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Reasons for Eye Floaters

An eye floater is a vision condition that is extremely common in adults, and is usually harmless and fleeting. Floaters create "fuzzballs" in a person's vision, which can occur in either one or both eyes.

  1. The Floaters Condition

    • Floaters are dislodged bits of vitreous (eye gel) membrane that "float" in the cornea of the eye and create an obstruction in one's vision, which can vary from a tiny cloud-like dot to vision-obtrusive curved lines. In most cases, floaters go away on their own, without treatment, over time.

    Vitreous Gel

    • Any event that alters the eye's vitreous gel (the first substance that light must pass through to reach the retina, the key player in vision) can produce symptoms of eye floaters. As the gel breaks loose, the "specks" in the vision are born.

    Aging

    • Aging is a simple common cause of floaters. The vitreous gel becomes more watery with age, and as it dissolves, floaters of many shapes and sizes become common. Some disappear within hours, and some last for weeks or months at a time, according to AllAboutVision.com.

    Hemorrhage

    • Some floaters are caused by cellular material, such as red blood cells, that gets in the eye as a result of hemorrhage. Hemorrhage into the vitreous eye gel is a result of injury, eye surgery, a tear through a blood vessel of the eye, or diabetic retinopathy (an eye disease that causes damage to the retina and decreased vision).

    Inflammation

    • According to Dr. Andrew A. Dahl's MedicineNet.com report, Eye Floaters, white blood cells that result from inflammation are also cellular material that affects the vitreous gel and cause eye floaters. Inflammation in the vitreous eye gel is caused by uveitis (a condition of the middle eye layer, caused by infection), injury or eye surgery.

    Treatment

    • Dr. John Karickhoff, a Virginian eye surgeon, contributed to the USA Today article, "Treatment of eye floaters ignites debate," by stating that 95 percent of floaters should just be left alone, and need no treatment; however, the other 5 percent of people can find floaters debilitating enough to vision that laser treatment may be a solution. Other than laser treatment, Dahl says there are no safe and proven methods to get rid floaters.

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