Have you noticed any floating shapes in your field of vision? These may be eye floaters, a common ocular phenomenon. Although you may be concerned about eye floaters, they typically disappear after a while. How can you distinguish between an eye floater and dust in your eyes? When should you consult an eye care professional? Let's find out.
What are eye floaters?
An eye floater is a small, somewhat transparent spot or shape that moves across your field of vision. Eye floaters can vary in appearance. They can sometimes resemble a particle, sometimes an insect, sometimes a dot. In all cases, they do not correspond to any external object. This phenomenon, known scientifically as "myodesopsia," is common and does not affect your vision.
Tip for identifying eye floaters
There's a trick to finding out if you see an eye floater or a foreign body in your eye. You only have to look at a white wall or a cloudless blue sky. If you see shapes starting to move in your field of vision, they're probably eye floaters.
The different shapes of eye floaters
Forms vary from person to person, but some are more recurrent than others:
- Flies
- Spider webs
- Small circles
- Gray or black dots
- Filaments
- Chains
- Tangles of lines
In fact, the name commonly given to eye floaters is "flying flies," which describes them quite well.
Eye floaters can also occur alongside flashes of light or sparks. In this case, it's best to make an appointment for an eye exam as soon as possible. In the worst case, it could be a detached retina.
What causes eye floaters?
Most often, they result from the aging of the vitreous body inside your eyes, behind the lens. In fact, the vitreous body generally changes from the age of forty onwards. These changes can lead to the appearance of floaters.
But other phenomena can also cause them.
Dry eyes and floating bodies
Dehydration and dry eyes are aggravating factors in myodesopsia.
Stress on eye floaters
Stress increases intraocular pressure and can be responsible for the appearance of floating forms in front of your eyes.
Fatigue and eye floaters
Fatigue is not, strictly speaking, a cause, but it can exacerbate the symptoms. Generally speaking, sleep is essential when it comes to eye health.
What to do when you see eye floaters?
When they're few in number, the brain eventually shrugs them off, and they disappear after a few months. However, if eye floaters bother you, you can try alleviating them by reducing your screen time and massaging your temples.
If these eye floaters bother you considerably, don't hesitate to consult an eye care professional.
What are the symptoms of vision-threatening eye floaters?
There are warning signs that can alert you to the presence of eye floaters or flashes of light:
- Increased number of eye floaters or flashes of light
- Flashes are particularly noticeable when you look at a white wall.
- Loss or reduction of vision
- Pain in one or both eyes
- A recent eye injury
- Eye surgery
If you have any of these symptoms, or if other symptoms occur simultaneously as your eye floaters, such as migraine, it's best to book an appointment as soon as possible.
For young people and children under 16, consultation is also recommended. Seeing eye floaters is quite rare when you're that young.
