vitreous detachment (PVD). According to the American Academy of Ophthalmology, nearly 90% of people age 80+ have PVD, most without noticing they have it. When the vitreous pulls away from the retina with sufficient force, a retinal tear occurs, causing bleeding and symptoms including increased floaters, flashes of light in peripheral vision, and retinal detachment. Retinal detachment can lead to vision loss. It is extremely serious and should be immediately evaluated by an ophthalmologist or emergency room physician.

Bleeding Inside the Eye

Called vitreous hemorrhage, bleeding inside the eye creates floaters when red blood cells are released into the vitreous. Diabetic retinopathy, retinal tears/detachment, uncontrolled hypertension, eye trauma, and blocked/leaking blood vessels can cause vitreous hemorrhage. Vitreous hemorrhage also requires immediate medical attention.

Normal Floaters vs. Warning Signs

If you’re over age 50, you’ve probably already had floaters, which your brain has adjusted to and simply filters out (neuroadaptation). Normal floaters appear infrequently, are few in number, and slow-moving; worth a mention at your next comprehensive eye exam, but no cause for alarm. If, however, you experience pain, eye redness, a sudden change in vision—blurriness, curtain-like obstruction of any part of your field of vision, a dramatic downpour of floaters, or flashes/streaks of light—seek immediate medical attention at a hospital emergency room. These are often symptoms of something serious, such as retinal detachment, which can cause complete vision loss within hours or days.  

How Eye Floaters Are Diagnosed

Eye floaters are diagnosed during a comprehensive eye exam with dilation. Your eye doctor will use a variety of precision tools and tests to examine all parts of the eye. If you’re over age 40, you should get a comprehensive eye exam every year to two years, and more frequently if you have a history of eye disease or a health condition that might affect the eyes.

Eye Floater Treatment Options

Any injury to your eyes or change in vision should prompt a visit to the eye doctor to determine the cause and discuss possible treatment. But unless your floaters produce pain, eye redness, sudden change in vision, or other red-flag symptoms, watchful waiting may be a most common treatment plan.

For people whose floaters are not caused by anything serious but inhibit their ability to go about normal daily activities, there are options, including prescription eye drops and procedures performed by an ophthalmologist.

Laser Vitreolysis: What It Is and Who It Is For?

Laser vitreolysisuses an infrared laser microscope to vaporize large clumps of debris that create floaters. Patients typically need two to three in-office sessions, spaced out over a few weeks, lasting thirty minutes or less. According to data from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Laser vitreolysis has a success rate of more than 50%. Patients who undergo multiple sessions report greater results. Laser vitreolysis does not prevent new floaters from forming, and in some cases can create added floaters.  

Vitrectomy: When Surgery Becomes Necessary

People whose daily activities are severely inhibited by the persistence and number of floaters may seek relief through vitrectomy. This surgical procedure typically takes no more than two hours and is conducted by an ophthalmologist in a hospital or surgical center. Small incisions are made on the eye, and the debris-filled vitreous is suctioned out, replaced by saline solution. Recovery time is typically one to four weeks. As with any surgery, there are risks that should be discussed with your doctor.

Living with Eye Floaters

There is no way to prevent age-related floaters, but maintaining good overall health—including not smoking, staying hydrated, protecting your eyes from trauma, and staying physically active—help maintain healthy eyes. Normal floaters that do not require medical attention can be addressed by the following:

• Shift your focus past the floaters to what is in front of you
• Let your brain do its job: Over several months, your brain often stops “seeing” floaters (neuroadaptation)
• Eliminate glare: Wear sunglasses outdoors and turn down indoor lights to eliminate glare (including on screens)
• Move your eyes to shift the floaters inside your vitreous.

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