What are Floaters

Floaters are actually thin clumps of gel or cells inside the vitreous, the clear jelly-like fluid that fills the inside of your eye. Floaters may look like specks, strands, webs or other shapes, actually what you are seeing are the shadows of floaters cast on the retina, the light-sensitive part of the eye. If a spot or shadow shape passes in front of your field of vision or to the side, you are seeing a floater, because they are inside your eye, they move with your eyes when you try to see them. You may also see flashes of light; this occurs more often in older people and could be a warning sign of a detached retina, although this naturally, is rarer.

Clumps of vitreous gel can float in the eye, creating the spots and floaters that many people see in bright light. Large numbers of these clumps can be produced when the vitreous gel begins to liquefy or shrink, usually with ageing and detaches from the inner back of the eye (retina). The vitreous gel pulls away from the back wall of the eye, causing a posterior vitreous detachment.

The resulting spots and floaters you see after a vitreous detachment are actually ‘shadows’, caused by clumped bits of vitreous gel when light shines past them onto the retina, where vision processing occurs. If there is a sudden appearance of a significant number of floaters, especially if they are accompanied by flashes of light and/or other vision disturbances, please visit your Doctor or practitioner.
Most spots and floaters in the eye are harmless; many will fade over time and become less bothersome, but persistent floaters can be very distracting and annoying. Treatment is at hand now in the form of natural Ethos Heavenly eye drops.