Mom I see something up in the sky. They look scary. They’re like cobwebs. Are there spiders in the sky?
Eye floaters (those hanging objects you see in the image above) are tiny spots, specks, or cobweb-like strings that may look to you as black or grey, that move here and there around your field of vision.
Most people have floaters but they tend to ignore them. They are usually unnoticed until they become numerous or more prominent. These eye floaters can become apparent when looking at something bright, like a white paper or a blue sky.
But why can we see these floaters? What causes these specks to form? Are they harmful?
Although, very much annoying, these ordinary eye floaters and spots are very common and usually aren’t harmful. Eye floaters occur when the gel-like substance that occupies the back two-thirds of the eye, responsible in maintaining the eye’s shape, slowly shrinks.
You hardly notice them when you are busy doing something, when it’s dark and when your eyes are shut.
People who are at risk to have these stringy eye floaters are those who are extremely nearsighted, diabetic individuals and the ones who have had a cataract surgery.
However, some serious causes of eye floaters include; infection, inflammation (uveitis), hemorrhaging, retinal tears, and injury or trauma to the eye.
So, when are these floaters become a medical emergency?
If you see a shower of floaters that are sometimes accompanied by light flashes, you should definitely seek medical attention immediately.
The sudden appearance could mean that the vitreous humor (gel-like substance in the eye) is pulling away from your retina or that the retina itself is becoming dislodged from the inner back of the eye that contains blood, nutrients and oxygen vital to healthy function. So, when the retina is torn, vitreous can invade the opening and push out the retina — leading to a detachment.
According to a study reported in the Journal of the American Medical Association in 2009, that sudden presence of eye floaters and flashes means that one in seven people with these symptoms will have a retinal tear or detachment.
More so, be alarmed if you see floaters with dark spots on the sides of your vision. That is also, a sign of retinal detachment. Other than that, it is also important to consult an ophthalmologist if you experience eye pain along whit eye floaters.
Are there any ways to treat them?
Well folks, benign eye floaters almost NEVER require medical treatment. If they are bothersome (which apparently are), you can move them away from your field of vision by moving your eyes. In this way, you are increasing the fluid in your eyes. Look up and down, it is more effective than looking side to side.
If you have eye floaters, it is also essential for you to get enough sleep. One of the common reasons that aggravates the problem of floaters is lack of sleep. So, try and get at least 8-10 hours of sleep a day.
Furthermore, try to relax your eyes as much as you can. Relaxing your eyes at regular intervals can actually lessen the production of new floaters and may also help in removing eye floaters. You can also do eye massage. Massaging your temples slowly with a soaked cloth over your eyes is a helpful way of dealing eye floaters.
And oh, drinking water helps too. Drinking a good amount of water daily slows the degeneration of the vitreous layer of the eye and caused floaters.
Lastly, try performing eye exercises; such as rolling in your eyes in various directions.
Image Credits: naturaleyecare, get-rid-of-eye-floaters, oculaser, medscape
