What causes eye floaters & How to manage it? - Dr. Sriram Ramalingam

Floaters in the eye are of various types. The most common are when we go out in the bright light we see a small spots moving in front of the eyes. These are called as muscan voluntantis. That is nothing but the cells, the RBCs and the WBCs which are moving in the blood vessels situated in the retina of the eye. They cast a shadow and that is what causes the Floaters in the eye or muscan voluntantis. The other causes of Floaters are vitreous degenerations or vitreous Floaters. Behind the eye in front of the retina, there is a jelly called as vitreous humour which is made up of protein and water. Occasionally some proteins get s clumped and causes floaters in the eye. As we start ageing this vitreous humour shrinks and has few attachments this shrinking of the vitreous again leads to Floaters. This is called as PVD or Posterior Vitreous detachment which again leads to floaters. Other causes for floaters are any bleeding inside the eye or what is called as vitreous hemorrhage. This can happen because of branch retinal vein occlusion, central retinal vein occlusion or diabetic retinopathies. They are serious and need immediate attention. The other causes are retinal detachment and one starts seeing a shower of floaters. So depending upon the condition a person with a floaters one or two floaters over a period of time are stationary, you need not worry about it. But if there is a sudden increase in the number of floaters or if there is a black spot in front of the eye or if the floaters are associated with decrease in vision and flashes of light, then a patient with diabetes need to get a complete eye checkup by an ophthalmologist. So should not be taken lightly. All floaters need an eye check up by an ophthalmologist to rule out that they are harmless.