Many patients come to the office with new symptoms of eye floaters and sometimes flashes of light. Floaters can appear in your vision in many shapes and sizes. They can appear as dots, circles, specks, lines or cobwebs. While they appear to be floating in front of you, they are actually inside the eye. They are easier to see when looking at a plain background like a wall, white piece of paper or the sky.<\/p>\n
Floaters occur from changes taking place in the part of the eye called the vitreous. This is a large area in the back of the eye that contains a normally clear jelly-like substance. As we age, the vitreous starts to shrink and liquefy. People who are very nearsighted, have had prior eye surgery and those with prior eye infections are also prone to developing floaters. Sometimes, strenuous activity and lifting can cause the vitreous to prematurely detach off the back of the eye. This movement of the vitreous separating from the retina is called a posterior vitreous detachment.<\/p>\n
Flashes can occur from posterior vitreous detachments as well. These are often described as lightning flashes of light or like a flash from taking a picture with a camera. The flashes last only for a second or two. This is occurring because the retina is being pulled or rubbed against by the vitreous. These flashes are different from the \u201cheat\u201d waves or jagged lines of light one can see with migraine headaches which last minutes to hours at a time. All types of migraines do NOT have to be accompanied by a headache. There is a condition known as an ophthalmic migraine, that is, a migraine of the eye. This causes the eye symptoms of visual blind spots and light flashes without nausea or head pain. If this occurs repeatedly, a general medical evaluation should be performed to rule out any systemic diseases like hypertension, diabetes, hypercholesterolemia and thyroid disease.<\/p>\n
Floaters\u00a0and\u00a0flashes\u00a0are usually not a serious problem. They usually go away by themselves. However, there are times when they can be signs of a torn or detached retina. Your eye doctor will check the back of your eye with special lenses to make sure everything is fine. If the retina is torn, this can be fixed with a laser treatment in the office. If the retina is detached, an operation will probably be needed. The earlier the problem is discovered, the easier it is to treat. Remember to call the office if you have any or all of the following:<\/p>\n