What are eye floaters?

Eye floaters are shapes or dots that you may notice when you’re looking at a clear sky, a blank piece of paper or a white wall. The medical name for these shapes or dots is myodesopsias. You might also notice flashes of light at the same time. The flashes of light also have a medical name — photopsias.

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You can experience floaters and flashes together or on their own. Both floaters and flashes happen when the vitreous or vitreous humor, lifts up from the surface and pulls on the retina, creating tension. The vitreous is a gel-like substance in the middle of your eye. This process is called posterior vitreous detachment. It’s a normal process of aging.

These solidified pieces of the vitreous are the eye floaters that move around in the vitreous. Eye floaters are almost like little bits of dust stuck on a camera lens. You try to blink them away, but they’re still there. When you look somewhere else, these shapes move with you.

As floaters move, they pass in front of your macula (the center of the retina), which allows you to see their shadows. The retina is the part of your eye that’s responsible for reacting to light and for passing these signals to your brain. The signals become the images you see.

There are many ways to describe eye floaters. Some people see spiders, amoebas or clouds. Your own creativity guides how you think a floater looks. Your description of floaters might sound completely different from someone else’s definition. If you have floaters, you might see:

Squiggly lines.

Spots.

Spiderlike shapes.

Threadlike strands.

Small shadowy shapes.

Black or very dark spots.

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In most cases, eye floaters are a normal and common part of the aging process. As you get older, the fluid within your eyes (vitreous) shrinks. This is normal and doesn’t mean that your eyes aren’t healthy.

It’s important to maintain regular eye exams over time, especially if you’re experiencing chronic floaters. Chronic floaters usually aren’t something you need to be concerned about, but it’s a good idea to have your eyes regularly checked to make sure there aren’t any other serious eye issues. If you experience an acute (sudden) onset of floaters and flashes, you should see an eye care provider.

Your eyes may not age in the same way or at the exact same time. The vitreous might shrink in one eye a little faster than in the other. Often, you’ll have floaters in one eye at a time. It can happen to both of your eyes but usually not at the same time.

Noticing eye floaters is normal, but if you notice a group of new floaters at one time, contact your eye care provider. Sudden changes in vision, including a number of new eye floaters, mean that you should set up an appointment with an eye specialist.