What You Should Know About Floaters

If you’re troubled by small specks, squiggly lines or “cobwebs” in your line of vision, you may be experiencing the presence of floaters in your eyes. Asides from being irritating, floaters are generally harmless. If the problem escalates, however, contact an optometrist from VAL-Uvision. An eye exam from your Jacksonville eye doctor will determine if this problem poses a risk to your eye health. Here are some basic facts you should know about floaters.

What are Floaters?

Floaters are tiny dots, specks, lines or circles that appear in front of your vision. They may look like they’re right in front of your eyes, but they’re actually within. Floaters are actually tiny clumps of cells within the vitreous (gel like substance) of your eye that cast a shadow over the retina of your eye, forming the dots, circles, lines, etc. that you see.

Floaters can take on different forms and appearances to include:

• Dark specks
• Transparent string-like shapes
• Spots that follow the movement of your eyes
• Spots that are only noticeable when you’re looking at a plain backdrop such as a blue sky or white wall
• Shapely strings that drift in and out of your line of vision

If your floaters suddenly increase or cause blurred vision, seek optometry care. You should also see your Jacksonville optometrist if floaters are accompanied by intermittent flashes of light or darkness on the side of your vision as these could be warning signs of retinal detachment or tears. Retinal detachment or tears pose a serious risk to your vision. To protect your eye health, call your eye doctor right away to report any unusual changes with your vision.

What Causes Floaters?

Floaters seem to come with age although they can also be caused by inflammation in your eye, bleeding in your eye or retinal tears. They may also appear as side effects of using certain medications or after eye surgeries such as cataract surgery. By having your eyes examined by our optometry specialist, we can determine the cause of your floaters and the best option for treatment.

Treatment for Eye Floaters 

For the most part, floaters don’t need to be treated. They may be irritating, but most people simply adjust to having them or ignore them. If they escalate in number, cause blurred vision or obstruct your vision, seek help from your Jacksonville optometrist to determine what's causing this problem so you can get treatment. By treating the cause of your floaters, your eye doctor can reduce or eliminate this problem.

Schedule an Eye Exam with your Jacksonville Optometrist

To schedule an eye exam to evaluate a problem with floaters or any other vision problems, contact VAL-Uvision at 904-721-7700 or 904-730-2299 today.